Corporate Volunteerism: A Complete Guide to Getting Started

Now more than ever before, customers, communities, and employees are increasingly interested in how a corporation makes a positive impact rather than simply how it brings in revenue. This has caused a larger trend in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and strategies among businesses of all sizes. While there are many ways a company can engage in CSR activities, the most active and engaging option is corporate volunteerism.

Bloomerang Volunteer has helped many companies implement and manage successful corporate volunteer programs. Based on this firsthand experience, this article will explore what corporate volunteerism is, its benefits, and how to create an engaging program.

Here is a quick overview of what will be covered in the article:

• Corporate Volunteerism Q&A
• 4 Reasons To Invest In Corporate Volunteerism 
• How to Manage A Corporate Volunteering Program 
• Incentivize Employees to Volunteer

Before diving into the benefits, we’ll cover the basics by defining corporate volunteer programs and how they function.

Investing in corporate volunteer programs offers long-term rewards through employee retention, engagement, and customer loyalty. The participatory nature of volunteerism not only positively impacts employees’ perception of the company, but also creates a more meaningful connection to the greater community.

If you’re looking to kick off your own corporate volunteer program, you likely have several questions that you need answered.

Let’s dive into three common questions so that you fully understand what these programs are all about:

What is corporate volunteerism?

Corporate volunteerism is a pillar of corporate social responsibility that encourages employees to volunteer their time and give back to their community’s nonprofits, charities, or other initiatives. To encourage volunteerism, some corporations offer employees volunteer time off (VTO), which provides them a certain amount of paid leave (like a vacation) for volunteering, while others use reward or incentive programs.

How do corporate volunteer programs work?

There are several structures companies can use when creating a corporate volunteer program, from organized corporate volunteerism events to ongoing programs to employee-led initiatives. No matter how you choose to structure your corporate volunteer program, it’s important to make sure that it’s a part of a larger corporate social responsibility strategy with leadership buy-in.

Here are some steps to get you started in your employee volunteer program implementation process:

1. Establish Your Program’s Goals. What is the purpose of the program? Is it about employee retention, engagement, and development, or is it about contributing a certain amount of hours to a community? Whatever your goals are for the program, you will want to ensure that you can track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the program’s success.
2. Consult Key Stakeholders. No program can be successful without stakeholder buy-in, from board members to HR representatives and even employees. You need to gauge whether there’s interest in setting up an employee volunteer program before diving into development.
3. Partner with Nonprofits. To get your program started, you must first establish some volunteer opportunities for employees to participate in. Consider partnering with a local nonprofit to get your program going.
4. Invest in Management Tools. Your program will require hands-on management, from posting opportunities to tracking employee participation. Consider investing in a volunteer management solution that’s specifically built to meet the management requirement for corporate volunteer programs.

How do corporate volunteer programs benefit nonprofits?

Corporate volunteer programs offer nonprofits access to a new pool of highly qualified volunteers. Depending on how a corporate volunteer program is set up, employee volunteers are still compensated for their volunteer work through paid leave or a rewards program, making the volunteers more intrinsically motivated to do their best work for a nonprofit organization.

There are so many people who benefit from corporate volunteerism. The company benefits from good social capital and more engaged employees, while employees benefit from purpose-driven fulfillment and increased morale. Finally, nonprofits and the greater community benefit from the work the volunteer program does. Corporate volunteerism offers a meaningful win-win scenario for all the shareholders involved, making it a worthwhile corporate social responsibility initiative for businesses of all sizes.

Here are four benefits of corporate volunteerism:

1. Corporate volunteerism improves public relations.

Customers care just as much about the impact a company has on social good as they do about the value of its products or services. 70% of global consumers would recommend a company with a purpose over one without, and this number is rising.

This makes having a corporate social responsibility strategy an important pillar for any public relations and marketing strategy. Corporations can connect more meaningfully with their local community through corporate volunteerism, which in turn can present good press opportunities for their public relations department.

2. Volunteering increases team morale.

Employees, especially Millennial employees, care about the impact their work and company have on the world. A corporate volunteer program offers employees the chance to engage in meaningful volunteer work with their colleagues.

Volunteering can also be a team-building activity. Instead of a retreat, employees work together to make a positive impact, which boosts morale and results by creating a more productive and positive work environment.

3. Increased engagement can reduce employee turnover.

According to the Social Purpose Institute, purpose-driven workers have 20% longer expected tenures, are 50% more likely to be in leadership positions, are 47% more likely to promote their employers, and have 64% higher fulfillment levels in their work. This makes corporate volunteering an ideal investment from a human resources perspective.

4. Corporate volunteering builds useful skills.

Corporate volunteering enhances teamwork among employees and departments while encouraging employees to learn new skills along the way. Corporations can also harness their employees’ existing skills for good by encouraging employees to give their time to volunteer efforts using skills they’ve built through their careers or outside interests.

Creating and managing a corporate volunteer program doesn’t need to be a large administrative undertaking. The first step toward success is simply investing in a volunteer management solution that will allow you to manage and track all your corporate volunteer opportunities and employee participation.

Once you’ve chosen a tool that works best for your organization’s needs, simply follow these steps to get your program up and running:

1. Create Volunteer Opportunities. Before you can announce your corporate volunteer program, it’s important to have a number of volunteer opportunities readily available for eager employees to participate in. Partner with a nonprofit or charitable organization in your community to help you get your volunteer opportunities off the ground. Once you have these opportunities established, simply add them to your volunteer management solution, and establish volunteer roles and the corresponding shifts for employees to sign up for.
2. Import and Invite Employees to Sign Up for Volunteer Opportunities. Once everything is all set up and ready to go, import a list of your employees into your volunteer management solution, and invite all your employees to sign up for the volunteer opportunities and shifts that interest them most.
3. Enable Mobile Check-in and Hours Submission. Consider requiring employees to use a volunteer mobile app to check in to volunteer shifts or submit volunteer hours. This allows your company to track each employee’s participation level and reward them accordingly.
4. Track and Report On Your Program’s Impact. It’s important to track essential data points like the number of hours worked, the number of volunteer opportunities, and which nonprofits your company works with the most. This will allow you to create an impact report for your employees, stakeholders, and community.

There are so many different ways to manage a corporate volunteer program. It’s important to establish goals for your program and work towards those goals through a management process that works best for your organization. These four key steps will give you a solid foundation to kick off your plan.

Corporate volunteer incentive programs are initiatives that encourage employees to participate in corporate volunteer programs. These programs motivate your employees to take part in corporate volunteering, bringing more support to nonprofit organizations in your community.

There are many ways to inspire your employees to take part in your program, but these are some of the most popular:

Volunteer Grant Programs

Volunteer grants are a type of corporate giving initiative through which businesses donate to the organizations their employees volunteer with.

Offering volunteer grants gives employees a way to increase their impact without any additional financial strain on their end—all they have to do is volunteer. There are a couple of different ways to organize your volunteer grant program:

• Individual Volunteer Grants. Also called “Dollars for Doers,” this corporate giving program involves your business donating to the organizations that individual employees volunteer with. Most businesses set a minimum hour requirement and associated grant amount. For example, a company may require employees to volunteer with the organization for at least 10 hours and will then donate $15 per hour.
• Team Volunteer Grants. For this type of grant, your business will reward employees who work together. Provide grants to the nonprofits your employees volunteer with as a team. For example, donate up to $1,000 to nonprofits where four or more employees volunteer for at least 20 cumulative hours.

Some companies also allow employees to nominate organizations they think are deserving of volunteer grants. Make sure to have a system in place to ensure that the employee recommending the nonprofit has a history of volunteering with the organization. Collect several nominations, vet the nonprofits to find those that closely align with your business values, and hold a vote to identify your grant recipient.

Volunteer Time Off (VTO)

Similar to standard paid time off (PTO), volunteer time off (VTO) is paid time that your employees can use specifically for performing charitable volunteer work. Keep in mind that this is not the same as voluntary time off, which is unpaid leave employees can take to manage personal matters without risking their employment.

VTO makes it easier for your employees to fit volunteering into their busy lives, boosting engagement in your corporate volunteering programs. This can have benefits like:

• Improving Employee Recruitment and Retention. Studies indicate that 71% of employees think it’s important to work for a business that gives back. Corporate volunteer programs and VTO policies make your compensation plan more competitive and well-rounded, helping you attract and retain top talent.
• Enhancing the Company’s Reputation. When your company publicly supports worthy causes, you’ll gain a reputation as an organization that’s willing to give back and serve its community. This can motivate potential customers who share your values to support your business.
• Making Employees Feel Valued and Fulfilled. Promoting corporate volunteerism shows that you care about your employees’ drive to make a difference. A workplace that fosters this culture of giving and selflessness makes employees feel more satisfied professionally and personally. This can have a ripple effect, enhancing their work-life balance, productivity, and efficiency.
• Expanding the Company’s Network. A VTO policy will inspire more of your employees to branch out and engage with charitable organizations. These connections can introduce your business to local nonprofit leaders, growing your community network.

Work with your company’s HR team to develop a detailed VTO policy to add to your employee handbook. Specify details about hour accrual and limits, usage limits or guidelines, employee eligibility, the VTO request and approval process, and examples of appropriate and inappropriate use cases.

Special Matching Gift Initiatives

Matching gift programs are a type of corporate giving in which companies financially match the donations their employees make to charitable causes. For example, if an employee gives $50 to a local nonprofit afterschool program, your company would then match the donation by contributing another $50. This doubles the employee’s contribution without them having to dig deeper into their wallets.

So, how do matching gifts tie into your corporate volunteering program? Consider offering a higher match ratio for a limited time. Most companies match at a 1:1 ratio, but you can encourage volunteering by boosting yours to a 2:1, 3:1, or even 4:1 ratio. For example, require employees to volunteer at least 10 hours within a single quarter to be eligible for the augmented ratio.

Get creative to create matching gift opportunities that are truly appealing to your employees. You might offer “add-ons” when they take specific actions like signing up for a volunteer opportunity, logging hours, or reaching a certain hours milestone. For example, give an extra $10 on top of an employee’s next donation match for every five-hour increment they reach.

Designated Days of Service

Similar to VTO, designated days of service allow employees to volunteer during typical work hours, meaning they won’t have to sacrifice any of their off days or PTO to participate. However, these days of service offer a more team-oriented approach than VTO.

Choose an office- or company-wide day during which employees will volunteer with a nonprofit rather than perform their usual duties. Communicate this day ahead of time, and decide how you’ll choose a cause. Some options include:

• Selecting a single cause to allocate your entire team’s time to. This is best for large-scale projects (e.g., helping build a house with Habitat for Humanity).
• Creating a list of organizations employees can choose from and volunteer with as smaller teams. Have employees sign up for opportunities and time slots.
• Allowing employees to choose the cause they want to support. Set guidelines for how they’ll log hours and report their impact to your business.

If your employees need more flexibility or your business uses a hybrid or remote work model, consider letting them choose their designated day of service. Have employees meet with their managers to choose this day off, and make sure they have a way to track and report their volunteer hours.

Conclusion

Now that you have a clear understanding of how corporate volunteerism can positively impact your company, employees, and community, it’s time to start working toward implementing a program. Leverage your employees’ passions and skills to do good through Bloomerang Volunteer’s all-in-one volunteer management solution.

Bloomerang Volunteer can help your team do more good in less time by reducing 70% of administration time and empowering employees to sign up for volunteer shifts while tracking their impact along the way.