Days of Caring
Customized Project Request Guidelines

Customized Project Requests

United Way has made a commitment to the Southeastern Pennsylvania corporate community by guiding companies through the often-unfamiliar territory of volunteer and community service project planning.

Utilizing our vast network of agency partnerships and planning expertise, United Way is able to custom-design an ongoing volunteer program or one-time event, specifically tailored to the needs and interests of your company.

United Way works with corporations and community partners to design projects that address critical community needs including poverty, literacy, health, homelessness, community enrichment, revitalization, the environment, mentoring, and education for children and youth.

Customized Services Include:

• Identify and recruit agencies across the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region that can utilize the volunteer support of employee volunteers
• Assist in project scoping and provide technical assistance with logistics including site inspection, and on-site volunteer orientation and leadership support
• Provide support to company’s staff members who are coordinating all logistics such as recruitment, internal communication, acquisition of project materials and ways to track employee volunteer hours internally

Cost

Customized projects and programs can range from $100 to $100,000 depending on complexity, project requirements and materials required (i.e. large ticket items and events) to perform tasks, number of participants and time of year. Recurring programs are also available.

Time Frame

• Customized projects for groups of 10-30 volunteers require 4-6 weeks planning time.
• Customized projects for groups of 30-60 volunteers require 5-7 weeks planning time.
• Customized projects for groups of 60 or more volunteers (including banner-wide and/or regional events) require 8-10 weeks planning time

Internal Preparation

• Assign an internal project manager who will accept the operational responsibility for the implementation of the overall project including communications and logistics.
• The project manager should be available for an overall orientation at United Way and/or agencies base of operation.
• Communication between the agenc(ies) selected, United Way, and the company is extremely critical. Let sites know what you expect to get out of working with them and what your group is prepared to do. Ensure the coordinator has enough time to follow up with the site to form lasting relationships.
• Determine transportation to the project(s) and parking requirements.

Proper preparation of the company and agency volunteers is essential. Therefore the following process is proposed for handling customized project requests.

Step One: Project Request

The first step in facilitating a customized corporate/company volunteer project request is to provide the requesting company liaison with a Customized Project Request Form.

• During the initial stages of a corporate request all communication with the requesting company should be handled by the Manager of Corporate Engagement.
• Customized Project Request Forms should be completed and submitted to the designated United Way Civic Engagement staff in electronic format within two (2) working days from the date of original request. Once the Civic Engagement staff receives a completed Volunteer Project Request Form an acknowledgement will be provided to the campaign staff and the company and the matching process will begin. Please keep in mind that the time to match a volunteer project may vary based upon the scope, magnitude and proposed project dates of the request (i.e. larger volunteer groups require more planning and capacity building assistance).

Step Two: Matching

• United Way Civic Engagement Staff will facilitate the matching process by reviewing existing volunteer project proposals and by reaching out to community organizations/agencies to identify potential volunteer opportunities that meet the needs of your organization. Once a potential match is identified, Civic Engagement staff will contact the agency informing them that a volunteer group may be interested in completing a project with their organization. If the organization/agency is interested in proving a volunteer opportunity, Civic Engagement staff facilitates communication between the interested parties focused on securing a match.

Step Three: Project Selection

• Once a community organization/agency agrees to be a potential host for a volunteer request and their Project Host Form is received, Civic Engagement staff will generate an Assignment Proposal detailing the the match. Civic Engagement staff will send a copy of the Assignment Proposal to the requesting company’s liaison and the assigned United Way Campaign Manager.

Final Confirmation

• If a match is successful then Civic Engagement staff will contact both company and agency liaisons to confirm agreements, expectations, and play a supportive role in solidify logistics for the project.

All customized project requests and communications regarding requests must be submitted to Civic Engagement staff in writing along with the subject title “Customized Project Request” to daysofcaring@uwsepa.org or at:

Days of Caring
United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
7 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Voice: 215-665-2501
Fax: 215-665-2531
daysofcaring@uwsepa.org