How to plan and manage a corporate volunteering program for maximum success

With nearly half (49%) of all respondents in the 2021/22 Community Life Survey naming work commitments as a reason for not participating in a volunteer program and 84% of employers citing volunteerism as an effective way to engage employees, it’s worth taking a closer look at the advantages of employee volunteering.

We understand that planning and executing an employee volunteer program can feel daunting. To help, we’ve compiled a list of the key benefits it offers to all parties involved, along with essential strategies to help you achieve them successfully.

What is corporate volunteering and why is it important?

Corporate volunteering is a collective term for various measures and organisational structures in which employers support their employees in helping others.

It’s important to recognise the unique place of businesses in the volunteering landscape, especially given that their centralised communication with employees allows them to organise more extensive programs without the elaborate retention strategies their nonprofit partner would need for the same efforts.

Corporate groups tend to come in larger sizes because employers can leverage their streamlined communication channels, even for an ad-hoc team-based volunteer opportunity. They can also streamline planning through a dedicated philanthropy department or employee resource groups. Other companies offer paid time off (PTO) specifically for volunteering or set up matching grants for employees who donate to or volunteer with nonprofits.

You’ll encounter an entire spectrum of boards and programs, so there’s no need to feel any pressure that your organisation is doing it wrong. Feel free to adjust your volunteering strategy to your corporate culture and the individual ideas and needs of your team.

Whichever path you choose, though, each volunteer activity can give your employees the opportunity to connect with the local community. This not only gives your company a human face, or several. It also creates opportunities for future collaboration and business.

Most importantly, we know the positive impact of volunteering on employee satisfaction and even their mental and physical health. For employers, a well-designed volunteering program can work like a turbine, boosting your office atmosphere, talent engagement and branding all at the same time.

What are the benefits of a volunteer program for nonprofits and corporate organisations?

Employee volunteer programs offer significant advantages for both nonprofits and corporate organizations. Let’s break down how these programs benefit each party.

1. Increased Volunteer Capacity for Nonprofits

With the decline in government support and the traditional voluntary workforce, nonprofits often face challenges in maintaining the necessary number of volunteers. Corporate partnerships provide a valuable solution. By supplying large groups of volunteers, corporations make it easier for nonprofits to plan large-scale efforts. Even if not all employees can attend every shift, having a sizable volunteer pool simplifies logistics and reduces the burden on the nonprofit.

2. Diverse Audiences and New Perspectives

Corporate volunteer programs introduce a more diverse volunteer base than what’s typically seen in traditional volunteer efforts, which tend to attract older adults.
Employees from different backgrounds bring fresh perspectives to nonprofit programs. These interactions can not only benefit the community but also enrich the volunteer experience, as employees gain new insights they can take back to their workplace.

3. Weekday Volunteering Opportunities

Many volunteer organizations are limited to hosting events on weekends when most individuals are free. Corporate volunteers, however, often have the flexibility to volunteer during weekdays, which can alleviate scheduling challenges for nonprofits. This, combined with the diverse skills that corporate volunteers bring, increases the overall impact of volunteer efforts in the community.

4. Increased Energy and Enthusiasm

Employees volunteering together often share a sense of camaraderie, leading to higher energy and enthusiasm during events. This positive energy tends to spread to other volunteers and the community at large, creating a more engaging and uplifting atmosphere for everyone involved.

5. Branding and Awareness for Both Corporations and Nonprofits

Many corporations incorporate volunteer efforts into their marketing campaigns, which not only benefits their brand but also raises awareness for the nonprofit’s cause. The visibility generated through corporate volunteerism offers both immediate and long-term benefits to the nonprofit’s outreach efforts.

6. Employee Engagement and Corporate Reputation

Corporate volunteer programs help foster employee engagement by providing a sense of purpose and appreciation. This can inspire employees to invest more in their personal development and create additional opportunities for team-building.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives also enhance a company’s reputation in the eyes of both employees and the broader community. In fact, a Deloitte survey revealed that nearly 90% of people believe that companies that engage in volunteerism provide better work environments. Thus, these programs can also serve as a key factor in attracting and retaining top talent.

7. Networking Opportunities and Cross-Department Collaboration

Volunteer programs encourage employees to interact with individuals they might not typically meet within the workplace. Informal settings, like volunteer events, allow employees to network with colleagues from different departments, as well as external stakeholders such as government officials, clients, or media representatives. These interactions can spark cross-departmental collaborations and offer management valuable insights into company strategies.

8. Nurturing Relationships

Corporate volunteering programs also create lasting relationships between the company, nonprofit organizations, and employees. As Chloe Nguyen, General Manager of Marketing and Memberships at The Common Good, explains: “A corporate relationship is exactly that, a relationship. It’s about providing mutual value, and those relationships really need to be nurtured.”

Every volunteer event becomes a networking opportunity, which can lead to fruitful partnerships, collaborations, and connections that benefit both the organization and the community at large.

How to plan and manage a corporate social responsibility initiative

For your corporate volunteerism to show the mentioned benefits, a well-planned approach is indispensable. Here are a few things you can do to get started.

Determine your needs and goals

Before you enthusiastically pick corporate volunteer opportunities left and right, it’s best to define the objectives of your CSR initiatives alongside their contribution to your company’s overarching goals. It’s easy to get fired up about helping others, and rightfully so. But you want to be sure you’ve assessed your resources before committing to any more extensive campaigns.

Consider your financial means and personnel to determine budgets and timelines for your activities. Only then should you screen volunteering opportunities to spot those that integrate and align with your organisation’s vision and goals.

Get employees on board

Every company will have a slightly different approach to including personnel in their decision making, but it should never be an afterthought. After all, you want your employees to identify with the cause at hand, so it’s crucial to at least be aware of preferences and opinions at the office — even if you won’t always achieve uniform consensus. If at least a significant portion of your staff isn’t highly invested in the cause, this can lead to disruptions and challenges down the road.

Establish key stakeholders

Make sure to determine key stakeholders who will be involved in planning and executing your activities to give them enough resources, whether that’s a dedicated office, PTO or access to equipment.

Offer a range of opportunities

For diverse staff, it’s usually best to offer a range of volunteering opportunities that align with different interests. That could mean promoting various causes, but also considering different types of activities, flexible schedules and various levels of accessibility. Some employees will enjoy stepping outside their comfort zone and joining events solely for the experience, thus simplifying your planning process. However, it’s important to respect everyone’s opinion and make every team member feel heard. So, better to plan for coordinating one more program than to ignore individual voices.

Choose causes that align with company values

Whichever cause(s) you choose, they should align with your company values. If you’re planning to enter new markets or thinking of major rebranding campaigns, it’s helpful to contemplate how your volunteering activities fit into the bigger picture. Nobody gets everything right on day one, but planning ahead can save you a lot of time and hassle later.

Plan and implement employee outreach

Map out employee engagement and communication strategies as an integral part of your corporate volunteering plan. Consider which feedback channels you’ll need, how you’ll celebrate employees’ contributions and factor in additional training. Whether you’re attracted to employee-led initiatives that match your company’s flat hierarchies or have management announce initiatives, plan for continuous assessments and regular feedback from everyone involved. You want your program to be flexible enough to adjust over time, and that requires everyone’s input.

Equip your team with the right tools

A platform like  Rosterfy can help you to streamline volunteer management and create groups and assign leaders to each initiative, allowing you to give more autonomy to individual employees. Thanks to adjustable registration processes and dashboards for different group members, your corporation can tailor its volunteerism strategy to its liking, whatever the future may hold – all while storing your data locally to support you in your compliance efforts.

How working closely with a nonprofit can improve your corporate volunteering program

Planning and managing corporate giving is certainly no easy feat, but if done right, it can show numerous rewards for both sides.

For corporate organisations, it’ll be difficult to find a single activity that boosts employee morale, talent engagement and branding while offering networking opportunities the way volunteering does.

Equally, nonprofits will gain access to valuable resources, helping them execute large-scale efforts more effectively, while including a more diverse demographic in their day-to-day activities, potentially attracting new volunteers and donors.

Non profit, Mass Event, Cities and Local Governments use systems like Rosterfy to help them manage their volunteering Programs.

The Common Good, an initiative of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation in Brisbane, leverages Rosterfy to efficiently manage their volunteer program. Through this platform, they are able to mobilise a staggering number of almost 2,000 volunteers for various city-wide events. Additionally, they utilise Rosterfy to provide their corporate partners with comprehensive information regarding the significant impact their volunteers have made.

Accurately measuring and reporting the impact of your CSR program is crucial for its success. It not only demonstrates the value of your efforts but also creates an engaging platform for volunteers to participate in multiple events beyond their initial commitment. This expanded opportunity benefits both the corporate partner and the volunteers, fostering a deeper connection and enhancing the overall impact of the program.

To achieve all this, it’s critical to plan accordingly and identify nonprofits that align with your company goals and that already have a well-structured program.

Chloe Nguyen, General Manager Marketing and Memberships for The Common Good, describes this as a true relationship in every sense of the word. You can read more on how they build these relationships and the steps they make to ensure their projects have the most impact here:

How The Common Good uses Rosterfy to mobilise over 1,700 volunteers and corporate supporters

Many nonprofit organisations already use Rosterfy to manage volunteers, schedule events and communicate with volunteers to keep the program alive. So, if you’re still undecided about a cause to pick, Rosterfy can even present an opportunity to discover future partnerships.

If you’d like a tour of our platform to see how Rosterfy streamlines the collaboration with a nonprofit and your internal reporting, book a demo now.

About Rosterfy

Rosterfy is used by non-profits, charities, sporting federations, and more to better manage their volunteer programs by improving how they can recruit, screen, train and retain volunteers.

Our market leading technology helps you create engaging experience throughout the whole lifecycle of your volunteer journey.