How Much Does Corporate Volunteering Cost?

Volunteering can provide a great opportunity to give back to the community, but it's important to understand the costs for charities to take on corporate volunteers, and the costs involved for you as a business.

In many cases, the costs can be very high and can prevent charities from participating in employer-supported volunteering programs.

There is often confusion in the corporate world regarding why they would need to pay to give up their team's time to help a charity.

While it may seem like a simple matter of doing a good deed, it's important to understand that there are costs associated with employees volunteering. These costs can include things like training, supervision, and other expenses.

In this article, we'll explore the various types of employer-supported volunteering opportunities, how much it’ll cost, and the benefits of giving back as a business through volunteering.

WHAT IS CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING?

Corporate volunteering can be defined as work-based programs where businesses provide the opportunity and support for employees to volunteer during their paid office hours.

This is often provided as a paid employment benefit, similar to paid holiday days or private health care. Many modern companies are now offering paid volunteer time to all employees, and we will explore the benefits of this later in the blog.

If you’re looking for inspiration for what your volunteering days could look like, check out our guide for 15 unique volunteering ideas your team will love.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

CORPORATE GIVING

Corporate giving is a method of giving back where companies donate money or resources to charities, rather than investing their time.

While this approach is in some ways a quicker and lower effort CSR solution, and provides funding for under-supported causes in the local community, it is often seen as a less personal and less hands-on approach to giving back. Larger enterprises often choose this method in addition to actual team volunteering projects to ensure they are supporting all the causes important to them as a brand.

However, corporate giving alone provides very limited benefits to your team in terms of employee well-being, team building opportunities, and retaining top talent. As such, it is often not enough to meet the needs of all employees despite being a decent way to support charities.

REMOTE, SKILLED VOLUNTEERING

As the world becomes more connected, remote volunteering is on the rise. This is especially true in the corporate volunteering sphere, where it offers many benefits. With remote volunteering, charities can access a wider range of skilled volunteers, and employees have more opportunities to find organisations that align with their interests and values.

You may be wondering how much of an impact remote volunteering can have. Surprisingly, platforms like Matchable that focus on skills-based, volunteering from the comfort of your desk can actually create an average of 7x more impact value than traditional IRL volunteering! 🤯 🤯 🤯

Now you don't have to leave the office to create a positive impact!

Your team can make a significant impact remotely by leveraging their unique skill sets. For instance, you could create a marketing strategy for a domestic violence charity that cannot afford an internal marketing team. You could review website copy for a marine conservation team whose first language isn’t English. Or, you could arrange to help local green spaces with their social media.

At Matchable, we offer thousands of both online and in-person volunteering opportunities, depending on your team's location and personal interests. Perhaps a combination of the two would be the ideal solution for your organization.

GROUP VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering together as a group is a popular option for companies looking to achieve their corporate social responsibility goals while also providing a valuable and engaging experience for employees.

These group volunteering opportunities offer employees the chance to work with colleagues from different departments to theirs, try new things, and feel a stronger sense of purpose in their work. Research has shown that volunteering at work can contribute to a more engaged, happy workforce, which in turn can improve employee retention.

Group volunteering activities can range from preparing packages for a food bank or helping out at a local shelter, to working in a community garden. By participating in these activities, companies can make a positive impact on the local community while also enhancing your reputation. Check out some more examples here.

PLEDGING

With more eyes on companies and the way they conduct business these days, brands are keen to enhance their image by capitalising on any opportunity for quick wins.

In the current milieu of corporate social responsibility, pledges refer to promises or targets that companies set for themselves, either as a whole or on an individual basis, to make a positive impact in the world.

These pledges can range from simple actions, such as turning off your lights more frequently to save energy while working from home, to more complex initiatives, such as setting up a cycle-to-work scheme to reduce your company’s carbon footprint.

Smaller startups often opt for lower-cost options, such as pledges or micro-volunteering, since they may lack resources or knowledge to organise a bigger corporate volunteering experience. However, for those seeking to have a high-impact with their CSR activities, skills-based volunteerism is our recommended approach.

HOW MUCH DOES A CORPORATE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM COST?

Corporate volunteering can be implemented in many different ways, and therefore as you would expect the costs do vary.

Employer-supported volunteering can cost as little as a few pounds per employee for large teams, or a few hundred pounds per employee per year, depending on how you’re going about organising it.

Platforms that facilitate the tracking of 'pledges' can be under £10 per employee, but the positive impact created is often just as low. Group volunteering days are more likely to cost upwards of £50 per person. However, the in-person team building and employee motivation opportunities, as well as the chance to capture content to share online about your company’s philanthropy, can make it worthwhile.

Opting for more remote, skills-based volunteering solutions can provide the benefits of higher impact volunteering opportunities while allowing corporate volunteers to get involved from the office or from home.

Remote, high-impact volunteering opportunities can cost anywhere from £1-£15 per month per employee on average.

IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?

Charities worldwide are in need of your skills, and if you have a team looking to volunteer, now there are so many easy ways to get involved. Alternatively, if you have never considered introducing volunteering to your employees before, you might want to consider the benefits it can offer.

We have created an article that outlines all the key reasons why offering paid days for volunteering is worthwhile.

By introducing employee volunteering programs, you can increase employee wellbeing, attract the best potential employees during recruitment pushes, retain the best talent, and improve employee skills through your work. You can read more about all these reasons here.

It's a simple concept: charities need volunteers, employers want a more engaged workforce, and employees want to work for an organization that aligns with their own values. Corporate volunteering can be mutually beneficial for all involved.

WHO ELSE IS DOING IT?

It's becoming increasingly common for companies to offer volunteering as a benefit to their employees. Many big name brands, such as Primark, Spotify, Deutsche Bank, Radley, and Innocent have implemented volunteering strategies through Matchable, and we're also seeing a rise in start-ups and scale-ups introducing volunteer opportunities for their teams.

By providing employees with the opportunity to give back, companies can attract top talent, positively impact their community, and empower their employees to develop new skills.

In short, offering an employee volunteer benefit is a best practice that can benefit everyone involved.