Workplace Giving Campaigns

 EarthShare New England partners with hundreds of corporate, federal and public workplaces across the country to give employees the choice and satisfaction of supporting vital environmental programs and initiatives. Our workplace campaigns boost employee morale, help establish a workplace as an environmental leader, and protect our natural resources.

We maintain a set of frequently asked questions about workplace giving campaigns, and encourage you to submit more of them to us at info@earthsharenewengland.org.

Resources

• Our Workplace Giving Partners
• How to Host a Successful Workplace Campaign [PDF]
• Benefits Of Workplace Giving Campaigns 
• EarthShare in the CFC (Combined Federal Campaign)

Frequently Asked Questions

Workplace giving is a means by which employees donate to charitable organizations of their choice, primarily through payroll pledges. Once a year donors decide which issues are most important to them and contribute a portion of each paycheck to their favorite charity or charities. With EarthShare, YOU decide who your donation goes to; we don't make that decision for you.

Donations through workplace giving enable EarthShare's member organizations to spend less time fundraising and more time working toward a healthier environment!

Employees are presented with charitable giving options, typically once a year, and they may then pledge any amount they wish to be automatically sent to the charities of their choice.  It’s that easy.

Our experienced staff will :

• Assist your workplace with launching a new campaign or adding EarthShare to an existing one;
• Provide brochures, pledge forms, videos, posters, speakers and all other elements necessary for running a successful campaign;
• Supply electronic lists, graphics and other elements for an online campaign; and
• Assist in creating campaign pledge and financial reports, and more.

EarthShare distributes your gifts to America’s most respected environmental and conservation charities.  You can view the full list or member organizations.

EarthShare requires current and prospective charities to meet numerous criteria before they are considered for membership in the federation. You can view the full list of eligibility criteria.  We also review and evaluate all of our member organizations annually.

EarthShare offers three ways to give:

• Our unique One-Gift option: EarthShare will share your gift among all the member charities listed in your campaign.
• One Charity: You may give directly to your favorite charity through EarthShare.
• Our multi-gift option: You may choose one or more charities to benefit from your gift.

You can read more about your giving options below.

After workplaces have concluded their giving campaigns, they send EarthShare the results. EarthShare then reports to its members the amount of the donations they will receive, allowing them to budget with confidence.

EarthShare has one of the lowest overheads of any comparable federation. Only 4.9% of our budget goes to administrative and fundraising costs; the remainder, 95.1%, goes directly to support our member charities. Overhead rates vary for EarthShare state affiliates.

Raising funds through payroll contributions in workplace giving campaigns is many times cheaper than direct mail (the most common way environmental groups gain new members). With lower fundraising costs, more money can go directly to programs and services.

No. EarthShare member charity eligibility guidelines prohibit this, and federal law requires that our benefiting members not engage in political activity as it applies to 501(c)(3) charities.  Though these organizations may engage in public advocacy work, they must raise other funds to support political work.

If your local United Way campaign doesn’t include EarthShare in its list of eligible charities, find out if your campaign has a write-in option. Many campaigns allow you to designate your donation to any eligible, tax-exempt charity. If yours does, write “EarthShare” in the space provided on your pledge card, along with our address: 675 VFW Parkway, #167, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467. ** Please be sure to ask your campaign manager about any minimum gift amount requirements imposed by United Way; some United Ways won't honor your designation to EarthShare unless you give at a certain level. **

 EarthShare still not available to you?  Ask your employer about adding choice to your campaign. EarthShare runs side-by-side with United Way and many other federations in hundreds of campaigns across the country – Contact us to learn how easy it is to add choice.

No, it doesn't.

Health, environment, diversity, international development and relief, and social justice issues affect companies, communities, and families.  But did you know that these concerns are not fully addressed through the traditional United Way-only campaign?

Because most employee groups include a diversity of race, culture, gender, age, interests and beliefs, employees should be able to choose from a variety of charities that reflect their own interests. If your workplace would like to add new options to your campaign in addition to EarthShare's charities, we're happy to recommend Charities @ Work, a unified, combined campaign program featuring a number of federations that cover a broad range of issues.

Working with Charities @ Work means a workplace can expand its giving campaign to include important federations like EarthShare whose member organizations address local, national, and international issues through a single source rather than multiple contacts. C@W helps its partners retain the efficiencies of a single option workplace campaign.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help set up an EarthShare / Charities @ Work campaign at your company.

Every year, EarthShare New England participates in the largest workplace giving campaign in the world: The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), a campaign tailored to meet the needs of federal employees, including U.S. postal workers and the U.S. military at home and overseas. To give to EarthShare New England through the CFC, simply enter CFC code #87639 on your pledge card during the next fund drive. If you would like to donate specifically to our member organizations through the CFC, please enter the appropriate charity code(s) on your pledge card, which you can find on our Combined Federal Campaign page.

 Yes! All contributions to EarthShare and EarthShare organizations are tax-deductible.

You’d be surprised just how far a dollar goes. For example, giving two dollars per pay period could help to protect one acre of tropical rainforest, provide a day of support for a crew of students volunteering in our national parks. Regardless of your budget, you WILL make a difference.

You have the option every year during your workplace campaign to renew your support and change your gift recipients.  You can also call us if you wish to stop a gift or switch an allocation.

Yes! You’re always welcome to contact EarthShare (info@earthsharenewengland.org or 800-875-3863) to talk, have your questions answered or arrange an in-person meeting.

We understand! You’ll be surprised just how easy an EarthShare campaign is to maintain and monitor. We give you all the tools you need to implement payroll contributions and talk to your staff about making contributions.  We can also advise you about campaign best practices and online giving options that can help streamline the pledging and record-keeping process.

Plus, EarthShare can help connect you with online giving solutions to help you offer an effective electronic giving campaign!  Just get in touch to learn more.

Employer matches are left up to the discretion of the workplace. To encourage your employer to match employee donations, we recommend showing them the benefits that come with carrying out a successful EarthShare workplace giving campaign. You can also contact us (info@earthsharenewengland.org / 800.875.3863) to receive complimentary brochures and fact sheets.

No, there is no fee involved in offering the EarthShare program.

If your company or workplace is headquartered in a state where EarthShare has an affiliate, you can feel free to contact them directly for assistance.  But you can always contact our national office and we’ll coordinate everything on your behalf.