Trending: engage businesses in volunteering

CSR, or corporate social responsibility, is the buzzword of the times in the volunteer management world.  As consumers become more concerned, more community-minded, and more aware of how every dollar they spend makes a difference, more and more people are driven to support businesses that are doing good.

In turn, businesses are responding by doing good in a myraid of ways - including organizing teams of employees or fans to support a certain cause.  More and more, businesses are sending their built-in people power to support good that's already going on around them.  Their strategy?  Create an employee volunteering program. And this is where nonprofits can help these businesses make a difference.


Have you reached out to businesses to seek volunteers?  If not, you're missing out on an opportunity that could not only provide  your organization with more time, volunteers, and expertise, but an opportunity that businesses are looking for to boost their reputation and gain favor of the communities they work in.

Here are some ideas to help you get started in approaching businesses about forming an employee volunteering program:

• Make the case.  Do your homework and figure out why a business and its employees would be interested in partnering with your organization in the first place.  Does their business connect somehow to the service you do in the community?  Do their employees benefit from your organization's services?  Also consider: what can your organization offer in return for their partnership?  Highlighting the business logo on your website, featuring their volunteering efforts in your newsletter or social media are a couple of common ideas.  Check out this resource from HandsOn for more information on EVPs.  And be sure to take a look at these 10 reasons why doing good is good for business.  

• Have a plan. Take your research about the company's interests and get creative.  Come up with a couple of options for the business to consider that align with their goals.  A couple of potential plans might start with:
• The business invites all employees to an all-day service day with your organization twice a year or once a quarter.  The business takes on the responsibility of recruiting a minimum number of volunteers for each service day.  (This is a great way for businesses to promote a positive work culture and build relationships among staff members.)  In return, your organization will organize all logistics for the service days, provide opportunities during or around the service activity to allow employees to connect, and will list the business as a sponsor on the organization's website.
• The business allows employees to use up to 4 paid hours per month volunteering at your organization.  (This is a great system for businesses whose employees have a special interest in specific programs run by your organization.)  In return, your organization will recognize the business's employee volunteers at fundraising dinners and will feature an article in the organization's newsletter twice a year that highlights the business and its volunteer contributions.

• Find a contact.  To establish an EVP, upper management levels of a business will need to be involved.  You may start your conversations with employees in the Human Resources (or maybe even Marketing?) department, but to establish a program like this you'll need to know  the key players at the company who make the big decisions.

• Make the pitch. Create promotional materials, a presentation, handouts (like this one from HandsOn), or anything else you might use to make your pitch look polished.  This is key if you're trying to make the point that your opportunity will be good for the business's image.  You will need to establish that your organization is a great one that does great community work and carries a great image in the community.

Do you have any wisdom to share in generating corporate volunteers?  Tells us in the comments!