Corporate Philanthropy & Volunteering Blog

“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”  

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural words will never ring as true than during National Volunteer Week, which this year falls on April 21-27.  First instituted in 1974 by President Nixon, National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate the power and social impact of service.  This year’s theme is “Celebrating People in Action,” honoring those who take action to solve significant problems in their communities.  

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that leads United We Serve, President Obama's national call to service initiative, Americans are volunteering more than ever.  2011 saw the highest number of U.S. volunteers in five years; 64.3 million Americans volunteered an estimated 7.9 billion hours with an estimated economic value of $171 billion.  Although the price of volunteerism is immeasurable, these estimates help organizations acknowledge the millions of people who dedicate their energy, talents and time to making a difference.    

Endorsed and supported by President Obama, Congress and other national and state leaders, National Volunteer Week is also recognized by corporations and nonprofit organizations in numerous events throughout the country.  Various corporations will exercise their corporate philanthropy nationwide in recognition of their employee volunteers.    

Financial know-how is one of our nation’s most pressing issues. Efforts to support financial literacy already exist — including programs from banks, brokerage houses, technology firms, professional services companies and from at least 13 states which require personal finance coursework as a high school graduation requirement. Despite these efforts, however, only 35 percent of teens know how to manage a credit card and only 20 percent of teachers feel prepared to teach the subject. 

To help combat this critical social gap, corporate philanthropy initiatives of all shapes and sizes have been created.  Leading companies are working to empower people across the country (and world, in some instances) by putting their core financial literacy competencies to work. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that acts of service were the great equalizer.  “Everybody can be great,” he noted, “because everybody can serve.”  That’s why Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, once said that "the greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the day by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others."  

Since 1986, three years after President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law, every third Monday in January is designated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday that celebrates Dr. King’s life and work.  In 1994, Congress named MLK Jr. Day as a national day of service, and since then Americans have often celebrated the day through acts of service, dubbing the holiday “A Day On, Not a Day Off.”  This movement also aligns with President Obama's national call for all Americans to incorporate volunteerism and public service into their daily lives as a responsibility of citizenship.  

This post was featured in Forbes.com.

With more than 300,000 employees in over 90 countries, HP is a large company by anyone’s standards. This size and scale allows them to make an impact in a way that smaller organizations cannot. 

“Scale is sexy,” says Caroline Barlerin, director of global community involvement in HP’s Office of Global Sustainability & Social Innovation, who points out if all HP employees took advantage of the four hours of paid time off to volunteer the company offers every month, it would equate to more service than the Peace Corps. While she doesn’t believe the company will single-handedly change the world, Barlerin is cognizant of the impact a company as large as HP can make through sheer numbers alone, as well as how it can lead the overall dialogue around shared value.

 
“Unthinkable.”   

“Unprecedented.”  

“Devastating.”  

The worst superstorm in 100 years has left the Northeast, Cuba and Haiti reeling from historic damage.  Deaths, floods, power outages and wreckage comprise the plight of communities across the East Coast.  

Now is no time to sit on the sidelines; millions of people need your help.  Companies can - and should - step up and demonstrate their leadership by engaging their employees in disaster relief for communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.    

To that end, Causecast has created a disaster response and recovery campaign which is available right now within its Community Impact Platform.  If you need any help launching a disaster relief campaign, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.  We will get you up and running right away.  

Whether you’re using Causecast's platform or not, the most effective step your company can take is to encourage workplace giving donations to relief agencies like Operation USA and AmeriCares.  But volunteers are also needed as a part of the massive clean-up effort across the Northeast; and it’s not just physical labor that’s needed - skills-based volunteers are in demand as well.  After disasters like this, legal advice, accounting help, translation skills, and even real estate help will be needed in the days and weeks ahead.   

Here are some organizations that have indicated a need for volunteers:    

This post was featured in The Huffington Post.

According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), over 1.5 million non-profits are registered in the U.S.  While many of them receive assistance through corporate philanthropy and employee volunteer programs, in general all of them compete for a limited giving pool.  So how can nonprofits stand out among all the noise, especially if you’re a small, grassroots organization championing an underserved and mainly unnoticed population like foster children?

This post was featured in Forbes.com.

No matter how much a company praises the corporate volunteering efforts of its employees, it can seem like so much hot air without making a commitment of its own. A photo-op or feature in a company newsletter is one thing, but with the growing importance and visibility of corporate social responsibility efforts globally, smart companies are doing more than just patting employees on the back for their charitable efforts. 

Enter Volunteer Grants (Dollars for Doers) programs, which match employee volunteerism with corporate donations. Unlike a matching gifts program, which matches an employee's donations with corporate dollars, these programs match employee volunteer efforts with company dollars.  If you’re looking for ways to promote employee volunteer work, better integrate your company into the community, and help attract and retain socially-minded professionals, it might be time to create or expand such a program of your own.

Here’s a look at three companies that have embraced Dollars for Doers and are doing it well:

This post was featured in Forbes.com.

It seems like everyone in this country has a complaint about the health care and education systems. The Advisory Board Company, however, makes its business looking for solutions in healthcare and higher education. The company works with over 93 percent of the best hospitals in the country, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report and the Leapfrog Group.

Indeed, making the world a better place is what The Advisory Board Company is all about. 

Launched in an apartment in 1979, The Advisory Board Company has grown to employ over 2,000 people in eight offices, including one in India and another in the United Kingdom. As a measure of its prioritization on corporate philanthropy, the company is one of the driving forces behind A Billion + Change, a national campaign to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono and skills-based services from corporate America by 2013. For its part, The Advisory Board Company has committed to giving 2,000 hours of pro bono service to high-performing non-profits in education and health care. The company seeks to offer strategic guidance assisting these non-profits with business and financial strategy, operational efficiency, industry research and branding.  

This post was featured in Forbes.com.

All too often, corporate citizenship is an afterthought.  Sure, Fortune 500 companies frequently offer employee volunteer programs and matching gifts, and contribute pro bono work on a massive scale. However, incorporating corporate social responsibility as a way of life rather than just treating it as an extracurricular activity is more often the exception rather than the rule. And oftentimes, smaller companies assume they simply can’t make the same impact as the big boys.

On both counts, Matthew Manos of design consultancy VeryNice believes he’s found answers.  

At VeryNice, pro bono work isn’t something that employees do off the clock, with or without incentives. Rather, it’s just business as usual. In fact, the company contributes half of its time to pro bono design work for nonprofits. When Manos started the company at the tender age of 19, while still in college, it existed only to provide pro bono design work. While the realities of paying bills in the world caused Manos to rethink his business model, he did not let go of his desire to provide services at no cost.

This post was featured in Forbes.com.

The triple bottom line (also known as 3BL, the three Ps and the three pillars) puts into concrete terms what we already know: there’s more to business than just making money.  You could even say that there’s more to making money than making money...at least the traditional way.

The three pillars are a key component to good corporate citizenship through sustainability.  3BL is a holistic approach to business that sees people, the planet and profitability (the three Ps) as equal pillars in a corporate mission.  This mission has become so popular amongst the public that it’s now a widely heeded business prerogative by global brands ranging from FedEx Kinkos, Nike and Tesco, by small mom-and-pop shops like Jessica Alba’s non-toxic baby product company, The Honest Co., and by companies everywhere in between.

So what are the 3 Ps all about?