The Campaign Manager Handbook is a resource for you to use as you plan, carry out, and wrap up your organization’s campaign. It is divided into sections that represent the five phases of the campaign “project” with a final section that includes samples, forms, and further resources.

1. Planning Your Campaign

2. Getting Started – Kickoff!

3. Managing the Momentum

4. Reporting Your Success

5. Wrapping Up

You'll also find assistance from:

1. Planning Your Campaign

Before you get started, Earth Share of Oregon wants you to know how much we appreciate the time and effort you will be applying to this important campaign. And we will be here to help you each step of the way.

Besides the handbook, you can call Meghan Humphreys at the Earth Share of Oregon office at (503) 223-9015 / Meghan@earthshare-oregon.org with your questions at any time.

Use the Campaign Manager Handbook in whatever fashion is comfortable to you and your organization. The correct way to run a campaign is the way that works best for you. So, let’s get this campaign rolling!

The planning stage is the time when you lay the groundwork for a successful campaign. This stage in your campaign will begin at least 3-4 weeks before the kickoff event. Your activities might include reading this handbook, taking notes, creating a schedule, discussing the campaign with your company’s leaders, ordering and distributing materials, and preparing for the “kickoff” event that will be the official beginning of the campaign.

Create your plan, including budget and schedule

After you have read this handbook, call your Earth Share representative and set up a planning meeting. Your representative will advise you on setting up your budget and schedule and how to best initiate the campaign for your organization.

Decide what pledge form you'd like to use -- see our example forms here.  At the meeting, you can also discuss conducting an electronic campaign, or take our electronic campaign readiness quiz.

Your budget will include expenses for activities or gifts, and your schedule will include the entire campaign, with the most critical date being the kickoff event. Consider piggybacking on other well-established events that may be occurring in your company and think about how you can join in to promote your campaign. For example, some organizations have health fairs, benefits fairs, or other employee meetings or events where the campaign is featured. Perhaps a brown bag lunch or “giving fair” in which employees can learn about their giving options will be an energetic start to your campaign.

Form a committee – Set a theme

Get immediate support by forming a campaign committee. Involving others makes it easier and more enjoyable for you while investing others in the success of the campaign. Select committee members who are respected by coworkers and enjoy coordinating fun activities.  Let the committee choose a theme for the campaign, something like Every Penny Counts or Giving Never Felt So Good.  Use the theme on all of your materials.

Gain support from your organization’s decision makers

Once you have a plan and budget, talk with your CEO or company President.  Discuss and get approval for the campaign, budget, and especially the kickoff event. Ask him or her to write a letter or e-mail in support of the campaign that will be distributed to employees. Ask him or her to speak to employees about the campaign, either at the kickoff event, at nonprofit presentations or on another occasion.   

Get ideas

Talk with your Earth Share representative about your campaign goals and the materials you would like to use. Find out what Earth Share member groups have to offer you. Some member groups can provide you with informative presentations and printed materials that will give employees a clearer idea about their giving options.

Ask your Earth Share representative for forms or print them from this web site. You can use the Earth Share of Oregon Pledge Form or the Combined Pledge Form that includes all participating funds and federations on one form. The Combined Pledge Form is easier for employees to fill out and less work for payroll staff to process.  It can be customized to include any number of funds and federations, as many as you have in your campaign.

Decide whether or not to conduct an electronic campaign

An electronic campaign (making all pledges online) may or may not be suitable for your organization.  Take this readiness quiz to see if online pledging is right for your company. 

Distribute pledge forms and brochures

Whenever possible, you, your helpers, or your CEO should hand pledge forms and brochures to each employee personally. This helps them understand that this is an important campaign and something you believe in. Let them know campaign dates and when the pledge forms will need to be turned in.  If your organization is too large to distribute materials personally, ask your committee or get a volunteer from each department to help you.

Understand the different giving levels

Provide employees several options for giving.  Fundraisers like a used book sale, an auction or a coin collection bin give everyone a chance.  These activities are fun, can build spirit and increase the success of your campaign.

Some employees may choose to personally contribute more than $500 per year. If so, they qualify as an Earth Share Leadership Donor.  Earth Share honors leadership giving by including donors’ names in the Annual Report and inviting them to a spring reception.

If your company offers a corporate match to employee donations, highlight this in your campaign materials.  Any match can dramatically increase the impact of an employee’s contribution, and it encourages MORE people to donate.

Electronic Campaigns Readiness Quiz

Perhaps you’ve wondered if you could ditch all those paper pledge forms and brochures, but still carry out a successful workplace giving campaign?  Some workplaces are doing just that, with some careful consideration and planning.

If you would like to switch to an electronic employee giving campaign, consider these questions before taking the next step:

If the answer to all of these questions is yes, an electronic campaign might work in your office with some extra preparation.

Some other questions to consider before you decide on an electronic campaign might be:

Contact your Earth Share representative; we can help you decide if an electronic campaign is appropriate for your workplace and give you tools and resources that will help your campaign succeed.

We can also provide you information on a variety of vendors that offer electronic pledge processing software.  As with any service, it's a good idea to shop around to find the vendor who will offer what's best for you and compatible with your exisitng systems.

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2. Getting Started – Kickoff!

The kickoff is the single most important event in the campaign. Begin this phase at least two weeks before the kickoff event day. Use the following ideas to make your campaign kickoff an event to remember.

Choose a location

Choose a location for the kickoff event tables, displays, posters, and prizes. When you decide the type of kickoff you would like to have, choose the best place for an information table. Earth Share and other charities will usually volunteer to host tables at your office where they can tell your coworkers about their organizations. Ideally, the location should be a heavily trafficked, visible spot in your building. Lunchrooms, break rooms, and front entry halls are all good locations. Anywhere close to food is great -- it attracts people.

Spread the word
Advertise, advertise, advertise. Don’t wait until the kickoff day to start talking about your campaign. Start a couple of weeks before the kickoff with small steps, such as e-mails or flyers. Also, talk to your coworkers about the campaign; let them know it’s coming soon. When the kickoff gets closer, start sending more frequent e-mails, post signs and posters throughout the building, put articles on your company’s intranet or internal newsletter. Use any appropriate method available to make people aware of the campaign.

Encourage Turn-out

Choose a time of day when most employees would be able to attend, then offer something that will make your co-workers want to come to your event. Offer a light lunch, bagels or pastries; hand out raffle tickets, have a theme for the day such as “Tropical Vacation” and dress up accordingly.  Possibilities for a fun event are endless.

Brainstorm with coworkers and committee members to find the perfect approach for your company’s campaign. Or, ask your Earth Share representative for successful and fun ideas. You can incorporate the theme into the prizes and advertising for a campaign that will be long remembered in your organization.

Gather prizes

Give away prizes to employees who attend the kickoff event. Earth Share has an array of prize items available. Your company may also be willing to provide or purchase items like coffee mugs, hats, and other promotional items to give away. If funds are limited, think of local businesses, such as coffee shops, hair salons, bakeries, and gift stores that might want to attract your coworkers to their business with a gift certificate or some other gift item.

Build employee morale; solicit “homegrown” prizes from coworkers such as fresh-baked bread, use of a beach house, a flower arrangement, a few hours of gardening help, etc.

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3. Managing the Momentum

The most successful campaigns are those in which events and fun attention-getters happen throughout the campaign, not just on the first day. Use the following ideas to increase your success during the campaign pledge time, and put the “fun” in “fundraising.”

Give incentives

Offer “casual day” certificates to people who turn in their pledge forms throughout the campaign, or offer to let them buy more certificates for an additional donation. 

Play games

E-mail eco-trivia questions to your coworkers. Those who e-mail back the correct answer that day win a prize. Publicize the winners and add a note about the Earth Share campaign. Earth Share has lots of eco-trivia questions, so you don’t have to write or research your own.  Play to your coworkers’ sense of competition. Invite departments to challenge each other in total giving, and then award a fun trophy or special honor to the winners.

Engage coworkers with Earth Share related activities

Earth Share encourages you to make your campaign more dynamic by providing a variety of activities that engage your coworkers and offer additional ways to support Earth Share at work. These include an array of Lunch and Learn Programs.

Educate coworkers about giving

People are encouraged to give when they know the difference their donation can make.  Earth Share and the other funds and federations can provide you with examples of the work our charities do and their accomplishments.  In a newsletter or e-mail, you may also want to give coworkers an example of what their gift of what their monthly donation buys.

Host a pizza lunch with one of our Lunch and Learn presentations. An Earth Share member group will come to your workplace to share information about an environmental topic that might interest your coworkers. Earth Share member groups can speak to employees about everything from recycling ideas to recreational hiking and reducing pesticide use to understanding forest polices. Call your Earth Share representative to request this option.

Leverage management

Get the CEO or top executives involved in the campaign in a visible way. Ask if some or all of them want to volunteer to give a gift to an employee who wins a raffle. The gift can be something that costs the executive very little, like taking an afternoon to be the employee’s “assistant,” taking the employee out for lunch, or whatever your company’s leaders are interested in doing. Showing top management support for the campaign boosts success.

Reward & celebrate

Handing out goodies to employees who participate in the campaign is an effective way to encourage more participation and keep the energy level high during the campaign. Think of instances in which you could reward your coworkers, and make it happen. Celebrate the act of giving.  Award gifts to campaign helpers or to employees who come to campaign events.

Some ideas for gifts are:

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4. Report Your Success

Creating a campaign report can make all the difference for you, the employees, and the participating funds and federations. Some of the benefits a campaign report provides are:

If you have a combined campaign (involving other funds or federations), calculate the total pledges for each fund and federation and the overall total. Be sure to include your company’s matching dollars, if any. You do not need to track designated contributions to specific agencies within Earth Share of Oregon or within other funds and federations.

Campaign Summary Report

You may want to track donations for your company’s divisions, departments, or sites. Give a copy of your report, with pledge cards, to participating funds and federations, and pass it out at your campaign evaluation meeting.

View a sample summary report (PDF).

Expect some late arriving pledge forms.  Just ask your Earth Share representative to come pick them up and don’t forget to add the extra donations to your total.

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5. Wrapping Up

The wrapping-up phase ties up all the loose ends, spreads goodwill, and ensures that you will have cooperation for the next campaign.

Thank participants

Let employees know about the effect of their generosity and thank them in as many ways as possible: e-mails, postings, newsletters.

Thank your helpers

Personally thank all the people who helped you with the campaign. You can send them a hand-written note, send a special e-mail tailored to the employee’s contributions, give them a certificate, take them to lunch or breakfast, or give them a small item donated by the funds or federations.

Evaluate the campaign

Hold an evaluation meeting with your committee and the funds and federations involved to see if there are any improvements that could be implemented for next year. Also consider suggestions from coworkers and share them with the representative from the funds and federations.

Give yourself credit

Above all, pat yourself on the back. You have managed an important campaign that will make a difference in your community and in the lives of your coworkers. You have made it possible for them to improve the health and environment of Oregon for themselves and future generations.

Good work!!!!!!

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