Your role is to motivate, encourage, and promote awareness and understanding of the Campaign. This includes explaining how federations operate. We encourage you to find a variety of ways to communicate information to your agency/campus. Consider hosting an event (or several) to increase awareness and promote enthusiasm. Above all, be available to answer questions about the campaign.
There is no requirement for how much or little time you need to spend on Campaign activities as a Coordinator. Your agency may have expectations for the amount of time you spend on Campaign activities so it is best to check with your agency to determine how much time you should allot for the Campaign.
Hosting an event is a helpful way to increase awareness about the Campaign and to generate enthusiasm! Having an event is usually not a significant money maker for the campaign - but it is a great way to keep it fresh in people's minds! Federation representatives can answer questions about how charity money is used, how programs are run and how the charity programs affect our communities. There are different ways to connect with participating charities. If you have questions about how best to use a federation representative at an event, please contact Jessica Mathias, Charitable Federation Representative on the Combined Charities Board, at 612-338-5577 or jmathias@oyh.org.
Our state statutes for the State Employees' Combined Charities Campaign require charities that wish to participate in the Campaign do so through federated funding organizations, which we call federations.
Federations are umbrella organizations for charities so they share and extend their resources to reduce administrative costs. Some federations are associations of charities with similar missions (like eradicating a disease, improving the environment, or promoting arts). Other federations are associations that serve a particular geographic area (United Way agencies).
Having support from management on a number of levels is helpful to your Campaign. When staff see and hear management talking about the campaign, supporting the Campaign, and attending campaign events - it implies their approval and support of the statewide, statutorily regulated, Combined Charities Campaign. It also implies their support of employees' time to attend these events.
Upper management can be involved in many ways. They can write emails or notices, that all staff will view, in support of the Campaign and campaign events. They can attend, host or emcee events. They can fund or sponsor an event. They can bring items to help support an event (baskets, treats, etc.).
Contributing through the Combined Charities Campaign maximizes gifts by allowing employees to take a small deduction from each paycheck or to spread out a larger donation throughout the year. One dollar per pay period translates into a $26 donation. Employees have the flexibility to decide how much to give to the charity from each paycheck (or they can make one or two donations from any paycheck(s)).
Part of your role as a coordinator is to help answer questions. There are many resources to help you with that! You can check this Combined Charities website or you can send an email to combinedcharities.mmb@state.mn.us.
At Designation Categories there is a list of federations that accept designations to any 501(c)3 charity. Some of these limit designations to charities within their geographic areas or focus areas (for example, health) so it is best to confirm their policy found on the website. In addition, federations may charge a small administrative fee to cover the cost of forwarding the money.
Once employees have determined which charitable federation they would like to use for a designation, employees use the State Self Service website to name the federation and pledge amount. Then they need to select the Designation/Acknowledgements button and follow the directions to provide information about the desired charity.
