If your organization already has ERGs, you may be looking for ways to deepen their impact - both within your company and in the broader community. Connecting ERGs to your organization’s existing Community Impact initiatives (or launching new efforts in partnership with ERGs) can amplify their reach and effectiveness.
As ERGs continue to grow in influence, aligning their efforts with your organization’s mission and values ensures they contribute meaningfully to both workplace culture and community engagement. Strengthening this connection not only enhances ERG impact but also empowers employees to drive meaningful change inside and outside the company.
ERGs + Volunteering = Community Wins & Culture Thrives
When ERGs align with Community Impact, this can give ERGs a renewed sense of purpose. Knowing that their involvement is having a positive impact on their community both inside and outside of the organization can strengthen an employee’s sense of belonging to their company and their ERG. Volunteering obviously benefits communities and non-profits by providing direct support, resources and skill-sharing. Of course there are benefits to the company as well, including increased employee engagement and retention, positive brand recognition and alignment with overall Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Overall, the positive community impact that results when ERG members volunteer results in wins for all parties involved.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
While some companies mandate that their ERGs get involved in volunteering opportunities, others provide a strong supporting foundation that ERGs can build off of to make their overall program a success. Program Administrators can support ERG Leads by helping to identify causes that resonate with the company, ERG members, or the communities in which they operate. Sometimes ERG Leaders can benefit from a program administrator or other colleague making initial connections with non-profits that they are already connected with. You’ll want to empower your ERG leads to take ownership of volunteering initiatives and allow their members to drive impact through their unique skills and collaborations.
If your ERGs are “required” to volunteer or impact their communities, explore tying these community-based goals to their overall programs when planning events, content and activities. It’s also common for many organizations to give employees paid time off to participate in volunteer activities, and wrapping this into your ERG program can be a great way to increase engagement overall.
Getting Started
Motivate ERG (Employee Resource Group) Leaders and Program Administrators to identify avenues for community engagement that are easily accessible and inclusive for all members. This can include activities such as volunteering at a food bank, organizing clothing drives for the unhoused, or participating in local community service projects. There may be virtual opportunities you can spotlight for ERGs with members located across distributed locations. Conversely, if your ERG programming consists of regional chapters, volunteering can be a natural way to get ERG members together in person and rally around a cause or organization that impacts their local community. You may also want to consider introducing Social Impact Champions (or other similar role) within your company to act as amplifiers across office locations. These Champions can work with ERG leaders to bring additional impact into ERG events and activities that are already being organized.
Encourage each ERG to choose a nonprofit to support that represents their community, while supporting the overall social impact goals and global initiatives of the company. Perhaps this nonprofit could be tied to this ERG for a certain period of time (annually, quarterly etc.) This can be especially effective to tie in local involvement at a grassroots level and evolve ERG participation overall.
Ensure that you are leveraging existing corporate resources and that ERGs are taking advantage of them - promoting match funds, volunteer days and company-wide events that support ERG-led causes can all be effective tools to help drive participation. Additionally, allocating a separate budget to ERGs to increase engagement with your company’s global initiatives is one way to tie things together and ensure that an impact is being felt.
Each ERG should set clear goals that tie back to community impact. Focusing on measurable impact through tracking volunteer hours, fundraising targets, or just increasing awareness (measured by a survey or poll), can really showcase the impact that ERGs are having in their communities. Ensure you celebrate and publicize their success stories - both internally and externally - to encourage more engagement and participation!
The Long Term Value
ERG-led volunteering initiatives can have a huge impact on community, employee morale and organizational culture. As members collaborate with one another, community involvement makes this collaboration more meaningful, and fosters greater diversity, inclusion and feelings of belonging. Creating that sense of belonging and community amongst ERG members can easily be done while also helping others, ultimately creating a winning scenario for all involved.