Giving Compass' Take:

• Leeah Dollar, writing for VolunteerMatch, discusses how to develop effective volunteer engagement practices to garner support for volunteer programs at a company.

• Are there volunteer opportunities at your organization? How can you encourage more CSR interest in your business?

• Learn about the success of volunteer engagement teams.

2020 is around the corner and you might be asking yourself several questions, like, “What CSR activities can we participate in?” “How can I engage our employees next year?” and “How can my company help the community?”

Volunteering is the answer to all these questions! From increasing employee retention and collaboration to improving overall physical and mental health, volunteering provides a unique opportunity to positively impact the lives of employees as well as their surrounding communities.

Now you might be thinking, “These benefits sound great! How do I make this happen at my organization?” Although there are different ways to incorporate volunteering into your company’s CSR activities, there are a few basic ingredients that can help you and your company build a ‘Recipe for Volunteer Success.’

Step 1: 1 cup of outstanding employees

Employees want to volunteer! With 67% of managers more likely to volunteer if their co-workers participated as well as 77% of the millennial workforce preferring to volunteer with their co-workers, many of the key drivers and supporters of volunteer programs are right inside your office.

Step 2: 2 ½ cups of great causes to join

Companies can either choose to focus on a specific cause that best aligns with their values or let employees decide what organizations they would like to volunteer for.

Step 3: 3 cups of support from top management

Having a group of eager employees with a clear focus on how they would like to serve is a great start to building a culture of volunteerism. However, without the support of senior leadership, employees can quickly lose faith and ambition in their efforts.

Step 4: 4 ½ cups of VolunteerMatch’s Network Subscription 

Now that everyone is on board and ready to serve, VolunteerMatch’s Network Subscription is the last key ingredient to making your volunteer plans come to life.

Read the full article about boosting volunteer engagement by Leeah Dollar at VolunteerMatch.