Development (Fundraising)
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August 13, 2020 10:36 am
Does anyone have alternatives to campus incentives for your employee giving campaigns? I learned at TSPRA that we are no longer allowed to offer campus wide incentives per the attorney general. For example if 75% of employees on a campus donated the foundation would provide breakfast and lunch for the entire campus. What can we do instead?
August 13, 2020 3:00 pm
That's correct, Brittany. You shouldn't offer incentives that rely on a percentage of the staff to participate, but you can offer incentives that are tied to the individual's level of giving. We offer a staff drive "soft" t shirt for staff donors of a minimum of $6 monthly (or $72 annually) and a Cornerstone Club sign and shirt for those who give a minimum of $9 monthly (or $108 annually) or more. I've attached a picture of the Cornerstone Club sign. Our staff drive shirt is typically one with the district's theme on it and our MEF logo. Other EFs offer a wider array of gifts, but we have been very successful with these two incentives.
August 21, 2020 10:04 am
You may be wondering about the background regarding the law regarding solicitation of campus staff. Here is the link to the original bill from 2011. It basically says that you can't coerce employees to give or require them to attend meetings where they will be solicited to make charitable contributions. Following that law, the House Education Committee Chair requested a general opinion for clarification on the law as to what charities could and could not do under this law.
The attorney general's opinion is attached to this post. It clarified many things, but some areas are still a bit unclear. The two main area of concern for most EFs are when you can make a presentation for support and what you can offer as a reward.
My takeaways:
Presentation: You CAN make a presentation at convocation or a faculty meeting to talk about all of the great things your EF has done for the district. You can tell them they will see forms in the mailbox, or an email with links to give, etc. You just shouldn't pass the bucket for donations during the meeting, glare at people who don't give, etc.
Recognition: Requiring 100% staff participation at the campus or district level in order to receive a "treat" such as a breakfast or jeans day or something is problematic because this will likely cause staff members to coerce others, and you don't want that to happen either. You CAN recognize donors for gifts they make (t-shirts, stickers, etc.) but it should be a gift or recognition that doesn't rely on the actions of others. I would carefully consider any message that contains a 100% requirement for any behavior.