The State Employees Federated Appeal, SEFA, is a powerful way for New York State employees to make an impact in their local communities -- and beyond.
SEFA is a single combined campaign for employees of NYS and is the only charitable solicitation of state employees authorized in state law.
There are 23 SEFA campaigns across NYS. For more information, please visit sefanys.org
Maddy Shannon - Hudson Valley SEFA Coordinator
Contact me by email at mshannon@uwdor.org OR by phone at (845) 471-1900 x 3122
Connect with SEFA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nys.sefa
1. Organize Campaign (August 23rd-September 1st)
During this time you should pick out the start and end dates for your campaign. You should also decide your kickoff date and plan a fun kickoff event. Also decide if you will be using paper or e-pledge and reach out to Maddy (mshannon@uwdor.org) to let me know your decision and how many pledge forms/copies of the pledge book you will need. Set your goal for how much you are hoping to raise this year. See me if you do not know how much your organization raised in 2022. Ask previous SEFA coordinators about how their campaigns ran, this will help determine what to and what not to focus on during your campaign.
2. Kickoff (September 1st-October)
Plan and execute your kickoff event. See Maddy for event ideas, kickoff email templates, SEFA incentives (pens, post-its, etc). If you are doing an event that requires prizes, do not hesitate to reach out to local businesses to donate gift cards/prizes. I have an official SEFA letterhead if the businesses require it. Most of the time businesses are more than happy to donate to charitable causes. Don’t forget to get management involved with the campaign, they can help encourage employees to join in! If you are using paper pledge forms, pass them out to everyone and ensure everyone receives one. You may want to place out SEFA incentives along with pledge cards.
3. Share materials (September-October)
Send out SEFA information electronically (see Maddy for email templates) or with hard copies. If you have internet access, you can share the SEFA newsletter with employees. If your office has a bulletin board, ask if you can put up SEFA information and posters. Ensure that everyone in your org has heard about SEFA and has been given a chance to get involved. You will want to keep sharing materials throughout the campaign. This can be done with gentle reminders, sharing statistics about what your donated dollars can do, or just giving campaign updates.
4. Group Solicitation (September-October)
The best and quickest way to get your employees involved is through group solicitation – get them together to show the campaign video and distribute pledge cards, or have a guest speaker tell a success story. This can be done during a staff meeting or on a lunch break. If you would like to have a guest speaker, reach out to me and I can find someone for you or I would be happy to do a short presentation on SEFA. Get employees to donate immediately after the kickoff event – give out books and pledge forms or share the e-pledge link. SEFA campaign video links:
5. One-on-one Solicitation (September-October)
Find out who has and who has not done SEFA before in your organization. For the people who haven’t done it, one-on-one solicitation is a great opportunity. Explain how SEFA works, who benefits, and how to complete a pledge card.
Congratulations! You are now ready to conduct your SEFA campaign and to watch those donations roll in. Keep me updated on your campaign progress and PLEASE reach out to me with any questions or obstacles you may run into along the way. Thank you for taking part in SEFA with me. Together we will make a huge difference in the lives of others!
