In past posts we have discussed how participating in a charitable cause can help with employee retention, especially among Millennials. Giving employees a chance to give back to their communities also helps to instill a sense of pride in themselves and their organization. They are proud to work for an apartment community that supports philanthropic programs, which can lead to increased loyalty.
A toy-drive is a perfect opportunity to get your employees and residents involved in a great cause. Below we have provided tips on running a successful toy drive for your apartment community that will help improve overall employee and resident satisfaction during the holiday season!
Step 1: Pick a charity to donate the toys to. The charity will have specific things they are looking for, such as age groups or gender, and give you guidance on what to ask your employees and residents for. Popular charities include Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, and the YMCA. It is important that the Apartment Community Director pick the charity and not let the staff deliberate, charities can be really personal to employees and you don’t want anybody being disappointed that their cause didn’t get chosen.
Step 2: Call a meeting of your employees and reveal the exciting news that your apartment community will be organizing a toy drive for needy children in your city! Assign jobs to each employee so they feel involved in the effort. Your staff will run the drive and be in charge of getting the residents involved. Jobs that need to be assigned include:
* Charity Ambassador: the person is in charge of communicating with the chosen charity and then relaying the instructions and goals to the rest of the team. The Charity Ambassador will be the point-person for any information needed for the other Ambassadors to do their jobs. Make sure the person you give this job to is enthusiastic, has strong leadership skills and is organized.
* Advertising Ambassador: the person in-charge of printing and making the flyers to alert residents and also provide content such as pictures of incoming toys and other images for use on your social media.
* City Ambassador: if you choose to involve the city your apartment property resides in, this person will be in charge of advertising with local papers and businesses to let city residents know where they can drop off donations. Ask businesses for prizes like discounts, coupons, or gift cards to encourage donations.
* Transportation Ambassador: the person in charge of transporting donations to the charity. If you are involving the city, this person would coordinate with local drop-off points and the Charity Ambassador to collect the donations and get them to the charity.
* Volunteer/Holiday Party Ambassador: You may choose to have the drive stretch over a period of time, with it culminating in a resident holiday party to end the drive and celebrate everyone’s efforts. In this instance, you may want to have residents volunteer to help organize the donations on that big day. The Volunteer Ambassador would coordinate the holiday party and organize the volunteers for that day.
Step 3: Decide on a weekly meeting time so your team can stay on-track. The Apartment Community Director will be present at all meetings to make sure everything is running smoothly. The Charity Ambassador will run the meetings and make sure all Ambassadors are doing their parts.
There you have it! The key to a successful charitable campaign is to make sure everyone is confident in their positions and keep everyone on track with praise, motivation, and weekly check-ins. You may also want to surprise your team with a little gift at the end of the drive for all their hard work.
By providing your apartment employees the opportunity to give-back during the holiday season, you are improving their overall experience with your apartment community. Above all, your property is helping others in need, which is the most important goal of all!