Skills-Based Volunteering

In this video, Microsoft Philanthropies Director of Employee Engagement Karen Bergin reveals the strategies that elevated their company’s workplace giving and volunteering program to a record 74% participation rate (with 70,000 employees!).

Those living in poverty in Eastern Kentucky, and Central Appalachia generally, deal with chronic and serious challenges. Much progress has been made in tackling poverty in Appalachia over the past 50 years, but pockets of severe rural poverty remain, particularly in Eastern Kentucky. While the average poverty rate in the 54 counties of Appalachian Kentucky fell from 60% in 1960 to 26% in 2010, rates are still high compared to the national average of 16%. Rates exceed 30% in more than a dozen counties, including those served by Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) programs.

This year, Common Impact is hosting a Twitter chat on Tuesday, November 28th to reflect on a year in review through the lens of skills-based volunteering (SBV). In light of everything that happened over the past year, we will explore ways in which nonprofits and corporations are working together to building nonprofit capacity and enhance the social sector’s ability to meet their missions.

In September, 8 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) employee volunteers traveled to Pune, India, as part of the HPE Leadership Through Service program. Their mission: to enhance a digital platform that will improve provide educational opportunities to 6 million underprivileged children.

After spending a chaotic day on a boat rescuing people from Hurricane Harvey floodwaters, Matthew Marchetti set out to see if he could put his data engineering skills to work to find a more organized way to save those affected by the storm damage. He created a platform called CrowdSource Rescue to connect victims with volunteers while local officials and the U.S. Coast Guard were inundated with calls. Within hours of setting up the platform, Matthew received thousands of requests for rescue.

Pro bono service is a powerful way to drive social change. Yet, many corporate employees looking to bring pro bono service to their company struggle to get buy-in from leadership and other key stakeholders. Although these stakeholders may understand the social value of pro bono, they don't always see the business value. If an initiative doesn't contribute to the bottom line, it's not seen as a worthwhile investment.

That's why Taproot developed the Business Value of Pro Bono, a new resource for the field that outlines six common business objectives that pro bono can help support. In addition to the social impact that pro bono can help drive, companies have a lot to gain from engaging their employees in pro bono initiatives.

In honor of National Philanthropy Day, November 15, Pentair celebrates its employees around the world that have rallied together as "Team Pentair" in 2017 to volunteer their time and talents to make a different in their communities.

The week of October 22nd marked the celebration of Pro Bono Week! CECP wants to reiterate its support to this important employee engagement tool and celebrate its importance for society. The recently released Giving in Numbers: 2017 Edition report evidences the benefits for companies of communicating a clear sense of purpose to their employees.

Atlas Copco has been commended by the Peruvian Government for helping communities recover from the devastating floods caused by the ‘Fenómeno del Niño’ storm. The Ministry of Labour of Peru recognised Atlas Copco’s efforts in the northern city of Piura at an awards ceremony for companies that provided immediate assistance in the wake of the natural disaster. The award grants Atlas Copco the distinctive denomination of S.O.S Company in Peru.

A global study from CECP: The CEO Force for Good found that businesses headquartered around the world continued to stand firm in their social investments, despite unrest and instability in their home countries and beyond.