Train your team of communicators to ensure a successful campaign. It can save time and increase the success of your campaign. Train communicators to help them:

• Feel confident in asking co-workers to give.
• Realize how important they are to the campaign
• Understand United Way and how it helps the community
• Answer questions and help others make informed decisions about giving.
• Personalize the benefits of giving
• Understand the logistics of their job.

Your United Way representative can train your communicators or assist you in training them. We recommend at least an hour on training. A shortened training agenda is available if that isn’t possible.

Use United Way materials for communicator training. Request materials from your United Way representative. Don’t overwhelm communicators with a big pile of handouts; use these for best results:

• Communicator Guide/Tally Envelope
• United Way General Campaign Brochure
• Payroll deduction pledge form
• United Way “Keep It Simple” Video
• United Way T-shirt, pen, logo pin or other item

1. Thank you (5 minutes)
From top leader(s) of your organization; also labor union leader, if applicable:

• Thank you for volunteering to help with our United Way campaign.
• You have our full support to take the time to do your job well.

2. Ice breaker (5 minutes)

• Activities that involve the group and help them feel comfortable;
• Share your personal reasons for volunteering on the campaign and ask them to share theirs.
• Have them pair up and list as many United Way agencies as they can in one minute.

3. Understanding United Way (20 minutes)

• Show a United Way campaign video.
• Hand out the campaign brochure
• Have a United Way representative answer questions.

4. How to ask for a donation (20 minutes)

• Ask questions and discuss:
  • who has solicited people before and how?
  • how have you been solicited in the past?
  • what works well and what doesn’t
  • why do you feel some people don’t give to the United Way?
  • market research shows that one of the most common reasons people don’t give is “no one ever asked me”; their job is to make sure everyone is asked.
• Review the “Communicator Steps to Success”; discuss each step and have United Way representative cover question and answer section.
• Hand out sample pledges form; answer questions about how to fill it out.
• Instruct communicators to get pledge forms as needed.

5. Campaign Logistics (5 minutes)
Explain and answer questions about:

• Procedures for pledge form collection
• Reporting dates to chart campaign progress
• Dates and times of campaign events
• Incentives for turning in pledge cards (prize drawings etc.)

6. End on a positive note (5 minutes)

• Show United Way video
• Thank communicators once again and give them a United Way T-shirt or other item to identify themselves as campaign volunteers.

1. Thank you (5 minutes)

2. Understanding United Way (5 minutes)

• Hand out General Campaign Brochure
• Have United Way representative explain how United Way works

3. How to ask for a donation (15 minutes)

4. Campaign logistics (5 minutes)

• Thank them
• Distribute United Way pins, T-shirts, mugs etc.

Tour a United Way participating agency to see funded programs in action. Have United Way representatives schedule the tour 2-3 weeks in advance.

Practice answering questions (20 minutes)

• Break into groups of three and assign a role for each person, potential donor, communicator or observer.
• Role-play in groups to practice answering questions in the Communicator information or handling objections to giving.
• Discuss the difficulty of questions. Have United Way representative clarify answers, as needed.
• Ask an employee who has benefited by the United Way funded program to share their personal story (10-15 minutes).
• Show one of this year’s campaign videos.
• Listen to a United Way agency speakers talk about how United Way dollars help people in need.