Acorns is renowned for helping everyday consumers save and invest for the long term. Aligned with its mission, it’s important to Acorns to provide employees with a flexible giving program, especially as the team continues to grow. Now in partnership with Daffy for Work as its employee-giving solution, Acorns has found creative ways to roll out a program that facilitates generous giving while still being mindful of overall costs and administrative maintenance.
Our COO Alex Gyr had the opportunity to speak with Frances Park, Chief of Staff & Head of Community at Acorns, to glean insights and ideas that others can learn from to ensure a successful employee giving program.
1. Use Time-Bound Incentives to Drive Adoption
Often, the biggest challenge to rolling out a new benefit program is getting employees to engage in the first place. Recognizing this, Acorns strategically timed the launch of Daffy for Work ahead of Giving Tuesday. Their People team worked closely with the Daffy team to coordinate their launch — announcing a week in advance that any Acorns employee who registered before Giving Tuesday would receive a $40 contribution to their account, which could be directed towards a charity of their choice.
By setting a deadline and offering an incentive for registration, the program gained momentum quickly, with nearly 50% of US-based employees signing up in one week. The initial launch program was so effective at driving employee engagement that they ran a similar incentive at the end of the year providing an additional $50 contribution for all employees registered by the end of 2023.
Incorporating time-bound goals and rewards has proven to be an effective strategy for introducing employees to a new benefit program and driving adoption.
2. Allow Employees to Support the Causes They Care Most About
From the outset, Acorns' leadership demonstrated a commitment to the success of the program. Even their CEO shared his support of the program and the importance of giving back:
"Acorns is focused on looking after the financial best interests of our customers and team, through all of life's stages. We're excited to partner with Daffy to help our team give to the causes and organizations closest to their hearts." – Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns
As part of that commitment to giving, Acorns covers their employees' membership fees, starting at just $3/mo per employee.
In response, employees have leveraged Daffy to be more intentional in their charitable giving. Since the program rolled out in November 2023, Acorns’ employees have donated to nearly 100 different charities, with healthcare, human services, and education charities being the most popular cause categories among employees.
By covering membership dues for their employees, companies empower their employees to give easily to the causes most dear to them through our iOS app or web platform.
3. Integrate into Existing Programs As a Reward
Daffy for Work allows employers the flexibility to create matching rules, provide recurring grants, or make one-time contributions to employee accounts. Acorns leveraged one-time contributions to introduce new incentives and make internal competitions more impactful. For instance, during February’s Black History Month Trivia competition, Acorns replaced traditional gift card prizes with contributions to the winners’ Daffy accounts. This not only continued to drive awareness and adoption of the benefit but also empowered winners to support causes meaningful to them. Utilizing Daffy for Work streamlined the process, as Acorns didn’t have to vet the charity or make the donation on the employee's behalf — Daffy handles all the administrative tasks. Leveraging the one-time granting functionality helps companies create meaningful rewards without additional costs or administrative overhead.
Daffy for Work continues to help companies of all sizes offer a simple, and meaningful employee-giving benefit. For more information on Daffy’s workplace-giving programs, our turn-key offerings or contact the team at work@daffy.org.