Causecast Blog

Volunteering with election polls isn’t what usually comes to mind when we think of corporate volunteering.

At Causecast, we are frequently collaborating with corporate social responsibility leaders on how to build memorable, impactful philanthropy opportunities into their employee benefit programs. I’ve heard countless wonderful ideas for 2016, but there’s one workplace volunteering activity that I’m most excited to watch flourish in the new year: refugee kitting events.

Pssst...did you know your employees are talking about you online? According to a Weber Shandwick study, 50 percent of employees post messages, pictures or videos in social media about their employer, part of a growing movement of employee activism that is opening up new opportunities for companies to engage with their employees.

As a nonprofit, VolunteerMatch believes in making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. We also believe we aren’t the only ones who hold this belief, and that by joining forces with other like-minded organizations, we can create an even greater impact together.

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.

Pro bono service has experienced such an explosion of popularity in the last few years that it’s now the fastest growing employee engagement program. But is skills-based volunteering one of those gifts that givers like to offer more than recipients want to accept?