At United Way for Greater Austin, we believe that anyone- regardless of income- can be a philanthropist. Through Employee Giving Campaigns, UWATX provides an opportunity for employees at area businesses to donate a portion of every paycheck to make a positive impact.
We wouldn’t ask others to give if we didn’t give ourselves.
UWATX is one of 400+ Austin-area businesses that run an Employee Campaign. Our Building Spirit Committee worked on the logistics behind a week of fun-filled, spirit-building activities to encourage employee participation.
This year, campaign focused on the three Austin neighborhoods were our work is centered: Manor, St. John’s and Dove Springs. In planning this week of spirited activities, our goal was to incorporate the neighborhoods that benefit from the donations.
Get everyone excited before campaign starts
The week before our campaign, the Spirit Committee hid two sets of Michael Buble concert tickets in the office and sent out an email to staff containing riddles on where to find them. The stakes where high and the hunt was fierce!
Building suspense and excitement during the days and weeks leading up to your campaign is a great way to get people thinking about how they plan on participating.
Kickoff the campaign with a fun event and communicate important details
On Monday morning, UWATX Staff met over a scrumptious breakfast to discuss the importance of Employee Campaign. We are proud to boast a 97 percent participation rate from our last campaign, and hope to do just as well this year!
Connect your Employee Campaign to community impact
Each day of the week, we chose themes related to the three communities where UWATX work – it was an opportunity to have some fun and also draw a connection back to our work. Each day, our Building Spirit team emailed our staff to let them know about the neighborhood we were focusing on and who won that day’s costume contest.
On Tuesday, we went with ‘Dig It for Dove Springs’ – we encouraged staff to dress up in their best 70’s attire. We saw staff in go-go boots, flowing dresses and groovy bell bottoms.
On Wednesday, our theme was ‘Step it Up with St. John’s’ and we encouraged staff to dress up in their best workout gear. Our staff didn’t let us on down on this one; they sported sweatbands, high tops and so many leggings.
After we worked up a sweat, we enjoyed some delicious ice cream sandwiches in the lobby!
Heather Bolt, pictured left, explains how the campaign affected her: “I gave to United Way to mark my official start as an Austin resident. It is important to me to give to my community and giving through United Way for Greater Austin is a great first step.“
Willy Ready (pictured center, wearing jacket) says, “I work here because I believe in what we’re doing. When you believe in something it’s important to support in as many ways as possible.”
On Thursday, the theme was ‘Manor Match Up,’ and we encouraged staff to coordinate with someone else. Many staff took this opportunity to find someone in a different department to match with.
Close it out with a cross-departmental celebration
On Friday, we encouraged employees to wear our brand colors to celebrate 78702, the neighborhood we work in. We ended our week-long campaign with a Trivia Happy Hour, where employees from different departments.
To get involved in Employee Giving, contact Megan Carvajal (pictured above) Director of Workplace Engagement, or check out our other services for businesses looking to give back.
A big thanks to Haymaker, a neighborhood business, for donating gift cards for our give-a-ways.