Feelings of gratitude fueled by the holiday spirit have atendency to make us all a bit more generous this time of year.Credit unions that have strategically built up a charitableoutreach program often report high levels of member involvementduring the giving season.

Designing such a program often takes years, but it is worth theinvestment. That's because several influential consumer segmentsinsist on doing business with organizations that support the causesand charities important to them. Employees, too, tend to choose andstay longer with organizations that share their personalvalues.

If building a stronger charitable outreach program is on yourlist of to-dos for 2017, consider these five tips for success.

Be Pertinent

Identify a charity or fellow non-profit organization that isrelevant to members and employees. Perhaps your constituency ismade up of a large number of educators. Supporting a continuingeducation program for teachers or school administrators may be theideal initiative for your cooperative.

Talk Results

When crafting your primary messages, focus on how the charity ororganization you've chosen is helping the community. By emphasizingwhat the group does rather than what it is,you'll be better able to mobilize support. If you are partneringwith a cancer-fighting hospital, for example, design your campaignsaround the battle to beat the disease rather than the hospitalitself. People are inspired by outcomes. According to Bright Funds,millennials especially are less interested in a nonprofit's ideas than they are in itsresults.

Make It Easy

Even the most charitable among us are busy. Create an offerproposition that is simple to understand and easy to act on. In arecent studyof millennials, more than half said they would be interested inmaking monthly donations to a nonprofit. How can you automate thosedonations? Challenge your teams to configure giving solutions thatmake it easy for your members to act on their generosity.

Stay Transparent

Be very clear about how your program will benefit the charity.If possible, explain how, when and what percentage of the fundsraised will go directly to the charity. Skepticism is a bigobstacle to giving, and transparency is the best cure forskepticism.

Reward Them

Don't shy away from speaking about how members and employees canbenefit, too. As long as the primary message stays attuned to thecharity's outcomes and focused on the greater good, it's perfectlyOK to provide a little extra incentive. Some credit unions, forexample, have found success offering double credit card rewards tomembers who donate to the cooperative's partner charity. CapitalCredit Union is one of them.

This quarter, the $1.186 billion credit union executed aSpend2Give campaign. Card members earned double points while alsobenefiting two area homeless shelters with donations based on cardusage.

“The program took the classic win-win scenario up a notch,”Capital Credit Union marketer Lisa Drace Hintz said. “The responsewas favorable from both a member and an employee perspective, andwe were able to maximize our donations. With the community, themembers and the credit union benefitting, our win-win became awin-win-win.”

Patrick Baker is senior marketing specialist for TMGFinancial Services. He can be reached [email protected].