United Way for Greater Austin’s 2016 campaign season is just beginning, and we’re excited to work with more than 200 companies with nearly 700 locations in the Greater Austin area to raise money to invest back into our community. We could not raise as much money as we do annually without the help of some very important volunteers: UWATX Employee Campaign Leaders (ECLs). ECLs are representatives from our corporate partners that lead their company’s employee giving campaign. They host fun events to teach their coworkers about our programs, set up time for our development officers to stop by and speak about UWATX, and inspire their coworkers to give through each paycheck and set fundraising goals. Two of our seasoned ECLs, Melanie Zamora of Texas Gas Service and Kim Perry-Klotz of KPMG, share their experiences in this crucial role. Where do you work and how long have you served as an ECL? How did you become the ECL for your company? Kim: “I work for KPMG, LLP in Austin, Texas. I was asked to be the Involve Coordinator for our office three years ago and gladly accepted. As the Involve Coordinator, one of my roles is to organize and lead the Giving Campaign for our office each year.” Melanie: “I work for Texas Gas Service. I have been an ECL for two years. I was nominated to be an ECL after being with the company for an only a short period of time and gratefully accepted the challenge.” What did you like […]
Read MoreDonor Champions United Way After Receiving Years of Support
Lisa Suarez is the campaign leader for UPS, as well as a leadership giver and Women’s Leadership Council member. While every donor has a different reason driving them to give, Lisa’s longstanding relationship with United Way has transformed over time uniquely, as she started as a services recipient before turning into a donor. Lisa grew up in a low-income family that moved frequently due to the financial hardships they were faced with. “It really is a vicious cycle. I was never encouraged to go to college even though I was a straight ‘A’ student. That’s just not the priority in low-income neighborhoods…just living day to day is the priority, so most people don’t have the means or even the knowledge to encourage their kids to try to do more and break the cycle. As your grow up, you do what you are familiar with and begin to look for jobs that just get you by. You do what you’ve grown up seeing from your parents–the minimum–because that’s all they knew too.” “My life would have been completely different without United Way. It’s afforded me a life that I didn’t come from and didn’t think was possible for me, and I looked back and realized United Way got me where I am today. I haven’t reached all of my goals in life yet, but now I know that I’m capable of doing it–and I didn’t know that before.” –Lisa Suarez “People think those in need aren’t trying for themselves. When you […]
Read MoreSpotlight: Jon Eckert, Comerica Bank
Support of the United Way is Comerica Bank’s largest annual philanthropic effort. And in Austin, 100% of Comerica employees are philanthropists. In Texas, Comerica raised $666,738 with more than 99% of employees participating. In Austin specifically, the bank’s employees topped that with 100% participation. All 90 Austin employees donated a total of more than $24,000. Plus, they worked together to raise an additional $1,500 through a silent auction. We spoke with Jon Eckert, Comerica Bank’s Senior Vice President and Group Manager of Business Banking in Austin, who again served as lead of this year’s Comerica UWATX campaign. We asked him how he got involved with United Way and to describe the efforts that inspired every Austin employee to participate. How and when did you get involved in serving the United Way in Austin? Soon after I started with Comerica in 2012, Pat Faubion (our Texas Market President at the time) asked me if I would help by leading the Austin effort. Of course, I didn’t hesitate to reply with an enthusiastic “yes!” Several years ago, after visiting some of the United Way agencies that they serve, I saw and heard firsthand how the United Way helps so many people. It was then that I truly became emotionally involved in the cause. That’s why I continue to step up to lead the campaign for Austin every year. Seeing our consistent participation year after year, it’s evident that my Austin colleagues feel the same way. What inspires you to continue to be involved? Like […]
Read MoreSpotlight: Russell Bridges, 3M
3M is one of UWATX’s Top 15 campaigns, meaning they pledge among the most in terms of dollars during their employee giving campaigns out of our more than 400 partners. We also have a dedicated “3M closet” at UWATX offices, which 3M graciously stocks with office supplies for the whole year. We are grateful for the generosity of 3M employees in general and especially to Russell Bridges, Government and Community Affairs Manager at 3M in Austin and one of UWATX’s best advocates. Russell has served as our 3M campaign contact since 2000. He has hosted special events, promoted our giving societies, identified 3M members as board members, coordinated volunteer activities and served on United Way committees. This year, 3M held one Day of Giving on June 8 to kick off their campaign in which the corporation pledged to match any employee pledges 2 to 1. Additionally, all employee pledges made in June were matched 1 to 1, and all pledges made through the end of campaign were matched .50 to 1. In just the one Day of Giving, employees pledged $323,463, providing an additional corporate match of $646,926. This means 3M raised almost $1 million for Greater Austin in only one day! We asked Russell why he has been involved with UWATX for so long and to give us an inside look at what makes the 3M campaign so successful each year. How long have you been involved with United Way and in what capacities? Many years ago, I […]
Read MoreWho Inspires You to Be a Philanthropist?
We asked UWATX employees to dress up as the person who inspires them to give back during our internal employee giving campaign kickoff this year. Sue: “The Directors and Executive Directors of the early childhood programs with whom we partner. They work so hard to support children and families — and they do not get the recognition they deserve.” Orsi: “I am inspired to give back because of my hard working coworkers. I am inspired by their passion to help others and their commitment to making Austin greater.” Courtney: “Everyday before I went to school my dad always told me to “be a good person today.” Working in a job that allows me to do that everyday is beyond fulfilling.” Leah: “My amazing team of talented individuals. Each and every one of them brings fresh energy, passion and expertise to tackle an area of need in our community.” Laura: “Leah inspires me to be a philanthropist because of her example of generosity of spirit and her dedication to her work and her family. As a working mother, Leah is a model of work/life balance. She daily demonstrates a commitment to making life better for families in her community. Her energy, creativity, and leadership inspire me to give back.” Nikki: “Vanessa is the Wizard of Oz of UWATX. Her job is internal facing (behind the curtain making the magic happen!) ensuring we have the systems, tools and processes to be successful. Boom!” Vanessa: “Nikki’s passion and ability […]
Read MoreUWATX Internal Campaign
You likely know by now that many of our donations come from Austin-based businesses running employee giving campaigns by asking their employees to give a bit of each paycheck back to UWATX. But did you know that United Way for Greater Austin runs our own internal employee giving campaign too? That’s right–we don’t just talk the talk of being philanthropists, we pledge to pledge! We held fun activities to inspire our employees to give, including Twin Day (dress up like the person who inspires you to be a philanthropist), Represent Your Favorite Sports Team Day (complete with trivia and prizes) and Campaign Cool Down (in which we got to wear comfy workout clothes to the office and had a group stretch). Our own UWATX employees pledged to donate more than $23,000 out of their paychecks over the past few days back to United Way programs. As this year’s internal campaign kicked off, we asked our team leads what it was like to run a campaign in an organization that already gives so much. Our Resource Development team travels around town every day helping businesses run their employee giving campaigns, but how does this differ when it’s your own coworkers? Check out their answers to get some inspiration and tips when it comes to running your own campaign: When you signed up to be a part of organizing the United Way for Greater Austin campaign, what were your initial thoughts? Jeffrey King: Very excited! This was a learning experience and an […]
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