Employee volunteerism is a core piece of any corporate philanthropy program. According to Uncommon Giving, companies that engage their employees in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives can increase employee acquisition, boost workplace morale, and improve retention rates. However, these benefits only apply if your employees are actually involved.

Many employees want to make a difference, but they need support and encouragement to take the first step. By making volunteerism an engaging and accessible part of your company culture, you can inspire more employees to join your CSR journey. Let’s explore five simple ways to get started.

1. Connect Volunteering to Company Values

When you first introduce a volunteer program to your employees, they might need help understanding how this opportunity overlaps with their role at your company. Remind your employees how volunteering connects to your company values to show that service is a key part of your organization’s identity, not just a side project.

Try these strategies to create a strong association between your company and volunteer service:

  • Focus on causes that naturally tie into your industry. For example, a restaurant might choose to support a local food bank, making the connection between everyday work and community service clear.
  • Link volunteer opportunities to your company’s value statements. When you introduce a new volunteer initiative, incorporate language that your company uses to describe its mission. This will help employees recognize that their efforts directly reinforce the company’s purpose.
  • Share messages from leadership that highlight the importance of volunteerism. An enthusiastic message from high-profile members of your company demonstrates that support for community involvement extends from the top down.

When volunteering feels like a natural extension of company culture, employees see it as part of their professional development. This creates a positive loop where service and work are intertwined, increasing employee engagement as members of your team feel a sense of purpose at your company.

2. Offer Flexible and Inclusive Opportunities

One of the biggest reasons employees miss out on volunteering comes down to simple logistics. If you schedule volunteer events at inconvenient times or fail to provide sufficient offerings, employees may have to miss out on these opportunities.

Provide plenty of options for different preferences and schedules to allow everyone to participate. The easiest ways to add flexibility to your program are:

  • Offering multiple formats. Bloomerang’s guide to volunteerism suggests incentivizing volunteering by offering in-person, virtual, and skills-based opportunities, so employees can choose what best fits their abilities and availability.
  • Providing volunteer time off (VTO). Employees may hesitate to volunteer if they have to take PTO to do it. Offering paid time off specifically for volunteering gives them the freedom to get involved without sacrificing personal commitments.

When employees have flexibility and choices, volunteering becomes accessible to everyone, ensuring no one feels excluded from making an impact.

3. Make It Social and Fun

Employees are more likely to join activities that are enjoyable and community-oriented. By adding social or creative elements to volunteer opportunities, businesses can transform them into highly anticipated events.

Here’s how you can invigorate your volunteer offerings:

  • Organize group volunteer days that incorporate team-building exercises, such as friendly competitions or collaborative projects, to build bonds among colleagues.
  • Introduce gamification through challenges, points, or recognition boards, motivating employees to participate regularly while having fun.
  • Share stories, videos, and photos of past events to highlight the joy of volunteering and make the experience feel inviting to new participants. You can also use storytelling to show volunteers how their previous efforts made a difference.

Volunteering should bring people together. If you can create a positive association with volunteering that makes it feel like an activity and not a chore, employees will look forward to the next opportunity, helping to build momentum across your workforce.

4. Recognize and Reward Participation

Acknowledgment of effort encourages employees to stay engaged and inspires others to get involved. Recognition can be small, but it should be sincere and consistent.

For example, you might use these ideas to incentivize employees to get involved in volunteering:

  • Celebrate milestones, such as hours volunteered or projects completed, by highlighting them in internal communications. For example, you might share: Our team has volunteered for 150 hours collectively at Snack in a Backpack. That means 3,000 bags of nutritious food for local families experiencing food insecurity. Let’s keep up the great work, team!
  • Acknowledge employees who go above and beyond in their volunteer efforts. Be mindful of whether an employee would prefer public or private acknowledgment. Some may love to see their name in a newsletter or receive a round of applause at a company meeting, while others might appreciate a heartfelt letter of thanks from a manager.
  • Offer volunteer grants. Volunteer grants reward your employees for their commitment to their favorite nonprofit. Let’s say your employee, Tanvi, chooses to volunteer every weekend at Pawprints Animal Shelter. Your company might donate $15 to Pawprints for each hour Tanvi works, or you might donate $200 to Pawprints once Tanvi works for 10 hours. These programs show employees that you care about the same causes they do, and it allows them to multiply their impact at their chosen organization.

Recognition validates individual contributions, and it also sends a message that volunteerism is valued at every level of the company, motivating continued involvement.

5. Partner with the Right Nonprofits

The impact of your volunteer program largely depends on the quality of your nonprofit partnerships. Choosing organizations that align with team priorities ensures volunteer experiences are meaningful. You can create a stronger employee volunteering program by creating relationships with trustworthy nonprofits that speak to your company’s values and your employees’ preferences.

Here are some signs that your partnership program is on the right track:

  • Your nonprofit partner has a strong mission and clear impact metrics. When you volunteer with a nonprofit, you want to feel that your efforts are producing tangible results. Make sure that any organization you partner with has accessible impact reports that prove they’re creating real change.
  • You rotate partners periodically. Different employees will connect with different causes. When you balance various partnerships, you give employees the chance to support causes that match their personal passions.
  • You’re building long-term relationships with select nonprofits. Create continuity and deeper connections with certain organizations to allow employees to see the long-term impact of their service.

Partnering with organizations that reflect your employees’ values ensures every volunteer effort feels worthwhile, strengthening the relationship between your workforce and the community.

Inspiring employees to volunteer requires creating a culture where giving back feels purposeful, rewarding, and enjoyable. When your company shows employees that volunteering reflects their values, provides flexibility to make participation possible, and celebrates individual contributions, you give employees the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves.