The end of 2020! It’s been quite a year filled with ups and downs, and a lot of change. Let’s take a moment to remember some noteworthy things that happened.
- The Black Lives Matter movement and its fight to end police brutality and racial injustice.
- Neighbours coming together to help each other through mutual aid efforts - running errands, walking dogs, tutoring, and much more!
- Companies shifting production to make essential goods.
- Showing support to healthcare and frontline workers at 7 o’clock with loud cheers.
- And, we can’t forget all the individuals who lent a helping hand when we just couldn’t get that Zoom conference to work.
Alongside all that, more and more people are supporting companies and brands that have a strong sense of purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR). And consequently, workplace giving programs have been on the rise - whether that is encouraging employees to donate or supporting employee volunteering. And guess what? These trends aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
So, let’s get ready to ring in the New Year with a bang, with a levelled-up workplace giving program!
Although we believe that any day is a good day to improve on your corporate social responsibility and workplace giving programs, the coming new year offers a great opportunity to set new goals and resolutions. Remember, it’s all about improvement, not being perfect. We’re not perfect, but we definitely strive to improve everyday. And that’s all that matters.
Here, we highlighted top trends in the industry, with some tips on how you can level-up your workplace giving programs. Let’s get to it!
Flexible Volunteer Opportunities
According to the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)’s Giving In Numbers Report 2020, having flexible volunteer opportunities is key to having an engaging workplace giving program and increasing employee participation rate.
As much as we want our employees to give back in a way that aligns with the company’s mission, it’s important to not limit volunteer opportunities and offer other options that align with their values and passions.
But what are my employees passionate about? That is for you to find out! You can give them full-control of the reins and allow them to volunteer for any organization, or you can do a quick survey to find the top causes and provide them with a list of ‘employer-supported’ volunteer opportunities.
More Paid Volunteer Hours
The main driver of the increase of volunteer hours in 2020 was the access to hours away from work to volunteer! On average, employees are given 8 hours, or 1 work day, annually to volunteer. One-up the average by giving your employees one more day! Given that an hour of volunteering is valued at $27.20, that is equivalent to $217.60 in social impact! Bonus, employees that volunteer are more likely to donate as well!
Give some love to local charities and nonprofits
While 85% of government funding went to the top 1% of charities in Canada, two-thirds of donations from companies were given to international charities. This leaves local, grassroot organizations dependent on their fundraisers and events. And with the current COVID pandemic cancelling all in-person events and gatherings, these organizations need help now more than ever.
Be different and support the charities and nonprofits that are at your doorstep and share the same community as you. Take some time to give them a call to fully understand their needs, and maybe sponsor an event or partner with them for a project.
Utilize tools to help you manage and measure your impact
“Our matching gift program is done manually: on paper by the employee and recipient organization; then by manual data entry into a database. It should be online.” - Survey Respondent, Doing Well by Doing Good report
If this sounds like you, you are not alone. Less than half of companies that have workplace giving programs do not utilize any tools or have sufficient resources to be able to manage them efficiently. This poses a larger problem as companies are unable to measure the value and social impact of their programs.
Companies, especially those with fewer than 10,000 employees, can benefit from using a tool to track donations, volunteer hours, and overall employee participation rate. 2021 can be the year where you add another tool to your kit!
Before the year ends...
Before the New Year rolls around, we can start reflecting on the past year. The first step in having a fresh start is to acknowledge what isn’t working. Maybe your workplace giving program needs more than one person to manage it, or tracking on a spreadsheet just isn’t working out. Whatever the problem is, take this chance to find a solution for it.
The second step is to get feedback from your team! Take a team vote or conduct an employee survey. Don't be afraid of criticism, and engage your employees in the conversation!
At Purposely, we’ve been talking to leading companies in Vancouver to better understand their needs regarding workplace giving. From our experience, we know that asking your users directly is the best way to get valuable feedback to help you improve.
And, what did we learn? We learned that companies’ top concern is not being able to put the right opportunities in front of their employees. So, we took this feedback and created Purposely Discover, a premium, curated list of volunteer opportunities for working professionals. And, this is just the start!
We're currently looking for companies to join our beta program, where you can get important insights on your volunteering program and participate in meetings so we can better understand your needs. As we continue to add new features based on your feedback, the platform will be built just for you. Visit our website for more information and to apply!
It’s a new year! New year, new opportunities, new goals. Let’s help each other grow in 2021.
