New America’s Charities’ Study on Employee Giving

In an article published in The NonProfit Times on February 25^th, America’s Charities says that “according to a new survey of nearly 100 private sector employers that have combined to raise more than $230 million through their annual employee giving campaigns” are looking for new strategies to engage employees and others to give to nonprofits. In the survey, “80 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their company is committed to a giving program,” but it seems necessary for them to find new ways to boost the employee giving programs. In the past, employers and for-profit organizations have put in place programs to boost giving in their companies by offering charitable contribution matching frameworks, in which the organization pledges to give the same amount as its employees to a certain limit. Employees also promote volunteer opportunities, or allow employees to promote volunteer opportunities from outside the workplace. Some employers even go so far as to allow workers to take time off of work to volunteer. In 2006, this same report stated that the average participation rate” in employee giving programs “was 41 percent” and in 2012 that number “dropped to 33 percent.” All of these programs don’t seem to be enough anymore.

The Blackbaud Index shows, in its most recent data, that as of December 2012 overall giving was only at 2.6%, but online giving was at 15.2%. This disparity represents a greater shift toward online models of giving, like Kickstarter. The America’s Charities’ survey revealed that “[t]echnology is also playing a big role in workplace giving engagement. More than half of employers plan to implement more social media tools in the next two years so their employees can post content promoting their favorite charity. Of these, 30 percent now allow workers to post videos and/or testimonials in support of the organizations they support. “ A current giving program is only as good as its ability to leverage social media, and web donations. Does your organization have the right strategy? ~Josef