Make your charity a great workplace giving partner

One Million Donors strives to engage one million Australians in workplace giving. This cost-effective fundraising approach has the potential to transform the giving landscape in Australia and in many ways help  every charitable cause. Make workplace giving a strategic focus for your charity and benefit from this enduring funding model.

Since 2016, $5.1 million has been donated to Redkite through workplace giving, and that’s equated to 2000 families being helped through their child’s cancer journey.This demonstrates the collective impact of pre-tax payroll donations from generous staff across so many organisations.

Monique Keighery, Redkite, CEO

Help employers understand why they should invest in workplace giving

It’s Important to Their Employees
85% of employees feel it’s important to give back to the community through the workplace

It’s the Most Effective Way to Give
86% of employees would be more inclined to give through workplace giving knowing it’s one of the most effective ways for charities to fundraise

Their Employees Want to Give
63% would be happy to be automatically included in their employer’s workplace giving program

Cut out the Middleman
96% would feel happier giving to charity if they knew their donations went directly to the charity rather than via a for-profit fundraising agency. [1]

[1]  Australian Charities Fund 2014, Working Australians want to give through the workplace

A Selection of Charities who support One Million Donors

  • Australian Cancer Research Foundation
  • Australian Red Cross
  • Bush Heritage Australia
  • Caritas Australia
  • Companion Animal Network Australia (CAN)
  • Destiny Rescue
  • Heart Foundation Australia
  • Lifeline Australia
  • National Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Reach Out Australia
  • Redkite
  • Rural Aid
  • Save the Children
  • The Fred Hollows Foundation
  • The Salvation Army
  • The Smith Family
  • Unicef

The workplace giving Charity Toolkit

Becoming a Workplace Giving Ready charity

Download the free Workplace Giving Guide for Charities
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Donation Impact Reports

Download the free Four Step Guide for creating effective impact reports!
Download resource

Managing Workplace Giving enquiries from Employers

How to Identify Valuable Workplace Giving Partners - A free resource for charities
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Do you receive workplace giving donations?

Apply for a One Million Donors Supporter Mark for your Charity

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176,127 Australians collectively donated almost $80 million to charity through workplace giving in FY17, half of which was from employee payroll giving.
Australian Taxation Office workplace giving donations data

Not sure where to start? Here are some practical tips to help you. 

  • Deepen your relationship with existing business partners
    More than 80 per cent of employees want to give through the workplace but often don’t know they can. Talk to your current business partners about integrating a workplace giving model into their payroll system. Encourage your business partners to set a target for workplace giving, such as 30 per cent staff participation in the first year of the program, and run promotions and activities during Workplace Giving Month in June.
  • Engage new business
    Currently, under 5 per cent of Australian employees participate in workplace giving. With this huge opportunity for growth, work with your business partners to make workplace giving the foundation for every business partnership. Many business want multi-faceted relationships. Complement payroll giving with other elements including company matching, workplace fundraising events, volunteering, skill sharing and in-kind support. Look to industry leaders for inspiration. If just 10 per cent of working Australians donated $5 a week, an extra $300 million would be raised annually.
  • Pitch to the ‘decision-maker’
    Employers embrace workplace giving because they want to give their staff a greater sense of purpose at work and build a strong organisational culture. Workplace giving contributes to higher levels of employee engagement, greater pride, on-the-job motivation and a sense of contribution. Higher employee engagement has been shown to drive successful business outcomes.[2] Reach out to the decision-maker and share your business case. Once you have them on board, make it simple as possible for the business to support you through workplace giving. Share the free workplace giving DIY Guide, connect them with other business partners who have successfully implemented a workplace giving program, and share engaging content about the impact they can make through their workplace.  Let them know that there are professional organisations who can consult to them on how to implement a best practice program.
  • Identify workplace giving Champions and keep content fresh
    Working Australians want to know how their donations are being spent. Encourage and nurture relationships with workplace giving Champions and work with them to keep workplace giving ‘top of mind’ among employees. While you may want to communicate directly with the donors, research shows 83 per cent of employees prefer to receive communications about their donations directly from their employer.[3] Ask the business how and when they want to communicate the collective donation impact with staff – once or twice per annum is about right and ensure content is specific to the programs they are supporting.

    The thing that blew me away was one of our charity partners, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, invited their corporate partners to actually go on a tour of the Kinghorn Cancer Centre [in Sydney]. We were met by one of the research scientists and she took us into her lab and gave us a presentation of the work she has been doing…I thought, ‘oh gosh this is just diddlywinks; they’re actually saving lives.’

    Pamela Lee, Community Investment Relationship Manager, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

[2] Social Impact Hub 2015, Reviewing and Revitalising Workplace Giving, July 2015 p. 21

[3] Australian Charities Fund 2015, Workplace Giving DIY Guide

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