Corporate volunteerism: ‘Not charity. It’s good business.’

The one-day volunteering event — where employees give back to their communities by packing boxes of food or cleaning up a park or fundraising — is so ingrained in corporations that it’s long been lampooned by pop culture. However, as the national decline of volunteerism deepens, both corporations and nonprofits are looking for something more useful. “What you want is for those volunteers to be part of an ongoing engagement, so those volunteers become embedded in the community,” said Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas of Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, an organization that advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues. “They understand better what those participants’ needs are and they truly are then approaching their volunteerism work not as ‘I’m helping you,’ but with a lens of ‘We’re in a partnership about making our community a better place.’ That levels the playing field. It doesn’t make it charity. It makes it a relationship.” It’s the kind of relationship that more and more corporations are trying to cultivate with their philanthropy. Tech giant Salesforce is a high-profile example of that connection, with its wide range of volunteer programs and funding initiatives that focus on education and workforce development, as well as climate and community resilience. The company is part of the Pledge 1% movement, where corporations promise to donate 1% of their equity, time, products and profit. Salesforce often supports nonprofits through several of those donation types, often stacking them as its relationship with the group grows. Naomi Morenzoni, Salesforce’s vice president of philanthropy strategy, said the company is an outlier in terms of volunteering, with about 87% of its workforce donating time each year. “There’s a sea change that’s happened,” Morenzoni said. “We see that 50% of job seekers won’t take a job if a company doesn’t align with their values. All of that is driving value both for the company and for the community. The two are completely interconnected now.” Salesforce sees its philanthropy program – which provides employees seven days of paid leave to volunteer and a company match for donations up to a $5,000 total each year – as a tool for recruitment and retention. This article was provided by The Associated Press.