Offering employees plenty of fun options seems to be the key to a successful giving campaign at PCC Structurals, a metal castings manufacturer in the SE Portland area.  This company offers employees choices both for who they can help at work (Earth Share and United Way) as well as how they can help.  It’s not just about raising money (although their campaign DID raise $27,000+ for Earth Share last year), it’s also about community involvement. 

• Offer Many Ways and Incentives to Give and Volunteer

The 2,700 employees at PCC Structurals help their community by donating funds, donating food, recycling old cellular phones, and by volunteering.  Any one of these actions during PCC Structurals’ fall campaign equals participation in the campaign. 

And in this company, “participation” equals a chance to win some pretty desirable prizes.  PCC Structurals purchases or receives prize donations like extra vacation days, gift certificates, food baskets, tickets to cultural events; this year they even gave away a trip and a new computer.  To foster teambuilding within the company, PCC threw two pizza parties: one for the facility with the highest participation, and one for the facility that took the biggest leap forward in participation.

Executive Assistant Judi Davis, one of the organizers of the giving campaign, says prizes help spur people to give, but PCC focuses the campaign on “trying to support the community,” which is why group volunteer activities have become a big part of their giving campaign.  Last fall, PCC Structurals employees planted trees with Earth Share member Friends of Trees and pulled invasive ivy from natural areas on Johnson Creek.

• Get Company Leadership on Board

The support of leadership is crucial to a campaign’s success.  Ross Lienhart, the top executive at PCC Structurals, gives the campaign “wonderful support,” according to Judi.  The endorsement that top managers, who campaigner Rita Peterson calls “our cheerleaders,” give to the campaign has made it possible for the company to grow quickly without losing its connection to the surrounding community.

And sometimes all it takes is one motivated leader to make a campaign successful.  One PCC facility won a pizza party prize for the biggest increase in giving last year because its administrative assistant started campaigning in earnest -- and she had help from the plant’s leadership.

• Tap into Concern for Oregon’s Environment

Adding Earth Share to the campaign, and the environmental nonprofits and issues it supports, engages new donors at PCC Structurals every year.  Campaigner Debra Davidson says she notices that “many people who once didn’t give at all became donors when Earth Share was added as a giving option.”  And, she notes, many of those new donors later give to both Earth Share and United Way, supporting the entire campaign.

• Keep the Momentum Flowing with Regular Updates

A crucial element of PCC Structurals’ success is constant communication.  During the campaign, everyone in the company gets a daily update on what’s happening with the campaign.  Judi Davis sends out a daily email that announces prize drawing winners, gives a running total of pledged donations (including information on which facility has the highest participation), and keeps the campaign fresh in everyone’s minds.  Debra says people look forward to it because it reminds people to participate in the campaign, but without badgering them.

All three campaigners say their goal is to make the campaign a fun way for co-workers to get involved in the community, something PCC Structurals has done since it was a small business.

“Giving goes back a long way here, back to the days when the owner knew everyone’s name, like a family,” Judi says, “As we’ve grown into an international company, that’s become more difficult.  That’s why we stress volunteering, to get the company more involved in our community.”