Page 34 - ACF Young Australians Research Report

Recommendation 5:
Sensitivity towards Financial Concerns
Whilst increasing wages to boost participation in WGP is an unrealistic aspiration, participants do value employers offering to match donations so that their impact is doubled. It is also recommended to emphasise the tax advantages and convenience associated with Workplace Giving when promoting WGPs.
Recommendation 6:
Incentives through Awards and Competitions
Interview responses suggested that Young Australians are driven by tangible goals. Awards incentivise this group to give more because they feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. One suggestion is to create
a yearly competition between different teams and departments to see which team raises the most money through WGPs. Team rankings would be displayed on the company’s intranet monthly and the annual winner communicated via the annual report. This initiative would help put WGP at the forefront of the minds of employees and create a culture of giving.
Conclusion
The findings in this report strongly support the conclusion that Young Australians have an appetite for engaging in WGPs. It is critical to encourage this segment to donate and volunteer because they are next generation’s corporate leaders. While the report initially separated analysis by age, comparing Young Australians aged between 15-24 years and 25-35 years, it found no significant difference between the two groups in regards to their motivations to donate or volunteer.
Young Australians’ motivations to give can broadly be categorised into emotional connection, trust, visibility and financial concerns. Some key motivators include the convenience and tax effectiveness of WGPs, having their preferred charity included, their donations matched by their employer and being able to see the impact they were making as a team.
It is recommended that employers should involve their employees when selecting causes to support so that they align with those supported by their employees. When employees feel a personal connection with the charities supported by their employer, they are more likely to increase their level of participation with their organisation’s WGP. Ultimately this is likely to translate into higher levels of donations. Additionally, employees should be granted the freedom to both decide where their donations are directed as well as monitor the impact of their donation. Since Young Australians are highly technology savvy and social media focused, it is recommended that employers utilise these tools to engage employees.
32 YOUNG AUSTRALIANS; MOTIVATIONS FOR WORKPLACE GIVING | 2016