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.
“A leader calling up the nonprofit saying, ‘Hey, I have 20 people that can be over there in an hour. What do you want them to do?’ That’s not helpful,” said Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, managing director of corporate insights and engagement at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, which advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues.