Campaign to Culture: How Winnebago Industries drove 550% growth in participation

Company overview 

Winnebago Industries has built its reputation on helping people explore the world. With that comes a deep responsibility to strengthen the communities where its employees live, work and play. The company’s CommunityGO program, launched in 2019, unites employees around volunteerism and giving. In 2023, Winnebago partnered with Benevity to transform "CommunityGO" from a once-a-year campaign into a year-round, purpose-driven movement.

The challenge 

Before implementing Benevity, Winnebago Industries’s  impact program faced barriers common to dispersed workforces:

• Low engagement: Only 8% of employees participated annually.
  
  
• Limited visibility: The company struggled to track impact or easily share success stories.
  
  
• One-time participation: With a single annual campaign, employees had few touchpoints to engage meaningfully throughout the year.
  
  
• Cultural disconnect: In a period of industry downturn, they sought new ways to boost morale and reinforce the company’s purpose-driven values.

The goal was clear: create a sustainable, year-round social impact program that reflected Winnebago Industries's spirit of community while strengthening employee connection and pride.

The solution 

In late 2023, Winnebago Industries transitioned to the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform to create a dynamic, 365-day experience designed to engage a diverse, often shift-working, manufacturing employee base.

Winnebago went all in with:

• High-impact incentives: Seeding every employee with $50 in “CGO Cash” to encourage participation and running incentives like double matching to maximize early momentum.
• Decentralized leadership: Empowering "CommunityGO Leads" to spark localized, grassroots activations—boosting engagement across a dispersed workforce and manufacturing sites.
• Infusing fun into doing good: Proving that doing good can be just as fun as it is meaningful, Winnebago Industries brought purpose to life through Happe Hour Music Bingo—an ode to CEO Michael J. Happe—where employees donated via Benevity to unlock bingo cards, turning team bonding into real social impact.
• Surprise & Delight grants: $5,000 grant awards given to employees nominated by their peers for outstanding community contributions and directed to a cause of their choice.

The rollout was designed to both energize participation and embed giving and volunteerism into everyday life at the company.

The results

The transformation delivered a 550% increase in engagement and $1 million raised in the first year. More importantly, it proved that a culture of goodness drives business resilience.

• Shattering engagement goals: Participation jumped from 8% to over 50%, far exceeding the original goal of 25%.
• Data-driven leadership: Benevity’s reporting allowed the team to share dashboards directly with the CEO, providing a clear, side-by-side view of engagement across all business units.

Resilience during downturn: In year two, despite industry-wide budget restrictions and workforce reductions, the program remained a "shining star." Volunteer hours actually grew, proving the program had become a vital source of employee connection and morale during uncertain times.

Beyond the numbers,  CommunityGO became a cornerstone of Winnebago’s culture.

• Employees across all business units became ambassadors for giving and volunteering.
  

• Local site leaders and HR partners championed participation, making CommunityGo and Benevity part of daily conversation.

• Stories of generosity now form part of internal communications and leadership recognition events.

Partnership highlights

Winnebago Industries’ partnership with Benevity continues to evolve. The next phase includes:

• Building evergreen engagement programs that sustain connection year-round.
  
  
• Expanding employee ambassador networks to new manufacturing sites and business units.
  
  
• Using Benevity’s analytics to gain deeper insights into giving patterns, impact stories, and participation trends.
  
  
• And attending Benevity Live! 2026 to draw inspiration, connect with peers, and brainstorm ideas to inform the next phase of their program.
  
  

By pairing Benevity’s technology with Winnebago’s culture of care, the company has turned purpose into practice - strengthening culture, supporting leaders, and sustaining impact long after the moment passes.

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