National Volunteer Week (NVW) takes place annually — just one out of every 52 weeks. So, how do you ensure that employees are encouraged to make a difference and take the opportunity to volunteer through their workplace all year round?

On April 17, we invited Spring Lacy and Amy Sulzman of Prudential Financial, as well as TELUS, Volunteer Canada and Realized Worth, to chat about the importance of engaging, impactful and employee-first volunteer programs and more in our #NVW2018 Twitter Chat.

Here are some great highlights from the chat:

Volunteering isn’t just for employees!

1. Volunteer Canada loves to see some of the most innovative companies involving people other than their own employees in their good works. It’s just as important to engage suppliers, customers and employees’ families, which can be even more impactful:

2. Prudential highlighted the importance of engaging youth in volunteering — it’s never too early to start finding purpose!

Work with nonprofit partners

3. Volunteer Canada understands the importance of training your people to work with nonprofit partners and their employees. It benefits both sides!

Develop people, not projects

5. Realized Worth knows that a people-first strategy is a winning strategy. Focusing on people is a proven way to take Goodness programs from transactional to transformative.

6. TELUS empowers their people across Canada to collaborate and help their communities.

7. It takes more than perks to attract, retain and engage today’s diverse, socially conscious workforce — culture and purpose are everything. Volunteer Canada shows us that employees agree and absolutely factor this in when searching for their next job.

8. Prudential’s global reach helps them stay connected to all of their people through volunteering.

And if pictures are worth a thousand words, surely GIFs have to be worth even more. So, what better way to sum things up than with this perfect addition to our Twitter Chat’s lightning round:

So, now you know …

These experts across industries (and countries) all agree that volunteering helps shape a purpose-driven culture at work by building a sense of belonging and empathy in a collaborative setting.

Bonus takeaway: volunteering is a gateway to giving!

Among the Benevity client community, we’ve found that 70% of volunteers also donate money and volunteers give 63% more than non-volunteers! Integrating volunteer programs with your giving and granting initiatives boosts participation in all areas of your Goodness program.

Check out the whole chat here and connect with us on Twitter to get in on the Goodness conversation!