Nurturing charitable causes through fund raising campaigns - includes related article on alternative funds

HR Magazine, Oct, 1997 by Kate Walter

Alternative funds provide more ways for employees to target their donations to special causes and interests.

Workplace giving campaigns have come a long way since the days when United Way was the only game in town.

Today employees are giving not only to United Way charities but also to nontraditional and smaller charities through alternative funds. Also known as federations, alternative funds include many small and local nonprofits that serve a broad spectrum of interests including local community groups, international relief, medical research, the environment and other national causes.

"What's driving the alternative funds movement is choice," says Kalman Stein, president of Earth Share, a Washington, D.C.-based federation of 44 national environmental nonprofits and local partners. "Employees in the 1990s are used to having choices in almost every phase of their lives. people have diverse interests and want to express them. Why shouldn't the company facilitate that?"

"Alternative funds offer greater community involvement," says Robert Bothwell, president of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group.

He estimates that 15 percent of funds raised in the workplace now go to about 200 alternative federations, each with a minimum of about 15 member charities. About 15 of the 200 federations operate nationally; the rest are local. "They're all making pitches to employee drives," he says. "Employees responded because they were interested."

Even employees giving to United Way are being more selective - 85 percent of United Way collections are now designated for specific recipients.

Employers offering alternative funds usually run side-by-side campaigns including United Way and various newer federations. Pledge cards signed in the fall authorize regular paycheck deductions starting in January.

COMBINED CAMPAIGNS

At its corporate offices in Arlington, Va., the Gannett Co. media chain opened up its campaign to include alternative funds in 1993.

Prior to that, from 1988 to 1991, more than 60 percent of employees participated in Gannett's fundraising campaign, but that percentage plummeted to 31 percent in 1992 after the United Way controversy and resulting negative publicity.

"What happened with United Way really affected overall giving. People became skeptical," says Cyndi Makowski, supervisor of headquarters personnel. Gannett now offers its 500-600 Arlington employees the option to participate in United Way and America's Charities. Among the latter's 80 national charities are FARM AID, the Humane Society, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. Gannett also allows employees to designate any other agency or nonprofit organization, and it outsources the administration to the United Way.

"We call it a combined campaign," says Makowski. "Employees can give to whomever they want. If they cannot find the charity, they can write it in. It's about giving employees a choice, and we reinforce that every year."

Gannett has coordinators for each department who distribute the materials and make sure employees are aware of their choices. The company plans to automate its pledge sheets by working with its MIS department to create an automated system via computer diskettes or email; that system would eliminate pledge sheets with carbon copies.

"Our combined campaign is low key," says Makowski. "We do not pit one department against another; we do not make employees reach a certain goal; we do not do a lot of recognition. That's because it's a personal choice. We are a vehicle but don't want them to feel obligated."

SUPPORTING EMPLOYEE INTERESTS

"We were exclusively United Way for many years," says Doug Belzer, senior vice president of operations for Foote, Cone & Belding, a Chicago-based advertising firm with about 600 employees. "But a lot of employees wanted to give to things of special interest to them."

Belzer says the firm initially resisted changing but, over time, employee giving slipped off. The company informally surveyed small groups of employees about their interests and found that environmental causes were popular. So Foote, Cone & Belding added Earth Share to its United Way campaign in the early 1990s.

"We have a lot of creative people in our industry and many of them have a high interest in the environment," says Belzer. "The dilemma was what environmental groups to pick and how to do this simply. Earth Share was an easy way to add a lot of environmental interests under one roof. They worked with us and we worked with the payroll system; it was very smooth and easy to implement." In addition to Earth Share, the company has added Volunteers of America and the Off the Street Club, a Chicago community center.

The campaign is handled in-house by the HR department. Each year, the company rotates which charity is listed first in literature given to employees.

Employee feedback has been very positive, says Belzer. "The other thing that happened was that the giving plan was converted from a company plan to an employee plan, and that was a big psychological shift. We are now at record giving levels with all our charities. That's because there's something for everyone. As a result of these changes, the United Way became more flexible and allowed designations."