A successful campaign is one that everyone knows about and wants to be involved in; this is why promotions and incentives make a campaign exciting. It’s important to have information about your workplace fundraising campaign accessible. Display the posters given to you by Community Shares in prominent places. Place brochures in the lunchroom. Also check out our sample section for articles you can use in your company’s newsletter, an email to send out to all staff and a great plan for a 10 minute meeting to talk about your workplace fundraising campaign.

Your co-workers may be interested in pledging because it gives them a good feeling, but giving them an incentive to participate will probably turn them from a maybe to a yes. Below are just a few tips on some incentives you can offer at your workplace. Remember if necessary; make sure you get permission from the powers that be at your company. Incentives could either require returning a completed pledge form or a small participation fee that would be divided between all the organizations.

• Survey your employees to find out what issues are most important and promote targeted messages surrounding those issues (i.e. email factoids, newsletters, voicemail, payroll stuffers, etc.)
  
  
• Invite an agency executive to address a group of employees.
  
  
• Hold a group solicitation meeting.
  
  
• Hold a Raffle: Items could include baked goods, candy or even a prime parking spot, a jeans day/week, services by senior management (lunch, car wash, etc) and/or donated prizes.
  
  
• Ice Cream Social: Set up an ice cream bar with a variety of toppings, charge by the scoop.
  
  
• Baby picture contest: Have employees provide baby pictures of themselves. Collect the photos and have them try to guess who each photo belongs to for a prize.
  
  
• Casual Dress Coupons: Sell coupons for dress-down days. Be sure to date the coupons when they are used so that they can’t be used more than once.
  
  
• Jelly Bean Jar: Fill a large jar with jelly beans, M&Ms, Skittles, etc. Charge a small fee for participants to guess the number of beans in the jar. The person who is closest to the real number wins the jar.
  
  
• Bake Sale: A classic. Get a few people to bake cookies, brownies, cakes, breads, etc. Sell the goods as an independent fundraiser, or added to another event.
  
  
• Cola Drive: See who can raise the most money by collecting soda cans.