2026 CAMPAIGN TOOLKIT
80 Years More.
Start With Your Team.
Your central space to plan, promote, and lead a United Way campaign. Whether you are bringing together a small nonprofit office, an entire workplace, or a community fundraising event, our team is here to help you get started and keep things moving.
Have a question or an idea? Email campaign@unitedwaygbacc.org.
A Local Campaign.
A Shared Future.
Each year, United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County’s Annual Campaign brings people, businesses, and organizations together to address local needs and create lasting opportunities for our neighbors.
A major part of that effort happens through workplace campaigns: coordinated opportunities for employees to learn about United Way, make a gift, volunteer, and see how their contributions support the community around them.
Campaigns can include payroll giving, one-time donations, kickoff presentations, team challenges, volunteer projects, and educational conversations. You can also get involved by hosting a golf tournament, auction, or another fundraising event benefiting our United Way—and we can help you plan it.
Our 2026 Campaign Theme
80 Years More
For 80 years, United Way has brought people and resources together to strengthen our community. This year’s theme honors that legacy, shares the impact happening today, and invites everyone to invest in what comes next.
It is a community invitation to build on what we have accomplished together.
The People Behind the Campaign
Too many of our neighbors are working hard and still struggling to afford the basics. Some are ALICE—Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed—households earning above the poverty level but not enough to cover essential expenses. They are coworkers, neighbors, and families who help make our community run.
United Way brings people and resources together to respond to immediate needs and build pathways to lasting stability. Through locally driven, volunteer-guided investments, your campaign supports work across four connected areas:
Build a Campaign That Fits Your Team
There is no single campaign format that works for everyone. Start with your people, your schedule, and your goals. We can help you choose the right activities, giving options, and level of support.
START WITH THE BASICS
Is It Your First Campaign?
You do not need a large event or budget. A clear invitation, a simple way to give, and a few thoughtful reminders can make a strong campaign.
- Choose a coordinator and a leadership supporter.
- Set campaign dates and explain how employees can participate.
- Share a short presentation, video, or local impact story.
- Provide an approved giving link or paper pledge form.
- Follow up, thank your team, and share the results.
CONNECT YOUR TEAMS
Multiple Sites, Departments, or Shifts?
Build a central campaign team with champions who can reach employees at each site, campus, department, or shift.
- Give each team a clear role and shared timeline.
- Coordinate leadership messages and employee communications.
- Bring HR, payroll, finance, and IT into planning early.
- Offer activities that work for different schedules.
- Agree on reporting and team recognition before launch.
BRING YOUR IDEA
Planning a Fundraising Event?
A golf tournament, employee lunch, reserved-parking auction, or community event can introduce more people to United Way and support your campaign.
Ask about customized pledge and credit card giving pages, event registration, Zeffy and OneCause support, QR codes, and on-site payment collection with tap-to-pay devices or card readers.
We will help confirm the setup, responsibilities, available equipment, and any costs before you promote the event.
PLAN FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP
Are You a Funded Nonprofit Partner?
If a workplace campaign is part of your grant requirements, we can help you build an approach that fits your staff size, capacity, and schedule.
Complete your campaign by December 31, 2026, or have a campaign plan in place with our Resource Development team by that date. Contact us early to coordinate next steps and confirm any requirements specific to your grant agreement.
A staff conversation, accessible giving options, and thoughtful follow-up can be a practical place to start.
Make participation welcoming. Individual giving is voluntary. Invite employees to learn, give, volunteer, and participate without pressure. Celebrate collective effort while respecting each person’s privacy and circumstances.
Your Campaign Resources
Open the sections below for practical tools and support throughout your campaign. Download materials, explore ideas, request a speaker, and learn how to connect your team’s efforts with local impact.
01 • Prepare
Choose a coordinator and leadership sponsor. Agree on dates, goals, budget, giving methods, and reporting. Bring in HR, payroll, finance, and IT before launch.
02 • Launch
Share a leadership invitation and local-impact message. Offer a speaker or video, explain how to give, and reach every shift, campus, and remote employee.
03 • Keep It Going
Use concise reminders, impact stories, team activities, volunteering, or donation drives. Celebrate progress and invite questions without pressure.
04 • Close & Thank
Send a final reminder and thank everyone. Reconcile pledges and payments, separate event income from direct giving, and agree on outstanding follow-up.
Who Does What?
Coordinator + Leadership Sponsor
The coordinator owns the timeline and contact with United Way. The leadership sponsor endorses the campaign and helps remove scheduling or resource barriers.
Team, Campus + Shift Champions
Champions share approved messages, promote activities, and report progress. Supervisors help employees access campaign information without asking them to disclose private giving decisions.
HR, Payroll + Finance
Confirm deduction schedules, authorizations, payroll files, remittance, and reconciliation. An online pledge does not automatically connect to your payroll system.
Events + Communications
Assign owners for promotion, logistics, supplies, approved photos, and reporting. Small teams may combine roles; larger teams should identify a lead at each site.
Agree on Reporting Before Launch
Define participation, team credit, corporate matches, and event revenue. Do not count a pledge and its later payment as two gifts. Limit donor records to authorized staff and share aggregate progress with team leaders.
Download materials to plan and promote your campaign. Additional resources will be added as they become available.
Logos + Backgrounds
Print + Share
Keep Your Campaign On Brand
- Use the official United Way logo when referencing United Way funding or partnership.
- Do not stretch, recolor, or alter the logo. Keep it legible and proportional alongside other funders.
- Send co-branded drafts for approval before printing or distribution.
- Need a digital logo, custom flyer, or email wording? Ask us for the right format.
Use videos in kickoffs, staff meetings, and emails to connect giving with local impact.
Our New 80 Years More Campaign Video
Previous Campaign Videos & Partner Stories
2025–2026: United Is the Way
A previous annual campaign message about coming together for local impact.
Featuring Dr. Lynda Villanueva
A 2024–2025 campaign message featuring that year’s Campaign Chair.
Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
A partner story about confidence and leadership.
Try the Experience Before You Launch
Explore our demo site to see how an online campaign can work. Coordinate testing with our team, use fictional information, and do not enter real payment details or submit a real gift for testing.
Tailored to Your Workplace
Ask about a campaign page, approved payment choices, department selections, and reporting. Available features depend on your organization’s setup.
Payroll + Direct Giving
Payroll giving requires employer coordination. Credit card or bank-payment options may involve a separate payment step after the pledge form. Explain that handoff clearly.
Test the Full Journey
Check links, QR codes, required fields, amounts, deduction schedules, confirmations, and payment handoffs. Test on a phone and your workplace network before sharing widely.
Protect Donor Information
Use approved giving pages and the agreed reporting process. Do not collect card numbers in email, spreadsheets, or sign-up sheets. Ask how authorized staff should receive pledge and payroll information.
Need Materials for Your Campaign?
We keep brochures, pledge forms, and a changing selection of giveaways at our office. Email requested items, quantities, event date, and pickup needs. Our team will confirm availability; requests are subject to inventory.
Online Request Form Coming After Training
The supply-request form is planned to be available after the September 10, 2026 training. For now, email campaign@unitedwaygbacc.org.
Plan Your Quantities
Share employee counts, sites or shifts, attendance, and distribution plans. For custom items, include budget and deadline so we can explore options.
Giveaways + Recognition
Consider welcome tables, thank-you items, team recognition, or participation activities. Confirm inventory and costs before promising items. Ask United Way to review prize-based fundraising plans before promotion.
Optional Staples Ordering
Explore co-branded merchandise through our Staples partnership. Reference United Way code #46045 and confirm pricing, production timing, and design approval. Using this partner is optional.
Request a special order. Confirm pricing and availability directly with the vendor.
Request a planning conversation, kickoff presentation, ALICE discussion, or leadership meeting. Requests are not final until confirmed by email.
Campaign Planning
Get one-on-one support for your timeline, giving choices, team structure, and reporting.
10–20 Minute Presentation
A short introduction for a staff meeting, shift change, or kickoff.
25–45 Minute Presentation
Allow more time for local impact, employee questions, and participation options.
45 Minute Leadership Meeting
Discuss partnership history, reports, and broader employee engagement.
More Ways to Engage
An ALICE Conversation
Learn about Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households—neighbors above the poverty level who still cannot afford basic household costs.
Clothing + Book Drives
Ask about new clothing for Clothing for Kids or new and gently used books for Little Free Libraries. Confirm current needs and delivery arrangements before collecting.
Volunteer Opportunities
Explore a Days of Caring project or another team opportunity. Share group size, schedule, interests, and accessibility needs to discuss a suitable fit.
Include the date, time, location or meeting link, audience size, presentation length, AV needs, and site-entry requirements with your request.
Media + Public Communications
Notify United Way in advance of media interviews, news stories mentioning our involvement, or other public-facing communications. Staff may join an interview or provide a quote when appropriate.
Mario Di Vetta, Marketing and Events Coordinator
mariodv@unitedwaygbacc.org · 832-926-4005
Bring Us Your Idea Before You Build It
United Way can help you explore registration, giving pages, auctions, and on-site collection. We have tools including Zeffy and OneCause, plus tap-to-pay devices and credit card readers we can bring to collect funds. Contact us early to confirm setup, staffing, equipment availability, and costs.
Zeffy
An option for donation pages, registration and ticketing, and auctions. Discuss a lunch fundraiser, employee activity registration, or simple online auction with our team.
OneCause
An option for auction and event fundraising, including mobile bidding and ticketing. Ask about reserved-parking auctions, donated experiences, or larger employee fundraising events.
Tap to Pay + Card Readers
Ask about on-site collection at a kickoff or fundraiser. Confirm devices, staff support, connectivity, the approved payment account, receipts, and reporting before the event.
Event Setup Checklist
- Share purpose, dates, location, audience, ticket prices, and event owner.
- For auctions, assign photos, descriptions, values, restrictions, and pickup instructions.
- Confirm payments, refunds or cancellations, receipts, and how proceeds reach United Way.
- Test network access, registration links, QR codes, and equipment.
- Assign follow-up for unpaid balances, item pickup, and final reconciliation.
Considering a raffle or another chance-based fundraiser? Contact United Way before buying prizes, selling tickets, or promoting it so applicable requirements can be reviewed.
From Gift to Local Impact
Your gift supports local programs serving more than 30,000 neighbors annually across the Greater Baytown Area and Chambers County. United Way invests contributions in trusted partners and local programs that strengthen families and communities.
01 • You Give
Employees and community partners invest in United Way.
02 • We Invest Strategically
Local priorities and volunteer-guided review help direct funding toward programs with measurable outcomes.
03 • Partners Deliver
Local nonprofits provide direct help, support, and opportunity.
04 • Lives Change
Children, families, seniors, and neighbors access support and greater stability.
What that can look like: Healthcare and mental health support; job training and financial stability; food, shelter, and crisis response; childcare and family support; youth learning and school readiness; and transportation to essential services.
Local Partners Putting Gifts to Work
Bay Area Homeless Services
Emergency shelter and support toward employment, stability, and a path forward.
Baytown Meals on Wheels
Meals, connection, and check-ins that support seniors remaining at home.
Coastal Gateway Health Center
Medical and behavioral health care, referrals, and connections that make care more accessible.
Communities In Schools of Baytown
Caring adults and practical school-based resources that help students stay engaged and move toward graduation.
Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
Opportunities for girls to build confidence, discover their voices, and develop leadership skills.
Hearts and Hands of Baytown
Food and practical support for neighbors balancing groceries, rent, medicine, and other basic needs.
Baytown Habitat for Humanity
A pathway to safe, affordable homeownership through partnership, education, and volunteer support.
Bay Area Rehabilitation Center
Therapy, training, and services that support independence for children and adults with disabilities.
Bridgehaven Children’s Advocacy Center
Coordinated, trauma-informed support for children who have experienced abuse.
Church Women United Child Care Center
Dependable, income-based child care that helps parents work, study, and build stability.
DePelchin Children’s Center
Counseling, foster care support, post-adoption services, and parent education.
The Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Safety, shelter, advocacy, counseling, and support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Bay Area Turning Point
Confidential advocacy, counseling, shelter, and safety planning for survivors of violence and abuse.
CASA of Liberty & Chambers County
Trained advocates who stand beside children in the court system and keep their needs in focus.
Chambers Community Health Centers
Health care close to home that helps reduce barriers of distance and cost.
Love Network of Baytown
Help with urgent needs, employment readiness, and connections to resources that support stability.
Common Questions
Where should a new coordinator start?
Schedule a planning conversation, choose dates and a leadership sponsor, and use the guide and checklist above. Also keep an eye out for our Employee Campaign Coordinator Training that we host every Fall.
What is required of a United Way funded nonprofit partner?
If your grant agreement requires a workplace campaign, complete it by December 31, 2026, or have a plan in place with our Resource Development team by that date. Ask us how to document your campaign and confirm any agreement-specific requirements.
Does every employee have to donate?
No. Individual giving is voluntary. Invite employees to learn, give, volunteer, or participate in other appropriate ways without pressure or public disclosure of individual amounts.
What is the Community Impact Fund?
It invests gifts across trusted nonprofit partners and local programs, allowing United Way to respond to pressing needs across our four focus areas.
Healthy Community: Food, health, and well-being.
Youth Opportunity: Education, literacy, and readiness for the future.
Financial Security: Tools, training, and resources for stability.
Community Resiliency: Crisis response, preparedness, and support during disruption.
Does support stay local?
100% of gifts to United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County stay local and support work across our 11-ZIP-code region; unless a donor chooses to make an approved designation elsewhere. Use the impact reports above to share local results.
Can employees choose where a gift goes?
Yes. Donors may designate gifts to eligible 501(c)(3) health and human service agencies serving our region or to any United Way in the United States. Each designation must be at least $100. No minimum applies to gifts directed to United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County, the Community Impact Fund, or an active United Way-hosted emergency fund. Provide the organization’s complete name, address, and designated amount when making your pledge. Ineligible designations or those below the required minimum will support the Community Impact Fund; United Way will attempt to contact the donor when contact information is available.
Designations are generally distributed quarterly based on funds received. Payroll collection adjustments may affect payouts, and cost recovery applies to designations to organizations that are not current United Way partners. Some regional or national workplace campaigns follow separate designation policies. Contact our campaign team to confirm eligibility and applicable adjustments before sharing campaign instructions.
Can someone give without payroll deduction?
Yes! You can support United Way through several giving options. Available choices vary by workplace campaign, and our team can help arrange gifts that are handled outside your campaign’s pledge form.
Credit Card, Debit Card, or Bank Payment
Use your approved campaign giving link to make a direct gift. One-time or recurring payments may be available. If your pledge form sends you to a separate payment page, complete that step to finish your gift—submitting a pledge does not necessarily process a payment.
Fee-Free Giving Through Zeffy
When you give through United Way’s approved Zeffy page, Zeffy covers platform and payment-processing fees, so United Way receives the full donation amount. Checkout may include a suggested contribution to support Zeffy itself. That contribution is optional and can be changed to $0. Review the total before completing your payment. Learn about Zeffy’s optional contribution.
Zeffy’s fee-free processing is separate from United Way’s designation policy; any applicable designation adjustments still apply.
“Bill Me” Giving
Prefer to pledge now and receive billing reminders? Where offered, select “Bill Me” and provide your preferred start date, billing frequency, and contact information. Options may include one annual payment, monthly installments, or quarterly installments. Follow the payment instructions provided with your bill, and contact us if you need to update your arrangements.
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
If you already have a donor-advised fund, you can recommend a grant to United Way through your DAF provider. Use the information below to identify the correct organization:
- Legal name: United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County
EIN: 74-1255656
Address: 5309 Decker Drive, Baytown, TX 77520
Please notify our campaign team and include your workplace campaign name with the grant recommendation when possible so we can connect the gift to your campaign. Confirm any intended restrictions with United Way and your DAF provider.
Interested in Opening a DAF Through GoFundMe?
GoFundMe Giving Funds offers a donor-advised fund that lets you contribute to a charitable account and recommend grants to eligible nonprofits over time. To get started, visit Giving Funds, select “Start a Giving Fund,” follow the account setup instructions, and review the terms before contributing. When you are ready to support United Way, search using our legal name and EIN above and confirm the recipient before recommending the grant. Adding money to your Giving Fund does not itself send that money to United Way ; you must also recommend the grant.
A Giving Fund is different from creating a public GoFundMe fundraising page. If you want to collect donations from coworkers through a public fundraiser, contact our team first so we can coordinate the recipient, campaign credit, and reporting.
Stock and Securities
You may also give stock or other accepted securities directly to United Way. Before initiating a transfer, contact our team for current brokerage instructions, DTC information, and the stock donation policy. Let us know your name, workplace campaign, and the securities you intend to transfer so we can identify and acknowledge the gift. Ask your financial or tax advisor whether a direct securities gift is appropriate for you and how to complete it.
Checks, Cash, and In-Person Payments
Contact our team to coordinate a check or cash gift and confirm delivery instructions. For campaign events, we can also discuss bringing tap-to-pay devices or credit card readers, subject to equipment and staff availability.
Need Help Choosing or Arranging Your Gift?
We can help confirm available payment options, coordinate gifts made outside the pledge form, and ensure your support is recorded with the correct workplace campaign.
Can United Way help with technology, giving pages, and event payments?
Yes! Our team can help set up customized campaign pages, online pledge forms, credit card payment pages, and QR codes that make it easier for employees to participate. Depending on your campaign, we can incorporate payroll giving options, department or team selections, campaign materials, and reporting needs.
We also offer support using Zeffy and OneCause for event registration, ticket sales, online auctions, and fundraising activities—from a simple employee lunch to a reserved-parking auction or larger campaign event. For in-person collection, we have tap-to-pay devices and credit card readers we can arrange to bring.
Contact us early with your ideas, timeline, and workplace requirements. We will confirm available features, setup responsibilities, reporting, costs, equipment, and staffing, and coordinate testing on your workplace network before launch.
Are campaign materials and giveaways guaranteed?
No. Available stock and quantities vary. Email your needs, event date, and expected attendance; we will confirm inventory and discuss custom items or costs where applicable.
You Do Not Have to Build It Alone
Bring us your dates, team size, ideas, and questions. We will help you choose a practical next step for your workplace.
Campaign planning: Kaylynn Clapper
Materials and media: Mario Di Vetta
General campaign support: campaign@unitedwaygbacc.org