(This article is part of a series of guest columns written by innovators in the nonprofit sector. PNNOnline will be featuring a new "Challenges of the New Century" guest column each Friday.)
By Pete Mountanos
Nonprofit development directors often fear the dreaded phrase "I gave at the office" in response to a direct fundraising appeal. As is often true, however, a cliché can have its foundation in reality.
Approximately $4 billion was donated through company-supported workplace giving campaigns last year. Giving at the office is a popular alternative for many individuals.
Annual corporate-sponsored giving campaigns are a systemized reminder to employees each year to reach out to their communities and give back. Companies who offer these programs typically select a set of local and national nonprofit groups to feature to their employees, primarily in conjunction with United Ways. The corporation -- along with United Ways and the other nonprofits -- then help motivate individuals to get involved and contribute.
Many of these campaigns also come with an added incentive to give, since companies often match the charitable donations their employees make during these campaigns.
Companies are increasingly finding that supporting the community is good business, and they have a number of different ways to get involved. Some set up corporate foundations, some sponsor fundraising events, some support cause-related marketing campaigns. All of these efforts help strengthen ties to the community and can reinforce a beneficial corporate image.
Employee-based giving programs are particularly effective, since they not only foster a company's community relations, but also boost their employee relations. Research repeatedly finds that employees in businesses offering these programs feel a stronger connection and loyalty to both their companies and their communities. Businesses also have an increased incentive to support nonprofit organizations and matching employee donation programs, since charitable corporate gifts are tax deductible up to 10 percent of a company's annual income.
New technology tools are helping modernize and extend traditional workplace giving campaigns. Automation is providing new ways to make these programs simpler, more interactive, and more engaging. Automation helps streamline the incorporation of different types of gifts into these campaigns, including credit card donations, payroll deduction, appreciated stock, matching gifts, and volunteer opportunities.
Technology not only helps increase the process's efficiency, but it also provides a way for nonprofits to deliver more in-depth information about their missions and services.
Workplace giving programs have traditionally provided nonprofit organizations with a low-cost way to receive donations. Nonprofit groups also gain increased exposure to the largest, most active group of online donors in a new way.
Previously in workplace giving campaigns, nonprofit organizations were typically only able to submit 25-word descriptions about themselves that were included in paper catalogs distributed to employees.
Technology helps to change that. Now, organizations can feature in-depth information about their mission and services, including space to include pictures and stories, which are featured in online, interactive catalogs. By presenting meaningful information about their activities, nonprofit organizations can foster stronger interest, engagement, and bonding with contributors. The accomplishments and stories that nonprofits have to tell are extremely compelling.
This automated system allows nonprofit groups to communicate with employees right at the time they are making a decision to give.
In the dozens of Fortune 1000 company and United Way workplace campaigns that our company works with, for example, it's been demonstrated that nonprofit organizations which include more descriptive information attract more attention and receive larger gifts.
Nonprofit organizations can submit their information at no cost. Additionally, unlike in traditional paper-based campaigns, contributors are given the option of sending their contact information to recipient organizations, allowing the nonprofit group to interact directly with donors.
Automating campaigns also help increase the speed and efficiency of the fund distribution through these campaigns, helping nonprofits receive contributions faster.
Technology represents a modern way of connecting donors with the causes they care about. Donations through employee-giving campaigns have been increasing by approximately five percent each year.
Adding technology to these campaigns represents a way to increase these campaigns at a faster rate and allow nonprofit organizations to benefit from increased exposure to a universe of active, motivated donors. New technology solutions are additional tools that the nonprofit community can use to help increase philanthropic giving in America.
(Pete Mountanos is chairman, CEO and founder of Charitableway. He started the firm to "make it easier for people to connect to the causes they care about and their communities." He has nearly three decades of experience as a high-tech executive, previously holding positions at Softbank Technology Ventures, Microsoft Corporation, Vxtreme, ABEKAS Video Systems, and Textronix. He graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in physics and holds an M.B.A. with an emphasis in finance from California State University, Hayward. Mountanos is particularly active with the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club and Casa Serena in Santa Barbara.)
(Anyone interested in submitting story ideas for this series can do so by following this link pnninfo@mindspring.com. Please include contact information, topic proposal and a brief description of specifics related to nonprofit sector technology and/or innovation included in the column.)
