Traditional volunteering can provide help for projects like serving meals at shelters, and skills-based volunteering can help support nonprofits by utilizing volunteers’ professional expertise in areas such as finance or marketing.
Companies are starting to incorporate volunteer efforts into their mission and goals; 47% of U.S. companies offered community volunteer programs in 2022, compared from 40% in 2014, according to an annual survey from the Society of Human Resource Management. Traditional volunteering can provide help for projects like serving meals at shelters, and skills-based volunteering can help support nonprofits by utilizing volunteers’ professional expertise in areas such as finance or marketing.
Listen to employees. In addition to supporting company goals, ask your employees what volunteer efforts they want to participate in. Employees who feel supported by their employers in volunteering activities are more likely to stay loyal to the company because they are more satisfied with their jobs, according to a 2023 global study conducted for investment company Ares Management by Edge Research. When company leaders allow employees to support their personal values, they feel as though their voice matters.
Involve other stakeholders. Traditional employee involvement can be a good way to start, but involving other stakeholders can increase effectiveness. “I have seen companies include customers, suppliers, retired workers, and even board members in their volunteer activities,” Jessica Rodell writes in a Harvard Business Review article. These stakeholders can help benefit a volunteering initiative by providing resources and professional expertise traditional employees may not have.
Share the impact. There is no better reward than hearing about the impact. “We always create time at the end of our engagements for volunteers and nonprofits to talk about their work together,” Leila Saad says in a Forbes article. This can be a powerful way to boost morale of employees when they can see the efforts of their work paying off. It not only looks good for a company, it highlights a nonprofit and creates networking opportunities for both groups to work together.
