Employee volunteering has become a cornerstone of modern CSR strategy, driving deep connection, shared purpose and measurable social impact. Beyond doing good, the Benevity Impact Labs Talent Retention Study shows that volunteering is a strategic business driver — fueling higher retention, engagement and employer trust. Read on to discover how your business can meet growing talent and consumer demands to create a competitive edge through high-impact volunteering programs.
Employee volunteering benefits are a competitive advantage
The Executive CSR Report from Benevity Impact Labs shows nearly a third of CSR leaders who are planning to increase investment in CSR initiatives over the next 12 months are doing so to gain an edge in today’s competitive talent market. In a workforce where talent, purpose and performance are increasingly interconnected, employee volunteering benefits represent a powerful and potentially underutilized competitive edge.
In the U.S., less than half of companies offer employee volunteering programs as a benefit according to the 2024 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Employee Benefits survey. Leading enterprises recognize that these benefits drive measurable returns across talent attraction, talent retention, productivity and brand strength. Far from philanthropic add-ons, this is a key area of business investment that can enhance workforce resilience and safeguard institutional knowledge.
How employee volunteer grants amplify impact
Employee volunteer grants are company-sponsored programs that provide financial contributions to nonprofits based on the number of hours employees volunteer. These grants can amplify impact by directly translating employee time and effort into tangible funding, helping your teams see the measurable difference they make. Research from Frontiers in Psychology shows that volunteering at work increases the sense of meaningfulness and importance employees feel towards their roles – it even increases their energy and stamina at work. And when organizations share metrics from company-wide volunteer work, it can inspire deep-rooted connectedness and collaboration across the workforce.
For nonprofits, employee volunteer grants deliver critical, often unrestricted funding that improves financial stability and planning certainty. Every revenue stream is vital for nonprofits. These grants are an integral part of ensuring the most impactful work moves forward.
The ROI of employee volunteering benefits
According to the 2025 Executive CSR Report the top-three factors used to measure the business impact of CSR initiatives include:
- Employee retention
- Employee morale
- Brand perception compared to competitors
High-performing organizations understand that social impact is not just a cultural benefit—it’s a strategic lever for attracting and retaining talent. To accurately quantify the return on investment (ROI) of an employee volunteering program, organizations must move beyond participation rates and connect those efforts to the outcomes that directly influence business performance.
By linking volunteering program data with employee metrics, participation can be translated into measurable business value. This clarity enables leaders to see how purpose-driven initiatives contribute to engagement, retention and brand strength. More importantly, it equips organizations to tell credible, data-backed stories that demonstrate volunteering is not a peripheral activity, but a strategic investment that delivers sustained returns.
3 ways to design an employee volunteering program that scales
1. Build accessibility into the experience
When creating an employee volunteering program that scales, accessibility must be fundamental. Offering employees flexible participation models is key, such as on-site, virtual, mobile and skills-based opportunities. These different channels allow employees across different roles, geographies and schedules to participate meaningfully. Additionally, utilizing CSR platforms, like the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform, further enables scale by surfacing personalized volunteer opportunities aligned with the specific interests and skills of each employee. This personalization can make the opportunity feel more accessible, driving higher participation while maximizing both social impact and the ROI for the employee volunteering program.
2. Integrate technology
Administrative tasks involved in creating and managing volunteering programs can be cumbersome, but the right corporate purpose software makes it easy to automate your end-to-end grantmaking process. The right tools to add program-management efficiencies designed to support volunteer initiatives can better enable CSR teams to focus on what matters most – creating and supporting opportunities for employees and nonprofits to benefit from volunteer initiatives. No matter the size of your organization, technology streamlines administration to scale locally and globally, ensuring volunteer opportunities are accessible, trackable and engaging across the organization. Lastly, a reporting suite for social impact can help tie employee activity to CSR outcomes through reporting outputs that can offer a comprehensive look at contributions and facilitate easier integration with other engagement and talent data.
3. Recognize and reward participation
Organizations can amplify employee volunteering program benefits by intentionally recognizing and regarding participation in ways that are meaningful, visible and culturally aligned. This includes spotlighting employees through internal communications, celebrating milestones like hours volunteered or causes supported and linking participation to incentives such as volunteer grants, digital badges or development opportunities. When recognition is embedded directly within employee volunteering programs, it reinforces that giving back is valued by leadership, increases engagement and encourages sustained participation across the organization.
Tie volunteering to company culture and retention
Connecting employee volunteering programs to company culture and retention creates a transformative environment of engagement and loyalty. Volunteering deepens a sense of belonging and reinforces shared values, helping employees see their work in the context of a purpose-driven organization. Programs that align with employee resource groups (ERGs) and broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives foster authentic connections across teams. When a company actively supports the causes its people care about, it signals that the organization values both their personal passions and social impact — driving stronger loyalty, retention and long-term commitment.
The power of storytelling: Turning data into meaning
The magic of storytelling lies in its ability to transform raw data into memorable narratives that evoke emotion and inspire action. Organizations can use the Benevity Reporting Studio to turn metrics — such as volunteer hours, participation rates and skills applied — into tangible outcomes that employees connect to real-world change. By showing the direct difference their contributions make, you reinforce purpose, motivation and engagement.
Storytelling becomes even more compelling when paired with visuals, testimonials and outcome metrics that illustrate social impact. Engaging your human resources, marketing and communications teams to share these stories strategically helps stakeholders celebrate and rally behind your efforts. Organizations can take this a step further by collaborating with nonprofits to highlight their partnership through external expert voices. The combination of data-driven storytelling and holistic partnerships not only celebrates impact but also grows organizational culture and demonstrates the measurable business return of a thoughtfully managed volunteering program.
The future of employee volunteering is growth at every level
As the Benevity Talent Retention Study shows: Skills-based volunteering will continue to grow as more employees prioritize working for organizations with aligned values. Furthermore, Taproot Foundation reports that research across sectors shows employees’ desire for purpose-driven work is only growing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping growth in new ways
One way AI is transforming corporate purpose is through talent development: The same Taproot Foundation insights show employers want to invest in experiences that help their employees build creativity, communication and adaptability. In other words: skills that cannot be replaced by AI. Unsurprisingly, employee volunteerism is emerging as a practical pathway to cultivate these human-specific skills. By engaging in skills-based volunteering, your people can sharpen their professional expertise while meeting real community needs. For companies globally, this unique chapter in time presents a powerful opportunity to connect talent strategy with social impact — proving that doing good is the driving force behind a future-ready workforce.
Activate your people, amplify your impact
Employee volunteering and grant programs are strategic levers for shaping culture and driving performance. The most successful programs combine easy participation with measurable storytelling to provide tangible outcomes. By operationalizing employee volunteering programs, companies position themselves at the forefront of the purpose-driven business movement.
Benevity helps companies launch, manage and scale global volunteering programs – learn more.
