Driving Social Impact: Investment Tools & Strategies

The purpose

Why should your company consider an EVP strategy? Perhaps it aligns to your company values or maybe your employees are already volunteering and you want to capture the impact within your community. Either way, encouraging your employees to volunteer in a more strategic way can scale the resulting community benefit. And that is a win for the community, your employees and the company. Let’s explore these three stakeholder groups.

Your Community

Ask any nonprofit what they need and, most likely, they will say resources. But what type of resources? People (more staff), expertise, in-kind goods, facilities, money? The answer is yes to all of these. The good news is that as companies seek to partner with community nonprofits, they can serve as an extension of these needed resources.

By offering employee time and talents, your company can help fill the gaps for staff and expertise. Often employee volunteers can help offset costs, which allows for nonprofits to utilize their budgets more strategically.

As you consider engaging your employees in community work, think about what makes your company and employees unique? Are there services you can provide or a niche you can fill that will help nonprofits achieve their mission? High-performing employee volunteer programs understand the importance of high-impact partnerships and intentional collaboration with nonprofit partners to meet these community needs.

By doing so, it will help shape your program, reinforcing the intersection of company priorities, employee interests, and community needs.

Specific community benefits from investments of financial and human resources from companies include:

• A skilled and talented volunteer pool (the value of skilled support for general operations, technology and professional services can be 500 percent greater than the value of traditional volunteering!)
• Advocacy and awareness of community needs and causes
• Direct cost savings from cash and in-kind contributions (this is also a result of getting volunteer manpower, rather than having to hire staff)
• Capacity building and improved effectiveness, efficiency and reach of services

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Your Employees

While not every employee volunteers for the same reason, the resulting impact is collective. Whether you are trying to increase your employee volunteer engagement, looking to streamline current volunteer activities, or starting from scratch, the key to a successful community engagement is a positive employee experience. If employees enjoy their experience serving the community on behalf of your company, the company is sure to benefit as well in the following ways:

• Improved morale and increased camaraderie: meeting and working with other employees and teams, working together toward a common objective. Studies have shown that 70 percent of employees believe volunteer activities are more likely to boost morale than company-sponsored happy hours, and 64 percent of employees who currently volunteer said that volunteering with work colleagues strengthened their relationships.
• Greater sense of pride and purpose: feeling good about their coworkers, their team and the company. For millennial employees, 88 percent reported that their job is more fulfilling when they are provided opportunities to make a positive impact on social issues.
• Enhanced skill development: volunteering and leading others in service can serve as cost-effective ways to practice and gain important professional skills, while also breaking down silos across disparate business functions.

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your Company

Now more than ever, companies are being called to help solve society’s most pressing issues. Not only is it good for the community to build partnerships with companies, but companies also do better when their communities are thriving.

In addition to the benefits seen by your employees, successful community engagement programs can support the business by:

• Stronger recruitment and retention. The investment in helping employees channel their need for purpose into giving back is paying off and companies are seeing reduced turnover because of it. According to two recent studies, 68 percent of Americans say they would prefer to work for a purpose-driven company, so mentioning CSR activities in job postings increases the number of applicants by 25 percent.
• Bottom-line cost savings. Investments in employee volunteering are modest compared to those in employee training and retention. With the single largest HR expense often being leadership development and management training, volunteer programs can achieve similar outcomes at a much lower cost per employee. Additionally, studies suggest that corporate responsibility enhances the commitment and engagement of employees, reducing turnover as much as 50 percent.
• Brand reputation and loyalty. Without question, engaging employees visibly in their communities to solve pressing social issues builds positive reputational capital and increases goodwill between the company, its neighbors and consumers. According to a recent study, when companies support social or environmental issues, 92 percent of global citizens will have a more positive image of that company, 87 percent will be more likely to trust that company and 88 percent will be more loyal to the company.

The important takeaway here is that a rising tide lifts all ships. While implementing a community engagement program can have clear benefits to your business, it is authenticity and compassion for community needs that will lead to long-term success for both business and community.

A lack of authenticity will not only waste company resources and represent a missed opportunity to serve your community, it could also negatively impact your business. A recent study of Generation Z consumers showed they are consistently holding companies accountable and 75 percent will do research to see if a company is being honest when it takes a stand on issues.

If you’re just starting out, consider your community needs first and the strategy will ultimately be more authentic.

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The tools

To better understand the building blocks that go into an employee engagement strategy, we have mapped out the most common investments found in EVPs across the sector. Take the time to get acquainted with these concepts and consider the level of investment your company is willing to commit. Luckily, no one EVP is identical to the next, and you can curate a program that best fits your employees’ interests and company priorities.

Employee Volunteer Program 

An employee volunteer program (EVP) is a planned, managed effort that seeks to motivate and enable employees to effectively volunteer under the official sponsorship and leadership of the employer.​ An EVP, also called workplace volunteer program or company-sponsored volunteer program, is typically one component of a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, community engagement program (CEP), or other program that addresses the company’s involvement in societal causes.

There are so many valuable ways to engage employees through a company EVP, including the following:

Hands On — In the community off-site

If your company is just starting to shape its EVP, you’re probably most familiar with this traditional style of company-sponsored volunteerism. Individuals, teams or even the entire company gets out of the office to plant trees, paint murals or sort food at a nonprofit location or community site. These activities can be part of a company-organized day of service or team-building events for specific departments. *Remember, this type of volunteer opportunity can be impactful, but make sure the projects are based within community needs.

Hands On — Workplace on-site

A common misconception about volunteering is that employees may be “too busy.” But companies can also sponsor volunteer projects at the workplace. This allows for employees to drop in as their schedules allow but still contribute the impact. Projects that can be done at an office might include assembling hygiene kits, organizing food drives, building bikes to donate or taking part in a letter writing campaign. While volunteering in the community can better connect employees to community needs through experience, these on-site projects complement your hands-on volunteerism, including engaging more employees (especially those with less flexible schedules), incorporating them into existing events (all staff meetings, leadership retreats, holiday parties), and not having to worry about the weather. The easier it is to volunteer, the more engagement you will see, and sometimes that means meeting employees where they are — in the office.

Skills-based & Pro Bono  

Skills-based volunteerism (SBV) deploys the skills, experience, talents and education of volunteers and matches them with the needs of nonprofits. Think about it as the right employee volunteer with the right set of skills at the right time with the right nonprofit. By leveraging all types of knowledge and expertise, SBV helps build and sustain nonprofits’ capacity to achieve their missions successfully.

Typically, individual skilled volunteers may offer their expertise to a nonprofit one time or ongoing, while pro bono programs involve employee volunteers working on projects through a more structured program or scope of work developed and managed by the company. Think one graphic designer providing some design work versus a marketing team developing an entire campaign, for example.

Board Service & Placement

Serving on the board of a nonprofit is one of the most impactful ways that your employees can volunteer their time, though companies often fail to realize that this can be a core component of your EVP. Look for opportunities to provide employees with education and training (or point them to external programs/resources) on effective board leadership and also help match them to local nonprofits based on their specific needs.

Virtual & Remote

Virtual volunteers can complete short-term or long-term tasks, in whole or in part, typically off-site from the organization or person being assisted. If you have access to a computer, thousands of different volunteer projects and roles are available to you — from your home, the library or a café. Essentially, anywhere with Wi-Fi and a strong cup of coffee. These tasks and projects can be done individually, as part of a larger team or a companywide initiative. Examples of virtual volunteering include translation, virtual mentoring, digitally mapping areas for humanitarian organizations and managing crisis call/text lines.

Informal Volunteering

In an ever-evolving world, we continue to see more employees engaging in informal volunteering that may not be company sponsored or in support of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. From acts of kindness and helping neighbors in need to participating in a peaceful rally, these actions may be difficult to formally track and integrate into your EVP, but can be very helpful with storytelling and inspiring others in your company and community to take action. Historically, companies have tracked the hard volunteering statistics like volunteer hours or number of people served, but as the volunteer sector expands its own definition to include informal volunteering, it may be something to consider when creating a more accessible and inclusive EVP.

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Financial Contributions

Adding a financial component to you employee engagement strategy can create opportunities for employees to both volunteer their time and donate to the causes they care about. It might seem daunting at first to integrate financial giving into your engagement opportunities, but it doesn’t have to be. Clear communication plus a no pressure, open invitation to give back can create much needed support for the nonprofits in your community and foster a sense of altruism for your employees. The following options can be incorporated into your strategy:

Grants & Donations

Lead by example. While this form of giving can be done through a variety of ways (from a separate company foundation to a simple donation made online with a company credit card), it can be one of the most significant ways your company chooses to support nonprofits and social causes. The financial gifts can also take on many forms — from unrestricted donations, grants to specific programs, event sponsorships, and even more sophisticated impact investments and loans. By showing employees that your company cares about community nonprofits, the more open employees may be to donate themselves.

Workplace Giving Campaigns

Make it fun! Workplace giving campaigns can be administered in a variety of ways, but typically always involve providing employees with the opportunity to make charitable contributions through payroll deduction. Some companies do team competition to see who can raise the most money, while others tie their giving campaign to a week or month of service where employees also volunteer.

To start a workplace campaign, talk to your local United Way, other major community quarterback or simply the nonprofits you choose to support. This may require some investment in technology but ultimately will be easier to process donations and provide any necessary tax documents to your employees.

Keep in mind that not only can workplace giving campaigns raise a significant amount of money for nonprofits, they can also strengthen relationships with community organizations and educate employees on the impact of monthly giving. The most successful giving campaigns are driven by that education and show employees why their donations are needed to meet community needs.

Employee Gift Matching

Double down on impact! Many employers offer matching gift programs that provide a “matching” (1:1 or greater) financial contribution to an employee’s donation. You may want to set guidelines regarding organization eligibility, required documentation, and the minimum and maximum amounts that can be matched.

Gift matching programs are a great way to help nonprofits, empower your employees to support the causes and organizations they care about, and show employees you value their contributions.

Dollars for Doers

Walk the walk! Dollars for Doers programs are another great way to impact your community while empowering your employees to support organizations and causes. These programs, also commonly referred to as Volunteer Grants, involve the company making a financial contribution to a nonprofit where an employee or group of employees volunteers. Imagine how excited your employee might be when they find out that their boots on the ground resulted in an additional donation!

Keep in mind that establishing an approval process to determine the organization eligibility, hours requirement, donation amount per hour or employee and employee eligibility (e.g., full time vs. part time) among other details is necessary before launching a program like Dollars for Doers.

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In-kind Contributions

People, profit and product can be a great way to create “triple impact” in your community. Donating in-kind goods and services is a powerful way to support your nonprofit partners operationally. These non-cash contributions can take on many forms and provide companies with a valuable set of resources to leverage in their community engagement strategy. In-kind goods could include products, supplies and materials (from printer paper to concrete), technology (hardware and software), meeting and event venues, and advertising/PR space. Equally diverse are in-kind services that companies can provide including professional and administrative services, printing and mailing support, and even transportation services. Make sure to check in with your nonprofit partner to see if the in-kind goods you hope to donate are currently needed and can be used within reasonable immediacy, so they don’t have to find a place to store the items on demand.

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Public Leadership & Advocacy

Whether through launching awareness campaigns, forming coalitions, grassroots lobbying or amplifying the work of your nonprofit partners, advocacy can play an important role in your community engagement program. By changing public perceptions as well as actually enacting new laws and policies, this form of employee engagement could be a great way to influence change in your community.

Many companies are also increasingly leveraging the voice of their brand and senior leaders to take public stands on pressing social issues. A company’s voice can be expressed in many ways — maybe as a social media post by the company or CEO, an email sent to all internal and external stakeholders, or an op-ed in a local paper. It is important to note that with the rising expectations for companies to speak out on important issues is also a growing scrutiny of the authenticity of their messages.

Looking to be a leader in your industry through civic engagement? Companies can demonstrate public leadership through their support and advocacy. Empowering employees to exercise their civic duties may not feel as direct as ending childhood hunger, for example, but nonetheless it should be part of every company’s community engagement program. There are many ways for companies to support their employee stakeholders as civic actors, including promoting the Census, sharing important voting registration and election information, organizing issue workshops and town halls and giving employees time off or flexibility with their schedule to vote.

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Program Management & Support

When building a car, let’s say it’s a smart car, you’re probably going to build the metal frame before you load in the GPS. In the same way, now that you are familiar with all the great programming you could offer, consider the employee engagement framework. Before announcing that your employees can now volunteer at company-sponsored events, you might want to first think about the when, how much, who’s in charge, how to sign up, etc. Following structural aspects of your strategy will help ensure that the intent to serve the community will be supported from start to finish.

Volunteer Time Off

As competition for top talent heats up, and company leaders are anticipating the most diverse workforce in generations, it’s no surprise that you might be rethinking the benefits you offer to keep employees happy. In turn, employees are looking more and more to their employers to provide them with opportunities to seek out and fulfill purpose-driven deeds. ​

Volunteer time off (VTO), also known as paid release time, allows employees to volunteer “on the clock,” whereas a flextime policy allows employees to adjust when they do their work to make time for volunteering during the working day. While this may seem like a significant investment up front, it is quickly becoming the standard to offer this sort of benefit.

VTO policies help increase participation for other employee engagement programs, promote a culture of service, empower employees to support issues and organizations they care most about, and provide support to nonprofits during the day when it’s most often needed.

Staffing, Management & Governance

You don’t need to stand up your EVP alone! A formal leadership or governance structure for your employee volunteer program can extend the reach of your staff, provide development opportunities for employees and sustain the momentum of ever-increasing community impact.

Most effective employee volunteer programs use formal volunteer committees or councils to support the management and operations of the program at a regional or local level. You can also use individual employee volunteer leaders to scale the program’s initiatives throughout your company’s footprint.

No matter which structure is right for your program and corporate culture, successful implementation is critical to generating enthusiasm and buy-in from your employees and senior leadership, and serves as a foundation to drive the long-term success of your evolving volunteer program.

Consider involving employees who are already passionate about the community and/or actively volunteering. If you’re unsure or want to engage offices where you may not personally know the staff, you might consider sending out a survey of interest. These volunteers that are already engaged with your work can serve as a steering committee to vet and refine your program and its policies. It also helps you build consensus and support as you seek buy-in and funding.

Training & Education

Employees volunteering at company-sponsored events are representations of your workforce. When provided with training and education about the community or a specific issue, volunteers can create a greater impact and serve with a deeper understanding of the context and purpose of their work. It shows that your company is knowledgeable about community needs and shows a desire to invest in your employees’ personal and professional growth.

While many nonprofits do provide this information during a volunteer project, time can be limited and the focus is often on the instructions to ensure a safe and successful day. Imagine how much more could be accomplished if employees are prepared ahead of time. As an example, if a company volunteers at a local food bank every quarter, they might also consider inviting the nonprofit to give a separate presentation to employees about food insecurity in their community. This transforms your employee volunteers from a participant in a transactional experience into an informed advocate.

You might also consider training on a specific skill set to later incorporate those volunteers in any skills-based volunteering or pro bono activation.

No matter the route you take, education and training on community issues makes for better employees, volunteers and community members.

Tools & Technology

Let’s be honest. Are you still tracking your volunteer participation on a spreadsheet? Or maybe you’re not tracking participation at all. Considering a platform specifically built for employee engagement can greatly help you manage, track and improve your community programs. In some ways, it’s like having a whole team at the touch of a button. The platforms you might consider can be categorized by four main functions:

• Volunteering and engagement: finding volunteer opportunities, volunteer event management, hours recording, employee fundraising, surveys, impact measurement
• Employee giving: matching gifts, payroll deduction, in-kind donation requests, reporting
• Company grants: funding applications, funding disbursements, grant recipient reports, dashboard reporting and report management

With these ranging from complex and expensive to simple and free, it is critical to understand the feature and functionality needs you face, as well as the budget. No one technology platform is the answer to all employee engagement needs, but a successful community engagement program is possible without such technology. However, the larger you scale your employee engagement program or the more data you’re looking to track, the more likely technology can help you achieve your goals and prove the business case for community investment.

This is a dynamic and growing service sector! Almost every platform has a free demo, so sign up for a few trials and enjoy the process.

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The action plan

We have some homework for you before you build, scale and strengthen your employee engagement strategy. It is important to reflect before you act, especially when considering how community needs align with your company values and employee interest. Consider these questions and the reflections below as you get started.

Which nonprofits or community partners could directly benefit from the products or services your company provides? How about the skills of your employees? 

This simple question will shed light on the many resources you have and the ways they might align with nonprofit and community needs. You might even be surprised at the depth and breadth of resources that your company can provide beyond cash donations and volunteering. A company that produces cardboard boxes or printer paper might think their products are irrelevant to fighting hunger or education, but do you know how much food banks and schools spend on these items every year? Or think about a chemical manufacturing company whose marketing department and graphic designer might be able to develop communication materials and strategies for a homeless shelter to increase their fundraising ability. You can be the difference between mission accomplished or another person served.

Have you moved beyond shareholder expectations to true stakeholder desires and interest? Do you understand the priorities and issues that are most important to all internal and external stakeholders (employees, board, customers, community partners, etc.)?

Most companies don’t, so you’re not alone. Many companies may list a set of community priorities, but rarely are they the result of a thorough (and current) assessment of what stakeholders genuinely care about. A materiality assessment can help companies understand these priorities and issues and the impact on their businesses. These insights should be at the core of your community engagement strategy and guide your programs and investment of resources. Some companies may be able to conduct a materiality assessment on their own or hire an outside consultant, though this is also a great pro bono project for volunteers.

Do you understand how and why your employees like to volunteer?

First, how: Do they enjoy doing hands-on projects in the community, workplace projects, skills-based and pro bono projects, reviewing company grant applications, or individually volunteering during the workday? Next, why: Do they enjoy the networking and teambuilding or planning aspect, or are they driven by a sense of purpose or a specific cause area or issue? It is also important to understand the barriers that prevent employees from enjoying or even being able to volunteer, especially with frontline workers and remote employees. The only way to really understand all this is to ask! Send out a survey and engage different teams and diverse groups of employees in discussions to capture more insight and feedback. Involving them in the planning process will help you design a more successful program and build stronger buy-in.

Do you understand what your community and nonprofit partners need? Are you sure?

Talking with your nonprofit partners about their programmatic and operational needs helps ensure that the resources you are investing align with what is truly needed. If you’re serving a community, whether you do business in that community or not, have you asked those community members how they would like to be served? You would be surprised at how excited a nonprofit or community advocate would be to have this discussion. In addition to your nonprofit partners, we encourage you to leverage the information from other organizations that may have their finger on the pulse of the community (e.g., a community foundation, United Way, school district).

What are your technology needs and how might technology solve for managing and tracking company giving, employee volunteerism or other programs?

Before looking at all the platforms, integrations and technology options, which can range from free to thousands of dollars, the first step is to understand what you need to do your job effectively. We encourage you to make a list of all the information and data you need to collect and track. This should include employee volunteer feedback, company donations, and the inputs and outcomes of your work (we’ll dive deeper into this in the Impact section).

How could you engage other employees, teams or committees to help scale your volunteer efforts?

You can’t be successful at implementing and managing these programs alone — even teams at large companies find themselves understaffed.

So, let’s get creative! You can turn a part-time informal role or responsibility into a large team of passionate employees committed to moving your initiatives forward. From volunteer leaders and ambassadors to gift advisory committees to engaging existing employee groups, you can integrate community engagement into their programs. You can also identify key leaders and influencers within your company, regardless of their roles, who may have a commitment to community issues outside of work. You have champions and advocates for your programs — we just have to find them!

Do you have a volunteer time off (VTO) policy?

Realistically, implementing a volunteer time off policy may not be something that happens overnight, but we recommend setting up a meeting with the appropriate stakeholders (ideally after your materiality assessment) to start this conversation. Be prepared to make the case for the positive impacts it can have on your community, employees and business. And if you know of other businesses in your community that may have VTO policies, reach out to them to learn more to help strengthen your case. Remember, companies and employees also benefit when communities thrive.

How are you telling your story of giving, volunteering and advocacy? How can you better leverage your internal and external communications?

This is one of the easiest ways companies can both support their nonprofit partners and advocate for causes. Follow your nonprofit partners on social media and engage with them throughout the year. What messages can you help promote to raise awareness and further support their organizations? In a nonprofit partner hosting an event or fundraising campaign that you could promote? Do they have a need for more volunteers? For ongoing nonprofit partners, you might even consider mutually beneficial promotion of each other’s community impact.

How are you supporting voting, the 2020 Census and other civic engagement opportunities?

Every business, no matter the size or industry, has a civic responsibility to support these initiatives. Your employees, customers and communities will all be impacted by the 2020 Census. Even simple actions like reminding employees of key voter registration dates can have a significant impact, and there are many ready-to-use communication templates available.

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