The Philanthropy Advantage Report 2025
Explore high-net-worth individuals’ views on the importance of philanthropy, and the role advisers can play leading more charitable giving conversations with their clients.
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Ella Walker - Winslow
Corporate Client Advisor
Employee fundraising is a powerful way for businesses to foster a positive workplace culture, increase employee engagement and reflect your corporate values. By offering flexible giving options and matching donations, your organisation can build a sense of shared purpose and pride, while supporting the causes that matter to you.
However, building a successful and sustainable employee fundraising programme comes with its own set of challenges, such as navigating governance and managing risk. Here are our top tips to help you kick-start or elevate your approach and ensure your efforts make a lasting impact.
Employee fundraising is a part of many responsible business strategies. Implementing giving programmes can enhance a company’s values and social purpose — creating a positive, inclusive workplace culture. As a result, they help strengthen employee engagement, role motivation and retention.
According to YouGov research, 47% of employees say that having an employer that supports charities increases their willingness to go the extra mile.
It is also important to remember that employee fundraising should not exist in isolation. It can strengthen the giving you already do as a business and help your employees feel a part of it.
People like to give in different ways and offering employees a range of options makes it easier for them to give in the way that suits them best.
Here are some ideas of how your employees could support their chosen charities:
The more flexible the options, the more inclusive and accessible the giving experience. This is especially valuable for remote workers, part-time employees, and those with different financial means.
For example, one of our financial services
clients offers volunteering opportunities, payroll giving and matching employee fundraising. In one year, they have already logged over 7,000 hours of volunteering, donated nearly £400,000 through payroll giving and already generously
matched around £23,000 of employee fundraising.
Matched giving is one of the most effective ways to boost participation. When employers match donations, it boosts the impact for charities and the communities
they serve. It also shows employees that their contributions matter, encouraging even wider participation across the business.
A tech business we support created a dedicated fund of pooled donations to respond rapidly to emergency disaster appeals. With this in place, they were able to launch fundraising within hours of an appeal.
The fund has raised over £50,000 for various causes — with every pound of this matched by the business to double the impact and show their commitment to their employees’ efforts.
Even the most generous employees may disengage if the process is confusing or time-consuming. That is why it is essential to simplify the experience. Clear, jargon-free communication, centralised information and automated processes, for example, payroll giving and impact tracking, can make a big difference.
Ensure you share regular updates and celebrate the impact on both the charity and employees, to build trust and keep people informed and inspired.
Trust is essential. Employees need to know that their donations are handled securely, compliant with regulations and delivered to the right place. As a business, you also have a reputation to protect.
Make sure you have clear internal policies in place, with guidance and expectations for employees who take part in any of your fundraising. This helps outline early on what activities are part of your fundraising initiative and which are not. Your organisation may benefit from external support to navigate compliance and tailor your programme to your culture.
Take steps to move beyond simply enabling employee fundraising — and start empowering your people:
1. Review your current programme to make sure it is easy to use, inclusive and visible.
2. Survey your employees to understand which causes matter to them and to learn what would encourage participation.
3. Collaborate with internal teams, such as HR, communications teams, to align messaging.
4. Celebrate progress by sharing impact stories and recognising employee contributions.
5. Plan for growth by seeking expert support to shape a strategy that works for your business, your people and the charities you support.
Our Corporate Team can help you explore the giving options that may work best for your employees. You can also learn more about our services, such as payroll giving or pooled Staff Charity Funds. Contact us
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Explore high-net-worth individuals’ views on the importance of philanthropy, and the role advisers can play leading more charitable giving conversations with their clients.
Explore how resilient the UK’s charity sector is, and uncover detailed insights into the views of charity leaders around the country.
Explore how UK businesses are shaping their communities and discover how your organisation can drive meaningful change.