You probably hear the phrase “employee campaigns” from UWATX, but if you don’t work in a business that runs campaigns, this phrase can be quite confusing. Employee giving campaigns are how we receive many of our donations throughout the year.
Our Development Officers visit multiple workplaces to inform employees about United Way for Greater Austin’s work, help set up fun activities to encourage employees to pledge and coordinate team-building volunteer activities. We make it easy to give in your workplace through payroll deductions; employees sign up during their campaign to give $5, $10 or more per each paycheck for the upcoming year.
We asked UWATX Development Officers Heather and Keith to give us an idea of what campaign season feels like to them.
Heather says:
UWATX runs employee giving campaigns throughout the year, but August through October are the busiest months when most of our corporate partners promote giving to make Austin greater! With running campaigns comes numerous planning meetings, special events, embarrassing challenges, tables of food, jars of pennies and large campaign finales. It’s a great time and one that I and my fellow Development Officers enjoy. These are a few of the ways I know it’s that time of year:
1. Your phone is full of companies’ campaign event photos
2. Your car turns in to the campaign mobile
3. Your friends tell you to quit asking them for money
4. Your wallet always has 2-1-1 cards in it
5. You change your clothes three times in one day – suit for law firm kick-off, UWATX t-shirt for volunteer project and a jersey for a football themed campaign finale.
6. You eat delicious homemade baked goods once a week due to campaign bake sales
7. You get to judge a lip sync battle
8. You get to throw a pie at someone’s face
9. You see one of Austin’s top company leaders with pink hair
10. You see the excitement of an ECL telling you how much money their company raised for the community
Keith says:
1. You’ve become a pro at judging Chili Cook off contests
2. You can give a pretty impactful elevator speech on command and without notice
3. You start saying “nice to see you again” instead of “nice to meet you” because you’ve lost track of everyone you’ve met that week
4. You hear yourself saying “sure I can make your 3am camping meeting UPS…no problem!” without even batting an eye
5. You see the fear in the CEO of a company’s eyes when the phrase “dunking booth” comes up in a campaign planning session.
6. A customer from Target, H-E-B, Nordstrom, etc. thinks you actual work at the store since you’ve spent all of your waking hours there for the past week
The days are long, but the efforts are large and the results are amazing. Our UWATX Development Officers see firsthand the hard work being done by our companies to raise funds for the community, and enjoy having the opportunity to raise awareness about Austin’s most struggling families in front of hundreds of people. We thank you for your efforts and for providing us the opportunity to have the great experiences listed above!
Need help with your campaign? Contact your Development Officer for assistance:
Heather Bolt
Jeffrey King
Keith Richardson