Causecast Blog

A recent report by America’s Charities (an exclusive partner of my company, Causecast) puts to rest any doubts about the link between employee volunteering and employee engagement. Companies prioritize employee engagement as a way to attract and retain employees, and 84 percent of the companies surveyed view volunteer opportunities as an important way to engage employees.

It’s that time of year when CSR budgets are being drawn for the year, and the unfortunate reality is that many companies will come up short. 

Out in the trenches of corporate volunteer and giving programs, I’m seeing tons of creativity in the ways that companies are engaging employees in volunteering. So many businesses are stretching themselves far beyond the “One and Done in a Day” mentality of yore, when troops were rallied to paint a mural en masse and then everyone patted themselves on the back for a year.

San Francisco - January 22, 2016 - Causecast, the most innovative platform for irresistible corporate giving and volunteering programs, and VolunteerMatch, the largest online volunteer engagement network, have launched a groundbreaking partnership to integrate VolunteerMatch functionality into the Causecast software — making thousands of locally relevant volunteer opportunities from over 100,000 nonprofits available to employees all over the world. By bringing VolunteerMatch opportunities into Causecast, companies of all sizes can further diversify their existing volunteer programs to feature volunteer opportunities sourced through VolunteerMatch, Causecast for Nonprofits, and company exclusive opportunities.

Amidst the increased attention on the subject of racial justice this past year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an opportunity to reflect on our progress with civil rights in this country - and consider how far we have yet to go. As the King Center notes,

The Great Recession delivered a body blow to our country’s financial equilibrium, and only after years of painfully slow recovery have housing prices begun to stabilize and the unemployment rate steadily fallen. But while the economic crisis has abated, it remains a devastating morass for many, especially young adults, ethnic and racial minorities, and lower income families.

America’s Charities much-anticipated annual report on employee giving and volunteering was released this month, and as I discussed recently, it’s packed with interesting data about the increasing role of corporate philanthropy in the workplace.

By now, you’ve seen the earth-shaking philanthropy headlines. After the birth of their daughter, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced that they’ll donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock to philanthropic causes over the course of their lifetimes.

In the past three years, America’s Charities has been releasing the country’s most incisive and comprehensive series of reports on trends in employee volunteering and giving. This year’s much-anticipated report was just released, and it’s packed with encouraging - even inspiring - data for anyone who cares about employee-centered corporate philanthropy.  

Amidst the consumerism that tends to envelop us during the holidays, December has also become a time when we’re asked to consider the importance of donating our time, talent and treasure to the betterment of the world. #GivingTuesday, a recently instituted global day dedicated to giving back, was created as a counterpoint to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Women’s Entrepreneur Day is another new seasonal event that celebrates and advances the work of female entrepreneurs, with the ultimate goal of empowering women and lifting them out of poverty.