We ask that you encourage participation (on any level) rather than insisting employees log into ePledge and “opt out” or complete a form with a zero.
Campaign Reporting: Participation vs. Response
Explore the guidance on this page to understand the difference between participation and response on campaign reporting. This information is also available for download for your reference.
What’s the difference?
participation
The University’s United Way Campaign participation percentages reflect those who give a donation to the campaign, either via ePledge, the online pledging system available on the HRMS homepage, pledging via QR code, or by sending in a completed pledge form (BOX UWAY 614 or uwco@hr.rochester.edu ). Every gift no matter the size is helpful and counts toward department participation.
response
In addition, University employees also have the option to respond to the campaign by saying “no thank you” and recording a zero pledge. This can be done in ePledge, OR by completing a paper pledge form and recording a “0” along with their name and employee ID. These individuals have responded to the campaign, but have not participated.
If an employee does not want to give to the United Way, responding with a zero will take them off the coordinator “no response” report so that their coordinator won’t continue to correspond with them and encourage a donation. Doing this is helpful in that it shows the individual was asked to give but chose not to, and it is beneficial for coordinator campaign communications. However, the University doesn’t report this information or keep track of response rates.