Year-Round Fundraising Efforts Strengthen Community Impact

With summer half over and the fall fast approaching, planning is well underway here at United Way KW for our annual workplace campaign.

I’ve had a few individuals approach me over the past year to inquire why we’re placing increased emphasis on year-round fundraising efforts, instead of just focusing on our popular fall workplace campaign. There are several very good reasons for this shift.

The philanthropy model we’ve used for many years - one based largely on workplace campaigns - limits our ability to raise increased funds. Our community is made up of many diverse types of workplaces and we know some individuals simply aren’t being reached through our traditional workplace campaign efforts. As well, some organizations find that fall just isn’t the right time of year for them to run a fundraising campaign.

So, while our fall workplace campaign continues to be our single largest - and most publicly recognized - method of fundraising, we’re also consciously stepping out of this historical campaign model to engage donors year-round. Through additional practices such as direct mail campaigns, special events, text-to-give, and sponsorship opportunities, we’re working aggressively to diversify revenue sources so we can expand our impact on community issues.

Cathy Snyder
CFO/CAO