How can you ensure that corporate volunteering programs make a positive impact?

1 Assess your needs and resources

Before you start looking for volunteering opportunities, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, how much time and money you can invest, and what skills and interests your employees have. Conduct a needs assessment to identify the gaps and challenges in your organization and your community that you want to address through volunteering. Survey your employees to find out what causes they care about, what skills they want to use or develop, and what preferences they have for volunteering formats and schedules. This will help you narrow down your options and match your program with your mission and vision.

3 Plan and prepare your activities

After you have selected your partners, you need to plan and prepare your volunteering activities. Depending on the type and scope of your program, you may need to set up a team, assign roles and responsibilities, create a budget, schedule, and timeline, and communicate your expectations and guidelines to your employees and partners. You also need to ensure that your activities are safe, accessible, and inclusive for all participants, and that you have the necessary equipment, materials, and permissions. You may also want to provide some training or orientation for your employees and partners to help them understand the context, goals, and best practices of your volunteering activities.

4 Monitor and evaluate your impact

To ensure that your corporate volunteering program is making a positive impact, you need to monitor and evaluate your progress and results. You can use various tools and methods to collect and analyze data on your inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impacts, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or case studies. You should also solicit feedback from your employees, partners, and beneficiaries to understand their experiences, perspectives, and satisfaction. Based on your findings, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your program, measure your return on investment, and report on your achievements and challenges.

5 Celebrate and recognize your efforts

Finally, you need to celebrate and recognize your efforts and achievements. Corporate volunteering can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience for your employees, partners, and beneficiaries, and you should acknowledge their contributions and impact. You can use various ways to celebrate and recognize your efforts, such as hosting events, ceremonies, or parties, giving awards, certificates, or gifts, sharing stories, testimonials, or photos, or featuring your program in your internal and external communications. By celebrating and recognizing your efforts, you can boost your morale, motivation, and engagement, and inspire others to join or support your program.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?