ISEDCC Campaign Best Practices

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has a long history of active involvement in the largest and most generous charitable campaign in Canada, the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC). The ISED Charitable Campaign (ISEDCC), as part of GCWCC, is dedicated to raising funds and to improving lives and making a positive impact in communities across Canada.

To ensure the strength and success of the charitable campaign, a collaborative and concerted effort from the entire team at ISED is crucial. This collective support is instrumental in effectively planning and implementing the campaign so that it can deliver on its goals. Drawing from valuable lessons learned in past years, ISED has developed a robust toolkit of best practices that serve as the foundation for successful charitable campaigns. These tried-and-tested strategies have contributed to the continued success of ISEDCC, making a meaningful difference in the communities we serve across Canada.

In this segment, ISED eagerly shares some of the practices that have been most effective and have consistently led to many successful charitable campaigns. Through this knowledge sharing, we aim to inspire and encourage other teams to create their own impactful campaigns, fostering a culture of giving and compassion across our organization and beyond.

Together, we strive to leave a lasting and positive imprint on the lives of those in need, embodying the spirit of generosity and unity that defines the GCWCC and the ISED Charitable Campaign.

Nominating strong leadership

ISED works to assemble strong, collaborative teams that will help with the implementation and delivery of the campaign. To guide the multi-faceted teams, ISED nominates strong leaders who exhibit commitment to the cause, demonstrate leadership qualities and can make a significant contribution toward ensuring campaign success.

Nominating strong leadership is the road to success, but putting a face to the campaign’s various roles is another important step. Having champions, team captains and ambassadors who exude personality, strong leadership qualities and a desire to engage will help create a winning scenario, whereby they can lead by example and show commitment to a cause that is important to them and to ISED.

Planning early

ISED works to implement and run a dynamic and extensive campaign annually. ISED’s dedicated commitment to planning and managing the campaign involves assigning new teams, developing new tools, and allocating resources and special funding for each new campaign period.

Project planning begins early, and each phase of the campaign is re-evaluated, assessed and built on to not only showcase but also improve the leading-edge campaign model, which helps lead to success.

Building on the leadership shadow

Leadership shadow refers to a leader’s actions and behaviours having an influence—casting a shadow—on the team or the organization. Building on leadership shadow is a recommended best practice because it promotes continuity and alignment, with new ISEDCC leadership benefiting from the expertise of seasoned veterans. Champions, team captains and ambassadors contribute to a smooth, streamlined transition that promotes learning based on best practices, lessons learned and campaign expertise.

ISED has promoted and continues to promote the leadership shadow model as a best practice leading to results and success.

Canvassing face-to-face

ISED is a strong advocate of ambassadors’ canvassing face to face, recognizing the key role of the ambassador and the importance of in-person canvassing as integral to the campaign’s success. About 80% of donations raised are the result of the ambassadors’ work on the front lines of the campaign, proving how instrumental they are to the success of the campaign.

ISED places a special emphasis on face-to-face canvassing and effectively plans for ambassadors to be trained and prepared to canvass

Running a shorter 6-week campaign

Lessons learned from previous campaigns have indicated that the duration of a campaign can impact donor sentiment and result in employee disinterest and campaign exhaustion.

To address those issues, ISED has reduced the duration of the campaign to a 6-week time frame with a special focus on canvassing through blitz and department-wide events (campaign launch and thank-you ceremony) that complement broader canvassing efforts. This approach has proven to be successful and has become an integral part of the ISEDCC plan.