In today’s busy world, finding time to contribute to causes we care about can be challenging. Workplace giving programs make this easy, offering a unique and impactful way to make a difference. These programs empower employees to support their favorite charities directly through their employers via automatic payroll deductions, fostering a culture of giving and a community of change-makers.
Why Workplace Giving Matters
When you participate in workplace giving, you are able to easily support your favorite charities
- Simplified Giving: Streamline the donation process and give without the hassle of doing it on your own. If you choose to support multiple non-profits, this eliminates the need for you to make multiple transactions.
- Increased Impact: Some employers match employee donations, doubling or even tripling the impact of individual contributors and allowing your support to go further.
- Enhanced Engagement: Companies that promote giving often see higher levels of employee engagement and satisfaction. When employees align their work with their values, they feel a stronger sense of purpose and connection to their organization.
- Stronger Communities: Workplace giving programs enable organizations to pool resources and support a range of causes. This collective effort helps address local and global challenges and creates a ripple effect of positive change.
- Tax Benefits: Contributions made through workplace giving are often tax-deductible, providing extra financial benefit.
How Your Dollars Help
Last year, Colorado employees made a significant difference in the lives and well-being of shelter cats! Thanks to these generous donors, the average gift amount made to local non-profits like us was $494 per contributor (source)!
When Cat Care Society receives donor contributions, we put the money directly into the care of our cats. Here are just some of the ways your dollars are at work:
- $500 pays for 20 days of care for a shelter cat — the average length of time before adoption.
- $300 covers the average cost of stay for a kitten’s care.
- $100 provides a year’s worth of arthritis medicine for 6 seniors.
- $50 buys two weeks of diabetic food for one cat.
- $25 pays for one neuter surgery.
- $5 pays for a FVRCP vaccine for one cat.
How to Get Started & Support CCS
The first step to participating as an employee is to check with your employer (try your supervisor or HR manager) to find out if they allow workplace giving and offer payroll deductions. If they do, you should receive a form where you can designate which charity you would like to support and how much of your paycheck should be deducted for donations. Then, you can rest assured that your funds are being provided to charities who need your support.
If your employer does not (yet) offer a workplace giving program, you can request that they offer it as a benefit! Encourage your colleagues to do the same; the more voices advocating for this benefit, the greater your chances are of getting it in place! Try out this sample template to send to your company’s HR contact:
Dear [HR Director Name],
One of the things I value most about [COMPANY NAME] is its commitment to community, and that is why I would like to suggest that we start a workplace giving campaign.
Workplace giving allows employees to make automated tax-deductible gifts through payroll deductions, and it is the highest yielding, lowest cost method of fundraising for non-profit organizations. In addition to boosting our company’s reputation and other benefits, workplace giving demonstrates [COMPANY NAME’s] support for the charitable interests of its employees, encourages teamwork and allows employees to assume ownership of a visible and important event.
Being able to give to charitable organizations that I care about through payroll deduction at the workplace is important to me, and I would appreciate it if our company would offer it.
Questions? Contact Ashleigh Leader, director of philanthropy, at aleader@catcaresociety.org or 303-237-4559 to learn more!
Cat Care Society has proudly participated in Community Shares of Colorado and the Combined Federal Campaign since 1997.
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What Do Other Employees Say About Workplace Giving?
The following quotes are direct from the mouths of local state employees who participate in the Colorado Combined Campaign (CCC) about the positive community impact of workplace giving:
- “I believe in giving back to causes that matter to me. It is encouraging to have the support of my organization.”
- “This makes it easy to help my community, and the charities are ones I believe in.”
- “I believe if we can, we all have a responsibility to help out others in need. I feel I’m just doing my part as I should. Besides, times change and maybe someday I’ll be the one in need and if that’s the case I’d like to think there’d be someone there to help me out.”
- “It is a convenient way to set up donations that I can have come out of my paycheck in small chunks which adds up for the organization by the end of the year. It is also really nice to be able to research new organizations that I haven’t heard of before.”
Together, Colorado employees can contribute to positive change in their communities, impacting lives and creating a better world. Start your contribution today!
