As a corporate volunteer leader, you may find yourself searching for the best ways to support your people in finding a sense of purpose, connection and impact. We’re here to help!
Each person has a different volunteering journey motivated by their own passions and individual purpose. They’re seeking hyper‑personalized experiences that suit their interests.
Expanding your volunteering program to offer more relevant choices and encompass everyday actions — big or small — can drive major positive impact, for your people and your communities. Follow these 11 best practices to boost employee engagement and plan a successful volunteering campaign this year:
- Create volunteer opportunities
- Encourage user-created volunteer opportunities
- Build a culture of service
- Expand your program’s definition of volunteering
- Meet people where they are with the Benevity app
- Combine giving with volunteering
- Reward volunteers for their time
- Help your people find virtual opportunities
- Empower your Employee Resource Groups
- Integrate positive actions
- Make use of your local champions
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1. Regularly create volunteer opportunities that your employees can sign up for
Adding volunteer opportunities to your corporate purpose program increases overall participation by 67%.
Here's a quick guide on how to create a volunteer opportunity.
2. Encourage and enable employees to create volunteer opportunities for issues they care about
Each person’s journey with volunteering is unique, and your people will be more likely to get involved if there are opportunities that mean something to them. This will also help if you’re strapped for time and need help generating content.
To enable user-created volunteer opportunities, please submit a request.
3. Build a culture of service so your employees know you’re behind them
This could include giving employees paid time off to volunteer, or your leadership setting an example by volunteering themselves or sponsoring an event.
4. Expand your program’s definition of volunteering
Consider including small acts of Goodness to your definition of volunteering. This allows your people to track the time they spend doing good for others and their communities. You can also reward this activity in the same way as you do with traditional volunteering.
5. Meet people where they are with the Benevity app
To make volunteering easy and accessible, give your people access to our mobile app (available in app stores). They can discover and sign up for opportunities, log volunteer hours and keep track of positive actions in real time. They can even make their volunteer experience more social by uploading and sharing photos.
Learn more about the Benevity App.
6. Combine giving with volunteering
Among employees who volunteer, 70% also donate money through their workplace giving programs. And when they do, they give twice as much as those who don’t volunteer.
7. Reward volunteers for their time — no matter how long or short
Offer volunteer rewards as a way of recognizing people’s contributions and providing them with financial incentives that they can direct to a nonprofit of their choice.
8. Help your people easily find and identify virtual opportunities
Create an Event Descriptor with 'Virtual' or 'Remote' that’s tagged to virtual volunteer opportunities and create a quick filter for it. You can also create a Cover Story linking to the quick filter to see all remote opportunities in one place.
Here's a guide on how to set up quick filters.
9. Empower your Employee Resource Groups to inform, educate and engage
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are grassroots groups focused on building inclusive workplace cultures. Leverage their unique insights to educate and engage your people in important causes and expand their social impact.
10. Integrate positive actions with your volunteering program
Missions empower and motivates your employees to do more good through gamified and easy-to-complete activities. Consider integrating special volunteer opportunities that are only available to people participating in a Mission.
Here are some resources on Missions.
11. Make use of your local champions!
No one is more in touch with local nonprofits and employees than your champions. They can research and partner with organizations who need volunteers and encourage those organizations to create volunteer opportunities.
Check out our Ambassador Guide to help you create your own Goodness community.
Download the full PDF version of this best practice guide.