1 Funding for this study provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 1 Corporate Volunteerism in Canada: An Overview Dr. Debra Basil Dr. Mary Runte University of Lethbridge, Alberta

2 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 2 Corporate Volunteerism in Canada: An Overview Agenda Company Support for Volunteerism –General Company Support for Volunteerism –Formalized Programs –Causes Receiving Support –Motivation Employer Impact on Employee Volunteerism –Volunteerism during work hours –Volunteerism during personal time –Causes Receiving Support –Motivation Methodology

3 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 3 Company Support for Volunteerism: General Company Support Support for employee volunteering during work hours –Does not vary based on company size –Varies by region In Quebec companies tend to discourage volunteering during work at a higher rate. The trend is evident across regions, but attains statistical significance between the Atlantic provinces and Quebec. In contrast, the Atlantic provinces are most likely to encourage volunteering during work hours.

4 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 4 General Company Support for Volunteerism: Volunteerism Orientation

5 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 5 General Company Support for Volunteerism: Time Off A majority (71%) of companies allow employees to take time off without pay to volunteer; almost a third (29%) allow employees to take time off work with pay. “They (company) would let me take the time I needed…. as long as I could make it up and asked ahead of time” “It is not just encouraged, it is supported…. I remember crossing the finish line (of a charity race) and being handed my timesheet to sign.”

6 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 6 General Company Support for Volunteering: Time Off

7 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 7 General Company Support for Volunteering: Scheduling Most companies allow employees to adjust their work schedule to accommodate volunteerism. Smaller companies are more likely to allow this, compared to larger companies. “On Fridays, when I was scheduled for my volunteer shift, I would leave work early….. I would just start earlier that day.”

8 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 8 General Company Support for Volunteering: Resources Most companies, regardless of size, allow employees to use company resources for their volunteer activities “Photocopying, supplies, whatever…. As long as it doesn’t get too much, they (employer) were happy to provide it.”

9 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 9 General Company Support for Volunteering: Personal Volunteering Most companies, regardless of size, encourage employees to volunteer in their nonwork time. “There are always s going around with events that we can get involved with.” “They wanted us to be involved in our community. To do something.”

10 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 10 Formalized Volunteer Programs: Written Policy Only 3% of organizations have a written policy regarding employee volunteering. Large companies are more likely than small companies to have a written policy –3% of small companies –8% of medium companies –21% of large companies

11 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 11 Formalized Volunteer Programs: Company Resources in Support of Volunteerism 14% of organizations have a formal volunteer program supported by company resources. –66% of these companies have an employee working on the program as part of their paid responsibilities. Of these, a majority have a senior manager (64%); others have a group of employees (12%) or a single employee (9%).

12 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 12 Formalized Volunteer Programs: Do employees know about them? The majority of employees do not know if their employer supports volunteerism during work hours.

13 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 13 Philanthropy: Volunteerism and the implications for other corporate philanthropic activities Philanthropic Endeavors –A large majority of companies donated cash (79%) and goods, services or facilities (74%) over the previous year. This is especially true for larger organizations and organizations with formal volunteerism programs. –The majority (62%) link those donations to causes for which their employees volunteer

14 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 14 Corporate Volunteer Programs: Causes receiving support Among all companies who support particular causes, the most popular are health and social services –Small companies are less likely to target specific causes than are large companies –Large companies are more likely, than small or medium companies, to support grant- making, fundraising and volunteer promotion. “They (organization) support breast cancer related charities because most of its employees are women and they asked the employees what cause they wanted to support. Now they are known nationally for their support for this event.”

15 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 15 Corporate Volunteer Programs: Causes receiving support

16 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 16 Corporate Volunteer Programs: Causes NOT receiving support Some companies exclude particular cause types from support. –Large companies are more likely to exclude particular cause types (23%) than small companies (12%) “The list of exclusions are pretty clear. I can’t get funds for my kid’s hockey, but I can submit for funds for other things.” “I can understand them not supporting things that are controversial and such; it could alienate some customers or other employees.”

17 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 17 Corporate Volunteer Programs: Causes NOT receiving support (by some)

18 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 18 Company Perceived Benefits what is in it for the company? Benefits –Improved relations with the community and customers (62%) Such as improved corporate public image (33%) “It makes them look good, doesn’t it?” “It is important to look like you are working with the community, not just benefiting from them as customers.” –Improved employee relations (38%) Such as enhancing employee morale (21%) “It made me feel good about where I was” “It was a perk. We always looked forward to (the event) each year.”

19 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 19 Company Perceived Benefits: Challenges-what are the limitations to the company? Challenges –Half of companies did not report difficulty regarding employee volunteerism –The main difficulty reported was covering of workload (22%) and this was a bigger challenge for large companies “we would all have to take turns covering for the employee at the event.” “the work would just be waiting for me.”

20 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 20 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Effect of employer support for volunteerism on employee behaviour –Causes supported –Time spent volunteering –Motivation for volunteering –Benefits of volunteering “An employer supporting volunteering? Can it be anything but a good thing?!”

21 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 21 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Volunteerism during non-work hours Employer Support for Volunteering during personal time –Of the 17% of individuals reporting that their company supports volunteering, the majority reported that employer support did not impact the choice of organization receiving their volunteer time (68%) “If I care about a cause, I would volunteer regardless of their support. The support is a benefit.” –For several individuals (19%), employer support increased the number of organizations receiving their volunteer time. –A small number of individuals (8%) chose organizations to support based on their interpretation of the employer’s perception of the charity. “If asked to volunteer for a cause they (employee) don’t believe in, they would just suck it up and do it anyway…. To make themselves look good.”

22 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 22 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Volunteerism during work hours Employer Support for Volunteering during work time –Several individuals (19%) report that their employer allows them to volunteer during work hours. Of these about 42% had done so during the past six months, averaging 8 hrs per month during worktime.

23 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 23 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Causes receiving support Volunteering on personal time –Individuals volunteer for a wide variety of miscellaneous organizations, church, education, community development and children’s programs Volunteering on work time –Individuals volunteer for a more restricted range of organizations during work time, including community programs, children's programs and education with less support for the variety of miscellaneous causes and church activities “I don’t see how my employer would benefit from my church activities.” “That (school activity) is something for my own kid”

24 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 24 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Causes receiving support

25 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 25 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Motivation Volunteerism supported by employer –Help a cause they believe in –Feels good –Make social contacts –Gain knowledge Personal Volunteerism –Similar to reasons for employer supported volunteering, but somewhat more likely to volunteer to escape from own troubles and to make selves feel good “The rewards are endless. My reasons are selfish. I get so much from the experience.”

26 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 26 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Motivation Employer supported causes –Similar to reasons for personal volunteering, but helping their career was somewhat more important than when volunteering on personal time “I don’t feel that I have to take part, but I know that if I wanted to be promoted that I would have to.” “I think that the senior partners are expected to be there, but for us at the bottom, it isn’t noticed.” –Employer’s promotion of a cause improves morale and makes employees proud to be associated with the company “I loved what we were doing. I would look forward to (event) all year. The look on the kids faces….”

27 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 27 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Motivation Employer supported causes –Pressure? Individuals did not feel pressured to participate or resentful. This may, however, be linked to their perception of the employer’s level of contribution. “If I am doing the work and they are getting the credit, I’d resent that unless they were doing their share too. Like if they donated the supplies, location, something. Then we are in it together.” –Whose contribution is it anyway? Individuals felt that, even if they volunteered during work time, the social contribution is theirs, not the employers. “Unless it is a task that I would be doing for work anyway (and doing pro bono), then it isn’t the firm doing the volunteering, it is me.”

28 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 28 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Motivation –Is it volunteerism or is it part of the job? Individuals classify the activity more as a work activity than a volunteer activity if it is done during paid working hours. This is especially true if the activity is organized by an employer. “I volunteer doing fundraising for (charity). When (employer) discovered this, I was asked to head up fundraising for our annual (charity) campaign. It felt completely different. I enjoyed it so much less. One was work; the other was more volunteering.” This may relate to the extent to which the individual perceives that they have choice as to whether or not to “volunteer” It all comes down to choice. If I choose to do it, I am a volunteer. If I don’t choose, it is work. Pay is part of it– if I’m paid it is mostly work, but choice is most important.

29 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 29 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Employer expectations White collar workers perceive that their employer would want them to participate more than blue collar workers. “It is part of being a professional. It is an expectation.” “If I wanted to get promoted to (higher level) I would have volunteered.” “On the most recent version of the annual evaluation forms, there is a section for volunteer activity.” ~ “I don’t know what it would have to do with my job. What’s the relationship between the volunteer work I do and inventorying parts and supplies.”

30 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 30 Implications of corporate volunteerism for EMPLOYEES Employer expectations

31 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 31 Implications of corporate volunteerism CONCLUSIONS –Companies are supporting employee volunteerism in many ways. –Much of the support is informal. –Both companies and employees perceive benefits from this support. –The variety of organizations benefiting from company supported volunteer efforts is somewhat constrained, compared to personal volunteering. –Employees do not always feel their participation is truly voluntary.

32 Funding provided by a grant from the Knowledge Development Centre through Imagine Canada 32 Implications of corporate volunteerism METHODOLOGY –Company data : A nationwide telephone survey was conducted with a stratified sample of 998 randomly selected companies across Canada. Depth interviews were conducted with four executives who manage employee volunteerism programs. –Employee data: An on-line survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,125 Canadians was conducted (16% French). Two focus groups were conducted with employees. Depth interviews were conducted with 18 individuals regarding company support for volunteering.