Strength through service: Volunteering as a resilience strategy 

Why are more companies leaning into volunteering? Because it builds resilience across businesses, communities and individuals. Explore best practices to strengthen your program and use volunteering as a long-term resilience strategy.  

For impact leaders and their teams being asked now more than ever to prove the measurable value of their work, investing in volunteering is a powerful lever for building both employee and business resilience. In fact, 94% of leaders agree. 

While volunteering plays many roles — including supporting regulatory compliance in certain industries — it also requires significant resource investment to meet the diverse needs of large employee populations and to provide meaningful value to nonprofit partners. 

The data we collected for our 2025 State of Corporate Purpose report revealed the many ways that volunteering should be seen as a resilience strategy — for business, for employee wellbeing and for the nonprofits the work serves. Here’s a deeper dive into each of the areas where volunteering programs have a positive impact. Then, read on to learn strategies that will ensure you’re maximizing your company’s volunteering program. 

Volunteering has wide-ranging benefits for corporations, and executives know it. Company reasons for investing in volunteering range from employee engagement (29%), to community impact (22%), culture and connection (16%), brand reputation (10%) and social impact for a specific cause area (5.5%). 

This work is more than pulling its weight. 

When analyzing the importance of employee engagement, for example, Gallup found the differences between companies with engagement in the top and bottom quartile included 78% less absenteeism, 51% less turnover, 18% increase in productivity and a 23% increase in profitability. Engaging employees does more than make people feel good.

It’s good for your people

But volunteering works on a human level, too. The act of giving time is a scientifically-proven lever — in fact, it’s the only intervention found in a study of 90 interventions to suggest a positive impact on employee well-being, as well as belonging. Beyond making your team members feel good at work, these are elements that give back to business in the form of improved employee performance and leadership, making volunteering a strategic business advantage. 

When there are more options available to employees — like company-created and employee-created volunteer opportunities — participation increases on average 12x. Additional survey data reveals three-quarters of CSR leaders believe workplace culture is enriched by volunteering; 95% agree volunteering enhances peoples’ leadership skills; and 97% believe it strengthens community resilience.

It’s good for nonprofits

The fact that volunteering makes businesses and employees more resilient is positive for nonprofits, too: According to our nonprofit perspectives survey, 61% of nonprofits say volunteers have a significant (31%) or transformational (30%) impact on their ability to operate day-to-day. Of nonprofits currently operating, 47% say that the work is done all (22%) or mostly (25%) by volunteers.

Changes in federal funding, especially in the U.S., have put many nonprofits at risk. The fact that corporations and their people can play such a significant role in helping keep organizations afloat demonstrates the impact that companies can have on their communities. That’s not only good for brand reputation and employee word of mouth, it’s good for the world. 

5 strategies to get the most out of your volunteering program 

Here are some ways executives and impact leaders can better leverage volunteering programs for maximum business and employee resilience, while keeping nonprofit partners in mind. 

• Resource your volunteering programs: Most programs are significantly under-resourced for the value they bring. These programs are not a “distraction” in business-critical times, but a proven method of increasing employee engagement. 
• Engage directly with nonprofits: Understand their needs and how your volunteers can help them most with the least amount of effort, including upskilling nonprofits with industry-specific knowledge. 
• Survey employees and nonprofits on the value of volunteering: This will enable you to optimize your experiences for both audiences — what do nonprofits really need right now? What do employees get out of volunteering? Use the information to tailor your program for maximum impact. 
• Understand company engagement with Volunteer Acts of Kindness: While they may not count towards regulatory requirements, 28% of volunteers only engage in Volunteer Acts of Kindness. Before considering reducing focus on them in the name of compliance demands, determine how that might affect your KPIs. 
• Consider embedding volunteer opportunities into your strategic grants: This allows nonprofits to be paid for the work.
  
  

Your volunteer program is good for everyone

Strategically investing in well-resourced, thoughtfully-designed volunteering programs gives you access to benefits across the board. By both enhancing business and employee resilience and providing critical support for those who need it most, corporate volunteering programs have demonstrated positive impact. Employing strategies that bolster these types of programs, and that keep the nonprofit experience front and center, is how to truly leverage this powerful experience for resilience.