START A WORKPLACE CAMPAIGN
Across our corner of Connecticut, hundreds of local workplaces – from the largest corporate headquarters to the community-centered family businesses – run United Way campaigns because they understand how every pledge and commitment helps create a better, stronger community for all of us.
United Way makes it easy to get started. We provide communication materials, straightforward pledging and payroll deduction, turn-key engagement opportunities, and United Way staff support.
Your campaign can be as involved or simple as you can imagine; we encourage workplaces to do what’s right for their company culture. Through a United Way campaign, your employees will be able to get involved in and support causes they care about on their terms, and help our communities come back stronger.
We know our fundraising campaign and employee engagement will look very different as a result of the pandemic and ongoing economic uncertainty. But we can do this!
What United Way Has Accomplished and Where We Go From Here
Your support for United Way of Western Connecticut powers local solutions to the problems facing our communities to raise up our neighbors in need. At no time did we feel the strength of this local connection more than during the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.
Our struggling neighbors are counting on United Way and our generous donors, volunteers, and workplaces to address the crucial issues facing our community. From thousands of dollars in cash and food assistance to mobilizing volunteers to deliver necessities to the homebound, donations and volunteers were put to work helping those affected by the crisis across our region.
While the immediate crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we are working hard to REIMAGINE and REBUILD our community to be stronger and more RESILIENT. You can help United Way continue to be a beacon of hope and community strength for our region for the future.
Hard-working, low-wage ALICE families were hit very hard by the financial fall-out of the pandemic. 40% of people who make less than $40,000 per year lost their jobs in March.* By supporting United Way of Western Connecticut’s 2020 Campaign for the Community, you’ll be helping the people we count on every day—like child care providers and restaurant workers—get back on their feet.
*Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, on May 14, 2020
HERE’S WHAT UNITED WAY OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT HAS DONE SO FAR TO HELP OUR NEIGHBORS DURING THIS CRISIS:
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FOOD ASSISTANCE
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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
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VOLUNTEERS MOBILIZED
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CHILD CARE SUPPORT
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INFORMATION PROVIDED
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When the pandemic first hit, we RESPONDED quickly, getting food and funds to people in need within the first few weeks. Now we’re inviting you to help us work with community partners to RECOVER from the financial after effects, REIMAGINE how we can come together in new ways to move forward, and REBUILD the lives of people who were financially devastated so we’ll all be more resilient in the future.
United Way is focused on three things for the future:
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FOOD SECURITY. |
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CHILD CARE, EDUCATION, AND YOUTH SUCCESS. |
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STABILIZING ALICE’S FINANCES. * 2018 Federal Reserve Report on Economic Well Being |
Together, We Can Do This For Our Community.
JUST $10 A MONTH HELPS!
Employees committing to giving just $10 each month can help us get people back on their feet. You will make food and child care more affordable as people return to work after losing jobs and paychecks. And you'll support local agencies that keep your community strong by providing basic needs to those who need help right now.
United Way is the only organization focused exclusively on people hit hardest by this pandemic—the people working hard for low wages in essential jobs, like CNAs, child care providers, and maintenance workers. Your donation to United Way of Western Connecticut will help them weather the crises of 2020 and start to plan for a brighter future for their families.
Let's Get Your Whole Workplace Involved!
Workplace Giving and Volunteering: United Way Makes It Flexible, Meaningful, and Fun
This year, more than ever, we want to help local businesses and workplaces make a difference for the people who work hard to make ends meet in our corner of Connecticut. A new generation of workers are dedicated to supporting causes and their communities, and they want the flexibility to give from a variety of devices or via text. Social distancing means giving through technology is the new normal.
United Way of Western Connecticut offers workplace giving solutions that are as comprehensive or as simple as your needs. Whether you’re still working remotely or your colleagues are out in the field or at their desks, we have a solution that allow your company to make a difference for people who are struggling during these challenging times. See what we have to offer and we can work with you to create a custom solution that works best for you and your team.
Online giving is easy and straightforward using FrontStream technology to automate and run your workplace campaign online. Employees can make their workplace donations, seamlessly, online, and company administrators can access rich reporting and data.
Social distancing requirements have made on-site volunteering a little different this year, but we’ve still been able to conduct food drives, coordinate meal deliveries, and put volunteers to work delivering necessities to the homebound, while maintaining and observing safety protocols.
As the requirements for social distancing ease, we’ll be back to running our usual events, such as creating Martin Luther King Day Literacy Kits for students in elementary schools and STEM Fairs. United Way has successfully collaborated with many companies and corporations to organize corporate volunteer service projects. Let us know how we can customize an event for your workplace. To learn more, contact Stacy Schulman at 203.826.8479 or stacy.schulman@uwwesternct.org
We can also set up a single fundraiser for your employees through Mobile Cause. This is perfect for when you want to do a drive to support one of United Way’s community initiatives, like collecting donations for the Food Collaboratives or the ALICE Enrichment Fund, which pays for out-of-school activities for low-income children. Or you can set up campaigns for one-time giving events, like Giving Tuesday, or a special day of giving for your company, to celebrate a Founder's Day Anniversary, for example.
United Way has partnered with Salesforce to offer a comprehensive, full-featured online giving platform that lets your employees engage in philanthropy year-round. Philanthropy Cloud offers an easy-to-use, intuitive, and intelligent interface that allows you to run employee giving campaigns, while also offering volunteering opportunities and tracking participation.
We also can host an online auction and virtual events with ticketing for your company fundraising.
Payroll Deduction, Matching Gifts & Workplace Giving
Payroll deduction makes giving easy. Using our FrontStream digital platform or a hard copy employee pledge form, you tell us how much you’d like to give, and your employer then sets aside a portion of your earnings from each pay period to donate to United Way.
Matching gifts increase your donation. Many employers match their employees’ gifts, some by as much as 100%. For matching gifts:
1. Confirm - Ask your HR contact or your employer’s Charitable Giving department if they offer gift matching, or check your workplace intranet.
2. Complete - Print or request your company’s matching gift form, or submit via your workplace intranet. Review the program guidelines to see whether United Way is eligible. Note our name and address listed below, the date and amount of your gift, and remember to sign the form if required.
3. Submit - Forward your completed form to us and we'll take it from there. If you're not using a workplace intranet, you can email us at MatchingGifts@uwwesternct.org
You can mail your completed form/paperwork to:
United Way of Western Connecticut
Matching Gifts
301 Main St., Suite 2-5
Danbury, CT 06810
We’ll let your employer know that we received your gift and the company will send its matching donation directly to United Way of Western Connecticut. Please note that we are unable to confirm your donation with your employer if you gave anonymously.