Campaign Theme Ideas

Themes and special events are great ways to create excitement and energy for your campaign. Finding a unique way to connect campaign fun with United Way of Central Iowa’s mission ensures a well-rounded experience full of enthusiasm, education, and community impact. Examples include:

  • Theme: You’re an Important Piece of the Puzzle, The Big Picture, Make Every Move Count
    - Tie in United Way’s puzzle or puzzle pieces metaphor
  • Learning Opportunities: United to Thrive, advocacy efforts, 211, Central Iowa Works
  • Special Events: Scavenger hunt, Rubik’s Cube/crossword/ word search competition
  • Incentives: Escape room leadership event, custom puzzle Volunteering: Reference the Central Iowa Volunteer Hub for ideas
  • Theme: ABC’s of Caring, Team [company name]
    - Kickoff with a pep rally and end with graduation
  • Learning Opportunities: Education Leadership Initiative, Bridges to Success, Read to Succeed, Bright by Text Special
  • Events: Spelling bee, science fair, prom royalty, kickball/foursquare competition
  • Incentives: School/classroom supply drive, notes of encouragement
  • Theme: Join the Story, Once Upon a Time
    - Each day a different classic or childhood book
  • Learning Opportunities: Education program panel, Women United, Vision to Learn
  • Special Events: Book club/swap, guess the famous line, build a Free Little Library
  • Incentives: Library (gift) card Volunteering: Book drive, literacy kits, magic reading carpets, Book Buddy
  • Theme: Cook’n it up for United Way, Feed the Need, Baking a Difference
  • Learning Opportunities: Hunger simulation, 5-2-1-0, Summer Meal Meet Ups, Giving Gardens
  • Special Events: Senior leader grilled cheese competition, chili cook off, drink/dessert carts, potlucks
  • Incentives: Take and bake meals, team dinner, restaurant/ grocery gift card, create a company cookbook
  • Volunteering: T-shirt bags, protein drive (canned meat, peanut butter), Giving Gardens
  • Theme: Zoom Away with United Way - Zoom or Teams - ZOOM Away with United Way, TEAMwork
  • Learning Opportunities: ALICE Simulation, lunch and learn Special
  • Events: Home office meme competition, TikTok challenge, holiday vendor fair for employee direct sales businesses (% goes back to UW)
  • Incentives: Log off early, Executive MTV Cribs home tour Volunteering: Virtual notes of encouragement, interview readiness, advocacy letter writing
  • Theme: Give Around the World, (sun)Rise to the Challenge, Soar United, Up Up and United Way
    - Each day is a different destination
  • Learning Opportunities: Central Iowa Works (CIW), Central Iowa Returning Citizens Achieve (CIRCA)
  • Special Events: Beach sand volleyball tournament, paper airplane contest, snack/drink cart
  • Incentives: Sunglasses, luggage, trip to local park/patio, complete a passport for a prize
  • Volunteering: Travel-size toiletry drive, welcome home care baskets
  • Theme: We’re Driving Results, Be A Driving Force for United Way
  • Learning Opportunities: Transportation Simulation
  • Special Events: Auction parking spots, remote control car contest, motorcycle/car show
  • Incentives: Executive wash car Volunteering: Reference the Central Iowa Volunteer Hub for ideas
  • Theme: Under Construction, Building a Better Community
  • Learning Opportunities: OpportUNITY, Essential Needs, poverty simulation, LINC, housing
  • Special Events: Structure building contest out of canned goods, road sign contest (ex. STOP Hunger, ONE WAY to a Better Community), Lego building, hard hat decorating
  • Incentives: Break room upgrade
  • Volunteering: Reference the Central Iowa Volunteer Hub for ideas
  • Theme: Hit Play with United Way, Be a Rock Star for our Communities
  • Learning Opportunities: Powered by Purpose
  • Special Events: Karaoke/Masked Singer contest, name that tune
  • Incentives: StubHub/Concert Venue tickets, Record/Music store gift cards
  • Volunteering: Reference the Central Iowa Volunteer Hub for ideas
  • Theme: Be a Community Hero, Everyday Heroes
  • Learning Opportunities: Powered by Purpose, HOPE for Stable Families, VITA
  • Special Events: Costume/photo contest, stair climb/5k
  • Incentives: Executive wears a cape/mask for the week
  • Volunteering: Reference the Central Iowa Volunteer Hub for ideas
  • UNITED WAY TRIVIA: Use pre-made questions to quiz employees on United Way’s work in the community.
  • M&M/JELLYBEAN JAR: The famous “guess the number of beans in the jar” cannot be forgotten. Buy a guess for 50 cents. The person who guesses closest to the number in the jar, wins the jar of candy.
  • BALLOON POP: Before filling a balloon with helium, put a note inside some of the balloons with the name of a prize. In other balloons, put a note with a campaign fact. Have employees purchase and pop the balloons.
  • COIN WAR: Supply each department with an empty two-liter bottle. Invite employees to drop in spare change. For a fun twist, designate dollars as sabotage amounts and encourage competing departments to drop greenbacks into each other’s bottles. At the end of the campaign, count coins and subtract dollars. The department with the most money wins.
  • EMAIL BINGO: Sell bingo cards leading up to the day you will hold email bingo. Throughout the day, send out numbers using email. The first three to get bingo win a prize.
  • OFFICE SCAVENGER HUNT
  • MATCH THE BABY FACE CONTEST: Employees bring photos of themselves as babies. Other employees buy ballots listing the photos by number and guess which baby is who. The employee who correctly identifies the most babies wins a prize.
  • OFFICE CONTESTS: Let your peers show off their talents. Plan a talent show or pageant. Performers should perform for prizes and their talents should inspire giving. Let performers collect dollars while on stage to be given to the campaign.
  • FLAMINGOS: Employees may pay $X amount and the obnoxious birds will appear in their choice of department or someone’s office. The only way for a person or department to remove the birds is to pay a “flamingo removal fee.” They may then choose at that time where the birds are going to be relocated. People may also purchase “flamingo insurance,” this prevents the birds from landing in their office.
  • UGLY LAMP: Have employees decorate a lamp and make it as ugly as possible. Employees will have to pay $5 to have it removed from their desk and be able to put it on another co-worker’s desk.
  • PUPPY LOVE: Ever hear that a lot of pets look like their owners and vice-versa? Test this theory by having employees pay for a chance to try their luck at matching a pet picture to its correct owner. Award a prize to the contestant with the most correct answers and maybe provide gift certificates to a pet store for the owners who look the most like their pets.
  • BRING YOUR PET TO WORK DAY: Invite employees to bring their favorite furry animal to work for a day. Ask employees to donate $5 to participate.

 

Other Theme Ideas

  • Where there’s a YOU, there’s a WAY
  • Dynamic Duos: United Way and You
  • Bingeing/Streaming with Purpose (Binge-worthy TV shows)
  • Give Back For The Future (Back to the Future)
  • The Force of Giving (Star Wars)
  • Be a Kind Neighbor (Mr. Rogers)
  • What’s Raised Here, Stays Here (Vegas)
  • Detecting Progress, Mission Possible (007/Sherlock Holmes/ Clue board game) - In it to WIN it! (Game shows) - Be a United Way Star, United at the Drive-In (Hollywood/ movies)

Other Special Event Ideas

  • LIVE UNITED Shirt Day – purchase shirt, wear every Friday for rest of the year
  • Auction Item Ideas – reach out to vendors, utilize services you already offer (ex. free product/service, ride with leader for a day)
  • Flock someone’s yard with flamingos – pay to remove and flock someone else

Other Incentive Ideas

  • PTO
  • Floating holiday
  • T-shirt