The Nonprofit FAQ

What should we say to our employees about philanthropy?

Theodore Richard Hart [Mailto: TRHART@aol.com] wrote in October 1994: We would like to prepare a short presentation to give during each employee orientation session, discussing the importance of Philanthropy at our institution and the options employees have to support it themselves. Does anyone have any ideas, comments, suggestions on this topic? Does anyone have any sample discussion points or employee brochures? Jim Caplan replied: I still remember some bad and some good presentations about giving something back to the community. The key is influencing people to WANT to give, not feeling like they HAVE to give. Unfortunately, I've seen more of the latter. Also, United Way does a very good job of persuading employees to participate in payroll deduction plans. You might check with their local marketing/campaign staff.