Vincit – Reframing Christmas gifts
In 2019, a couple of Vincitizens had an idea: what if we could donate the amount set aside for our company Christmas gifts to charity? This idea was put into action right away, and together, Vincit employees raised close to €20,000 for Hope – Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry. Since then, we have been happy to reuse the idea. Some of our customers also wanted to chip in the following Christmas.
This idea creates instant engagement with its employees while building on the company values. It is a great example, hopefully, to be replicated in many other companies where the management understands the need, gets involved personally, and provides financially.
Easily replicated and the more used would increase in impact. The gifts given, however, could, and maybe should be services for the families. This would also mitigate CO2 emissions - in case the replace goods as presents for the employees.
This planet act is extremely easy to replicate and requires no additional investments.
Purpose
Christmas 2019, many of us decided to opt out of getting a company Christmas present and use the funds allocated for the gifts to build up a charity donation. The total sum was donated to Hope – Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry.
The initial idea for the donation came from our employees, and since we all loved it, we decided to turn it into reality right then and there. As Vincitizens, we want to build a better tomorrow for the world around us. When we join forces and take action together, we have more impact – and this was one great example of that.
Results
In 2019, we raised nearly €20,000 for Hope – Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry. This meant that almost half of Vincitizens chose to donate the sum allocated for the company Christmas present for charity. The funds are used to help Finnish low-income families with children and children in care.
In 2020, Vincitizens were again able to donate the whole sum or parts of the money set aside for their company Christmas present for charity. This time, instead of one predetermined charity, everyone got to pick their favourite charity from three different options. And that’s not all; some of our customers also wanted to chip in. Together, we raised over €20,000 as donations for Hope Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry, Mieli ry, and WWF.
Implementation
This idea of opting to donate your company Christmas present money to charity was super easy to turn into reality. Our People team sent out an online survey for all Vincitizens well before Christmas, asking everyone to pick between an experience gift card of their choosing and a charity donation to Hope – Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry. The idea has been simple to reproduce and further develop in the following years.
The People's Voice