Employee Supported Volunteering (ESV), also referred to as corporate volunteering has the potential to accelerate the capability and capacity in not-for-profits (NFP). For clarity, when discussing ESV, this blog defines this means of giving as individuals participating in volunteering at a time when they are also being paid by the employer (i.e. during business hours with their employer’s consent). Unfortunately, this potential is frequently unrealised, resulting in a missed opportunity for NFPs to increase their impact. Let’s explore how ESV can build capability and what actions we as leaders of volunteers can take to strengthen our NFP through ESV.

ESV has existed for years and is on the rise according to Giving Australia (2017) who note that almost 90% of large Australian businesses (those which employ more than 200 employees) allocate more resources to volunteering than what they did 10 years ago. Furthermore, 72% of large businesses indicated that they actively seek to encourage their employees to participate in ESV.

As leaders of volunteers, we know that when a volunteer has a positive and meaningful experience their impact can yield many beneficial outcomes for a NFP. This is also true for ESV volunteers whose experience can encourage them to increase their personal impact by becoming an active volunteer, an individual donor or by advocating for their employer to further support your cause.

In addition to providing a general supply of volunteers to support a NFPs day-to-day activities or for a special event, here are some of the ways ESV can build capability and capacity in NFPs.

Generating Philanthropy, Fundraising, Donated Goods and Services

ESV volunteers who are highly engaged and connected with your cause are more likely to seek other avenues to support your NFP.

Workplace giving is becoming increasingly popular with 85% of large Australian businesses encouraging their employees to contribute pre-tax donations to NFPs through workplace giving (Giving Australia, 2017). Pleasingly 56% of these businesses offer dollar-for-dollar matching against donations made by employees, hence doubling the contribution made to NFPs.

Many large businesses incorporate corporate donations into their Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Often these corporate donations supplement ESV activities and a positive experience by employees is likely to strengthen the possibility of receiving a corporate donation. On occasion, businesses are also involved in sponsoring events run by NFPs as well as donating the use of venues and amenities to assist them in their work. Additionally, the teams who participate in ESV are often eager and willing to host fundraising events or a donated goods drive to further support a NFP.

Skills-based Volunteering

Many ESV programs include skills-based volunteering opportunities which enable NFPs to access specialist skills which they may not have internally. The tasks completed by a skills-based ESV volunteer can include anything from legal work, marketing, strategic planning, grant writing, project management, leadership mentoring, facilitating and training and Board appointments. Skills-based volunteering can be directed towards a discrete project, an ongoing piece of work or it could be a secondment.

Spreading the Word of your Cause

ESV volunteers can help promote your cause, your mission and the impact your NFP contributes to the community. They can be unofficial ambassadors if they are given the required knowledge and the experience to ignite their passion and belief in your mission.

Given the enormous opportunities that ESV can deliver to NFPs, why is this potential often not being realised? There are certainly factors which inhibit employees from actively participating in ESV, including competing work priorities, a lack of awareness about the employer’s ESV program and a lack of management support to name a few. From the NFP perspective, all too often ESV is handballed to the leader of volunteers without the NFP giving any consideration to identifying, developing and maintaining a strategic and meaningful relationship with a corporate partner.

How to Leverage Employee Supported Volunteering

For NFPs to fully leverage ESV there are opportunities for Government and peak bodies to enable an environment which will foster ESV to the benefit of NFPs, businesses, volunteers and the community.

There are also actions that we as leaders of volunteers can take to bring about change in our own organisations. These include:

• Educating and influencing: As leaders of volunteers we play an important role in educating the senior leaders in our organisations to understand the value an effective, strategic ESV program can deliver.
• A strategic approach: For ESV to be of maximum benefit to a NFP, it needs to be included in a NFPs strategic plan. What are the NFPs objectives in engaging with ESV? What will it look like and what are the parameters? Who will you seek to partner with and how will you connect with them? And most importantly, how will you shape the ESV program so it directly contributes towards your mission and goals?
• A collaborative approach: When done well, an ESV program will have a positive impact on the entire NFP. As such, it should be developed collaboratively by those who work in fundraising, corporate partnerships, volunteer engagement and any departments the volunteers will work alongside. Equally, showing appreciation towards ESV volunteers should be a shared responsibility across the NFP.
• Focusing on the experience of the volunteers: Planning the volunteers’ involvement from start to finish with a focus on their experience will increase the chances that it will be positive. What information do they need before they commence volunteering? What will their role be, what tasks will they complete and how will you communicate with them the link between those tasks and the impact on your cause? What will their induction include and who will support and supervise them? Are there ways in which you can enhance their experience to foster and increase their empathy and connection towards your cause? This is known as transformative volunteering. Check out Realized Worth and this blog to learn more.
• Educating the volunteers about your organisation: What information do the volunteers need to know about your NFP and the impact on the community? What are the additional ways they could support you and how will you communicate this information to them? How can you steer them towards being advocates for your NFP?

Engaged ESV volunteers can mean so much more than extra warm bodies. NFPs are under resourced and businesses want to increase their community investment. If we are smart about collaborating with businesses, we can build capability in the NFP sector, businesses can reap the benefit with increased engagement in their employees and together we can increase the positive impact on our communities.

Does your organisation leverage ESV to build capability? Please share your experience, how your NFP has benefitted and what have been the contributing factors for your success.