Streamline Emergency Employee Assistance Fund Contributions by Providing an Online Donation Option

Setting up an Employee Disaster and Hardship Relief Fund is the first step in providing aid to your employees in times of need. Encouraging employees to contribute regularly is key to ensuring the long-term success of the fund. Many companies have a regular contribution sign-up option, where contributions are taken directly from an employee’s paycheck every contribution period.

While regular contributions are vital, never underestimate the value in one-time or irregular donations made by employees who do not participate in the regular contribution program. Setting up a method for employees to contribute online, independent of the enrollment option, can bring in much-needed dollars to the fund. Some employees simply cannot afford to contribute on a regular basis, but might be encouraged to contribute when they have some extra money. Others may choose to make an extra contribution around the holidays, when they would otherwise contribute to a different charity. An online donation option makes the process easy for employees who wish to donate this way.

The online donation option is particularly useful when employees become aware of a natural disaster (or even a hardship) which impacts their co-workers, and the employees want to quickly help. One-time contributions can also help quickly boost the resources of a fund in the wake of a natural disaster, or can help employees in a particular location contribute to help a colleague in need. In the wake of any type of tragedy, even employees who were not previously invested in the fund may be inclined to donate to the fund to support colleagues who fell victim to a large-scale disaster. Making the online donation process simple and free from as much red-tape as possible, can help maximize contributions and in turn, support more employees. Remember that the donation process should always be simplified so as to encourage contributions – no one wants to jump through hoops just to give money away.