Three reasons why workplace fundraising is a valuable engagement tool

Three reasons why workplace fundraising is a valuable engagement tool

Whether it’s a sponsored run, cycle or walk or a virtual bake-off or coffee morning, workplace fundraising is a great way to engage employees, boost morale, improve communication and ingrain the values and culture of your business, all while raising money for a worthy cause. 

With more teams working remotely, it’s harder for businesses to ensure that their employees are happy, fulfilled and have a sense of belonging at work. On top of that, more people are now looking at business’ fundraising and charity commitments when choosing an employer as they want to work for a business that’s aligned with their personal values and interests.

Fundraising is therefore a really valuable engagement tool, because not only are there many fun and inclusive ways for your employees to participate regardless of where they’re working, it encourages teamwork and gives employees the opportunity to make an impact.

Let’s take a further look at the value of workplace fundraising, how it can positively impact employee engagement and be used to unite a dispersed workforce.

Encourages generosity and kindness in the workplace

When you give your employees frequent opportunities to help those in need and act in a generous, selfless way, you’ll encourage those values to be echoed in the workplace as well. This is because when an individual does a good deed, they become happier and more fulfilled. They are then motivated to repeat the action or behaviour to replicate those same positive feelings. 

There is also evidence to suggest that kindness is contagious and that when someone is treated with consideration it positively affects how they interact with others. In fact, this article finds that people who were treated kindly at work were in turn 278% more generous to their co-workers. So, not only does one generous act lead to further generosity from that individual, but also from others around them too. This will ultimately benefit the culture and image of the business and the fulfilment of its employees too.

A workplace that champions generosity, kindness and compassion is key to building a united and happy workforce as well as nurturing relationships between colleagues. Helping a colleague who may be struggling with their workload will have a hugely positive effect on that individual’s employee experience and job satisfaction – it will help prevent stress and burnout, help them maintain a healthy work-life balance, boost their social wellbeing and help them grow and develop in their role. 

This study in particular draws light to the association between generosity and workplace benefits. It states that acts of kindness can lead to decreased job burnout and increased wellbeing and also shows a link between generosity and more contentment and longevity in relationships. A further study in the academic journal, Emotion, shows that people on the receiving end of acts of kindness from others reported a sense of camaraderie, a feeling of being in control, and significantly higher levels of happiness. 

Boosts employee social wellbeing

Fundraising activities provide your team with the chance to bond in a way they can’t always do in the context of work – especially with more teams working flexibly. Teams messages and Zoom meetings are efficient in getting the job done, but often don’t provide much opportunity for social interaction – particularly between colleagues who don’t directly work with each other. That’s why it’s important to provide them with plenty of opportunities to interact with their colleagues in an out-of-work setting. By encouraging your employees to get involved in workplace fundraising, you’ll be giving them the chance to take a break from their work, interact with their colleagues, work towards a shared goal and enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed, fun and fulfilling environment. By providing this new level of social interaction, you’ll do great things for their social wellbeing as well as their overall engagement and morale. You’ll also be contributing towards company culture and levels of productivity as, according to Gallup, feelings of employee isolation can reduce productivity by up to 21%.

Workplace fundraising that involves collaboration such as a quiz night, a sports relay or other team events can improve communication, build bridges between employees from all corners of the business and even help to make workdays more enjoyable in the long run, as employees can look back fondly and bond over the shared experience. An employee who has enjoyable social interactions with their colleagues will be more likely to feel like they belong which will make them more loyal to the business and they will therefore stay at the business longer. Plus, by giving back to the community through fundraising efforts, your employees will feel more valued as a member of, and more connected to the wider social environment, further boosting their wellbeing.

Increases awareness of your corporate values & commitments

Workplace fundraising is a great way to demonstrate and truly embed your business’s corporate social responsibility strategy – this includes the causes it’s committed to, the values it wants to promote and the overall impact it has on the wider community. If executed correctly, a business’ CRS can positively affect its reputation, help attract talent, engage its current employees and even lead to increased profits. But an effective CRS requires communication, clear goals as well as frequent opportunities to demonstrate awareness of its commitments – which workplace fundraising initiatives are great for.

In more recent years, it’s become more of a priority for individuals to choose an employer that has values that align with their own. Therefore, creating opportunities to actively help causes that your employees have a personal interest in will boost their engagement, morale and ultimately their loyalty to your company as they’ll be able to have a meaningful impact on areas they care about. In fact, according to Forbes, 76% of companies believed they ended up with more engaged employees as a result of their CSR programs and according to these statistics, 54% of employees who are proud of their company’s contributions to society are engaged. 

Final thoughts

At peoplevalue, we have taken part in a number of fundraising activities for charities and initiatives that our team support, including Movember, Macmillan and Save the Children. Whether it involves a bake-off, the PV gents growing a moustache or coming together to wear our Christmas jumpers, these fundraising events provide a great opportunity for our team to come together and support important charities, strengthening our internal community and culture. 

Our client Civica also recently raised £10,000 in aid of the devastating effects of coronavirus in India – where they have friends, family and colleagues. Using our technology, employees came together to generously donate points they had been rewarded to the cause. You can read more about it here.

To find out more about how we help businesses drive their values and culture as well as support the wellbeing needs of their employees, check out our employee engagement hub, spaces.