Let me start off by saying not everything has to be about money. The beauty of volunteering is that it's one of the few times where we can selflessly give of ourselves— not for money, not for attention, but simply to give, all the while letting ourselves step out of the way so kindness and compassion can act through us.

Companies on the other hand have a bottom line to meet. Customers need to buy your product, that money needs to go back to your employees, and in an ideal, let's say non-covid world, you can use some remaining profits to expand your business. But the fact is we do live in a world dominated by covid. Not only that, but we live in a time of great social, political, and climatological upheaval. And in times like this, companies have to be thinking about money. But they also have to be thinking about giving back. It's no longer optional, and if you're a business owner, you know it.  So let's talk about your bottom line, employee volunteering, and how the two don't have to be at odds. In fact, they're both key to your company's responsibility to social good.

It's more difficult than ever for your company to set aside funds to donate to charity. It's just the reality we live in. Budgets are tight, and we're trying to save wherever we can. But while charitable funds are on the decline, the value of volunteering has been steadily rising. As of July 2020, the value of volunteering is $27.20 per volunteer hours, up from $25.43 in January. That's nearly a $2 increase in just 7 months!

So what does this mean for your business? Let's do some quick math. What if you gave just one of your employees 4 days off to volunteer? $27.20 x 8 hours is $217.6 for the day, and a whopping $870.40 a year! That's employee value that directly impacts a charity! All without spending a single dollar. Plus, you let your employees give time to something that's meaningful in their lives. How cool is that?

This doesn't mean giving up on charitable giving. Charities rely on funds to keep themselves going. But it's about time we looked at more than simply giving money, and employee volunteering is the perfect way to take one step out of the metaphorical box and rethink what it means to give as a company.

I'll leave you with this thought. While office space may not be as necessary as it once was, we still have to pay rent, one way or another.

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth." - Muhammad Ali

Pay it back by letting your employees make the world a better place by volunteering their time, all while improving your company's image, not just because it looks good on the outside, but because it's the right thing to do. It's part of the bargain for sharing this Earth. It's your rent.