How to Build an Employee Giving Program That Inspires Participation
When building an employee donor relations plan, be sure to start with one important mindset shift: This is not a standalone strategy. Your plan should supplement your broader fundraising efforts, not replace them. Your annual giving strategy, your campaign priorities, your advancement infrastructure. All of this still matters. This plan sits alongside and strengthens all of it.
Employees are not simply another donor segment, they are something entirely different. They are your insiders. They are closest to your organization’s mission. They see the impact in real time. And because of that, they have the potential to be your most credible, most authentic, and most powerful donor group.
However, at many institutions, they are one of the least intentionally stewarded audiences, and that is the opportunity.
This is About Participation, Not Dollars
When you build an employee giving plan, your primary goal is participation, not dollars. That distinction matters more than anything else you will do. The moment you shift the focus away from dollars, everything changes. Your messaging becomes more inclusive. Your strategy becomes more culture driven. Your success becomes something everyone can be part of. You are not trying to identify your top employee donors. You are striving to build a culture where giving is normalized. Where participation is expected.
Where people feel like, “This is just what we do here.” When you get that right, the results can be dramatic. I have seen participation rates go from almost nothing to near 100% with the right messaging and structure in place.
When you can say, “100% of our faculty and staff give back,” that tells a story no campaign total ever could. It says: the people who know this organization best believe in it enough to invest in it.
Reframe the Ask: Their Work Already Matters
Here is what makes this audience complex: Employees are already giving to your organization. They are giving their time, energy, expertise, and careers. When you ask them to also give financially, your ask is something different than your ask of any other donor group. And they feel that. This is why you will often encounter the mindset: “This is my job. This is not where I give.” That is not resistance, that is perspective. It is exactly why impact storytelling matters more here than anywhere else. You must help them see that their work is not just work. Their work is meaningful, it is changing lives, it is part of something bigger.
Whether you work in a hospital, university, or nonprofit, your faculty and staff’s role contribute to outcomes that matter. Their giving is an extension of that impact, not a duplication of it. In many ways, this group is your most significant donor audience because they are contributing in multiple ways. Through their profession and through their philanthropy. That deserves to be acknowledged clearly and consistently.
This Audience Is Paying Attention (Use That to Your Advantage)
Employees are not passive recipients of your communications. They are engaged. They are reading your emails. They are aware of institutional priorities. They are paying attention to what is going well and what is not. That can feel challenging, but it is also a major advantage. When people are already paying attention, you do not have to create awareness. You can focus on deepening connection.
You can move beyond basic messaging and into something more meaningful:
Why does this work matter right now?
What progress are we making?
Where are we going next?
How does their support move this forward?
This audience does not need surface-level messaging, they need authenticity, transparency, and relevance.
Build Camaraderie, Not Just Campaigns
If you want participation to grow, you must think beyond individual giving. You need to build camaraderie. One of the most effective ways to do that is through subgroups.
Every organization has natural groupings:
Departments or colleges
Clinical teams or specialties
Administrative units
Operations and facilities teams
These groups already have identity—lean into that. Create participation goals within units and recognize departments with high engagement. Introduce friendly competition among units. When giving becomes something a team does together, participation feels less like an individual decision and more like a shared experience. This is where culture starts to take shape.
Make It Visible, Fun, and Attainable
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is overcomplicating their employee donor relations plan. You do not need elaborate campaigns to drive participation. You need visibility and energy.
Some of the most effective tactics I have seen are simple, tangible, and fun:
Donut or coffee drop-offs for participating departments.
Mascot visits to celebrate milestones.
Popcorn deliveries in school colors to top-performing units.
Leaderboards or visual displays showing participation progress.
These moments do something important: they create conversation and make giving feel visible, and they reinforce that participation is recognized and appreciated. It is about creating an environment people want to be part of.
Leadership Messaging Is a Multiplier
Leadership plays a critical role in employee giving. But it must feel real. Employees want to understand why their giving matters. They want to know that it is appreciated. A message from a president or VP is not just about making the ask, it is about reinforcing shared belief. Just as important, leadership should be part of stewardship. A thank-you message after a gift, a short note, a quick acknowledgment. These are small touches, but they carry weight, and they signal that this is not transactional. It is relational.
Build a Full-Year Strategy (and Protect the Cadence)
Your faculty and staff donor relations plan cannot be a one-time push. It needs to be a yearlong plan. The most effective strategies include four to six touchpoints annually. Enough to stay connected without overwhelming your audience.
A strong cadence might include:
A kickoff message tied to mission and participation.
A mid-year engagement or participation push.
A stewardship touchpoint focused on impact.
A year-end thank-you and reflection.
One to two engagement-based moments or events.
The key is consistency. Communications should feel intentional, not reactive and every touchpoint should clearly identify the audience.
Faculty and staff should know:
“This is for me. I am receiving this because I am an employee donor.”
And it’s that specificity that builds identity.
Treat Them Like Donors, Not Just Employees
If you want employees to feel like donors, you must treat them like donors! That means creating experiences that are tied to their giving. These do not need to be large-scale events, but they do need to be intentional.
Examples include:
An employee donor appreciation lunch.
Invitations to select campus or organizational events.
Small gatherings with leadership.
Behind-the-scenes briefings or updates.
The key is clarity. These experiences should be positioned as donor exclusive which reinforces something important: They are not just employees. They are donors who also happen to work here.
Layer in Small, Meaningful Stewardship
Not every touchpoint needs to be big to be effective. In fact, some of the most meaningful moments are the simplest.
Think about layering in small, consistent stewardship:
Impact emails that show where gifts are making a difference.
Leadership updates that provide insight and transparency.
Digital content or behind-the-scenes stories.
Thank-you messages from students or beneficiaries.
At one university, for example, student callers connect directly with faculty and staff donors through thank-you calls and voicemails. That kind of personal outreach reinforces impact in a way that feels real and immediate. These are the moments people remember.
Use Recognition to Reinforce Culture
Recognition for this audience should be visible, but thoughtful. You are not trying to create pressure. You are trying to create pride.
Simple options work well:
Certificates of giving.
Window clings or office decals.
Department-level recognition.
Digital badges.
These signals normalize participation. They show that giving is part of the culture, and they allow people to feel connected to something bigger than themselves.
Measure What Actually Matters
Success here is not about dollars. It is about participation.
Track it consistently:
Overall participation rate
Participation by department or unit
Year-over-year growth
First-time vs. returning donors
Look at engagement:
Email performance
Event attendance
Response to participation challenges
Stewardship interactions
Even tracking simple touchpoints, like thank-you calls or acknowledgments, can help you refine your approach over time. This is not a one-time effort; it is something you build and improve year over year.
Employee Donor Relations Is About Belief
At its core, your employee donor relations plan is not about tactics. It is about belief. Do your employees believe in the mission enough to invest in it themselves? When the answer is yes, everything else becomes easier. Fundraising becomes more credible, messaging becomes more authentic, and your organization becomes stronger from the inside out. The people who know it best are also the ones who believe in it most, and that is the kind of donor story worth building.
Keep Learning with DRG
Looking for more ways to strengthen your donor relations efforts? DRG offers live webinars, bootcamps, workshops, and conferences throughout the year covering stewardship, recognition, donor communications, and more. Join us to explore new ideas, learn practical strategies, and connect with fellow donor relations professionals.
Written by Holly Kizer
