How to Increase Participation
1. The biggest way to increase participation is to have a presentation at a departmental or shift meeting.
Smaller departmental meetings or one on one solicitation can work if a large meeting is not possible. E-mail can help but the biggest determinant is the personal touch. People give to people.
2. Offer incentives and prizes. See Incentives.
3. Have a special event or activity. See fun-raising ideas.
4. Establish friendly interdepartmental competitions. This could include a free meal or privilege for the first department to turn in all pledge cards or have the highest participation percentage.
5. FOOD ALWAYS DRAWS A CROWD. Provide coffee and donuts for a morning event, pizza at lunch, bake sale or homemade goodies. See more food ideas with the activity ideas inside.
6. Find an associate who has personally benefited from United Way and ask them to share.
A to Z for Fun-raisers
Note: Don’t get so caught up in the activity that you forget about important aspects of the campaign—effective “asks,” payroll pledges, and turning in pledge cards. They should supplement the main campaign, not replace it.
A is for Auction
Have a silent auction. Get items donated from department managers or campaign committee members. Personal items are sometimes the biggest fun-raisers, such as a department Mexican lunch, 1 dozen “muffins-of-the-month,” or other item an employee is famous for making. Put items into theme baskets such as fisherman’s favorite, family night, gourmet gift basket, pampering your pet, etc.
B is for Bake Sale or Bake-off Contest
Who makes the best chocolate chip cookies or brownies? Have a contest where employees bring in their best and others pay to sample each and vote. Or have a bake sale. One local worksite had a dessert bake-off and then sold a cookbook of the recipes.
E is for E-bingo
Sell bingo cards for a small fee (we can give you some United Way cards which list agencies and projects that receive UW funding). Send emails throughout the week featuring one or two member agencies info about them. Give a small prize like a candy bar for bingo and special prize for the first to fill their card!
G is for Guess the Number
Fill a jar with x-number of candies, bolts, cotton balls, marbles, beans, or even United Way pins and let people guess the number for a donation. Winner gets the jar or other prize.
M is for Massage
Have a chair massage therapist come in and give chair massages to those who increase their pledge or are leadership donors.
R is for Raffles
You can raffle off a special parking spot, extra vacation day, or prizes provided by the company or other employees. You could have a 50/50 raffle. Just make sure to track the raffle income and report it on your Coordinator Campaign Report, as we have to pay sales tax on it to the State of Iowa.
U is for United Way Day—
Have a United Way Day, and encourage people to wear LIVE UNITED shirts, hats, etc. You can pre-order shirts or items to sell that day. The LIVE UNITED store features LIVE UNITED buffs (bandanas), socks, wrist bands, hats, and lanyards. (Shirts available from Fort Madison Area United Way, other items, contact www.UnitedWaystore.com.)
V is for Vending Machines—
Donate vending machine sales to United Way the week of your campaign.
W is for Sports Team Coin Wars
Set up two containers for a coin collection, one for the Hawks and one for the Cyclones, or one for the Rams and Bears, etc. Let people wear the colors or regalia of the winning team on a special casual day. (Hint, take jars to the bank and let their coin machine count it.)
Z is for Zany Game Show
Zany Game Show—Have your own version of a “Jeopardy” or question-type game show and make it more zany with costumes or white elephant prizes. Have them answer questions related to United Way to win prizes. Check out funny games to play at Nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to/