The landscape of corporate citizenship is undergoing its most profound transition in a decade. It is no longer enough for companies to simply have a social impact program; they must demonstrate that these corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are strategically aligned, clearly supporting business objectives, outcomes-oriented and authentically woven into the fabric of the business.
In the Benevity Impact Labs 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report, leveraging proprietary data from the collective giving, volunteering and granting activities of over 1,000 leading global brands, we reported that nearly two-thirds of companies significantly shifted their corporate purpose strategies in the past year. This transition — driven by rising stakeholder scrutiny, polarized social issues, a changing regulatory landscape and a tightening focus on talent — defines the challenge and opportunity for 2026 CSR and ESG planning.
There are several critical lessons from the 2025 data for corporate leaders and impact professionals to consider and potentially integrate into next year’s strategy.
The new risk frontier: Balancing caution and courage
As corporate purpose strategies mature, and regulatory complexities continue to evolve, a fundamental tension is emerging: the gap between cautious executive messaging and an activist workforce.
The 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report data reveals this tightrope walk: while 52% of leaders expect their CEOs to be less vocal on contentious issues, 76% anticipate increased employee activism in the coming year. This corporate silence, while likely intended to mitigate external political risk, paradoxically creates internal brand risk. Benevity data suggests that when companies stay silent, their people will often fill the void through employee-led grassroots action, sometimes without the benefit of formal corporate support or compliance guidance.
The focus must shift from what is said publicly to how the work is done internally and shows up externally. The Benevity data shows that CSR teams are connecting with more departments than ever before, from the executive teams to legal, to HR with the biggest rise in work with communications. It’s become essential that CSR teams must be integrated with both HR and corporate communications to craft transparent, authentic narratives about impact metrics and company values, rather than just react to socio-political events. This is critical for both internal and external communications, as consumer actions have also proven to be quite reactive over the past year.
Employee-directed imperatives: Resilience through engagement
The 2025 Talent Trends report from the U.S. Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that the recruitment challenges persist, with 69% of organizations reporting significant difficulties filling full-time, regular positions. Purpose programs have solidified their role as a critical contributor to business resilience and talent retention. Benevity data provides quantitative proof that employee participation is directly linked to enhanced retention, particularly among newer hires.
- Retention: Newer employees who participate in corporate purpose programs are 52% less likely to leave their company.
- Trust and inclusion: 91% of employees and leaders view Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) as an important part of their employer value proposition, and 87% say they are a trusted source of information amid peak DEI polarization.
The volunteering renaissance: Driving engagement and resilience
Volunteerism is proving to be a key driver of business resilience — and 94% of companies agree. In fact, volunteerism is proven to be the only workplace intervention among 90 that were measured to suggest a positive impact on well-being and belonging.
With 2026 designated as International Volunteer Year by the UN, there is a big opportunity for companies that lean in. In fact, Benevity data shows that volunteering has been rising sharply within CSR programs since the world reopened after COVID-19 pandemic, with growth expected to be around 11% in 2025. There are shifts towards more structured, high-impact activities such as skills-based volunteering, teams-based volunteering, and virtual volunteering, which continues to draw attention from program administrators in the wake of the increased presence of hybrid work.
Sharpening grantmaking focus: Prioritizing capacity and trust
Grantmaking is also evolving in response to the changing environment. Visible efforts are seen across the granting ecosystem to support capacity, trust and flexibility.
- Shifting priorities: Grants to critical areas like BIPOC-led nonprofits and climate justice saw a relative slowdown in growth acceleration compared to previous years, as companies reframed their granting in favor of broader themes like STEM training, disaster response and local communities.
- Building capacity: Community improvement and nonprofit capacity building jumped from ninth to fourth position among granting focus areas. Companies are recognizing that strengthening the nonprofit sector's infrastructure is a fundamental act of support.
- Filling the funding gap: With significant shifts in government funding creating widening gaps in the social safety net, flexible grant programs are critical. Unrestricted grants allow nonprofits to be more nimble in times of need, and increase confidence in grantmakers that their programs are having the desired positive impact.
- Closing the confidence gap: The Benevity Grants Confidence Gap Report shows that 74% of grantmakers execute on best practices, while only 51% feel they are doing it well. Closing the confidence gap requires the integration of trust-based practices, improved communication strategies and aligning granting with stakeholder expectations.
Planning for 2026: A Benevity checklist
To navigate the current transition successfully, corporate citizenship leaders should adopt a data-driven approach centered on accountability and engagement.
The evolution of corporate citizenship as an enterprise-wide strategy is complete. In 2026, the businesses that will lead the way are those that use real-time data to deliver purpose at work. Those that implement authentic, employee-powered programs that are true to their values, build community, engage stakeholders and contribute to their business’ bottom line will be the most successful and will have future-proofed their organizations beyond 2026.
