Another 51 Great Sites for CSR, Corporate Volunteering, & Workplace Giving (UPDATED)
The sequel to Realized Worth's Chris Jarvis' 2009 post entitled 51 Great Sites for Corporate Social Responsibility.
In 2009, Realized Worth’s Chris Jarvis published a list entitled 51 Great Sites for Corporate Social Responsibility. To this day, that article receives thousands of reads per week – and it’s high time we provided an update. Realized Worth is excited to present Another 51 Great Sites for Corporate Social Responsibility! This list specifically includes sites that provide resources practitioners can apply on a practical level in 4 categories: corporate volunteering, CSR news and organizations, CSR bloggers, and workplace giving.
Editor’s note: while this blog will continually be updated to list more and more great sites, the title will stay the same. We hope you don’t feel deceived when you realize there are, in fact, more than 51 sites.
18 Corporate Volunteering Resources
A Canadian-based organization, Charity Village facilitates an online community where likeminded peers connect and share resources, best practices, and volunteering opportunities. The site provides readers information on topics ranging from work life to human resources to engaging volunteers.
As a CSR consulting firm based in Shanghai, the Collective Responsibility blog is one of the few sources for digging into the sometimes complicated world of volunteering, giving, and strategic impact in China. As the field grows and companies learn to prioritize their global locations, this resource is becoming increasingly relevant.
3. Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)
As the organization that produces the annual study Giving in Numbers, CECP is leading the field in research and best practices. Their website provides a wealth of resources on topics including measuring value, disaster response, shaping the future, and corporate social investment trends.
4. Corporation for National and Community Service
Corporation for National and Community Service is the nation’s largest grant making organization. As the originator of initiatives like AmeriCorps and the Social Innovation Fund, CNCS is US-centric, but their blog is still a great resource for anyone with its inspiring videos, information on upcoming national service events, and stories of volunteering across the nation.
5. Energize, Inc. – Volunteer Management Resources for Directors of Volunteers
A site Realized Worth visits regularly for volunteer engagement resources, the intended audience of Energize, Inc. is specifically leaders of volunteers. Their A-Z on volunteer management is an extensive, searchable library of over 100 topics.
Engaging Volunteers is a blog provided by the Volunteer Match team for social change organizations. Volunteer Match provides an online service that matches volunteers to nonprofits, but just a quick visit to their site will demonstrate that they do much, much more than that. Their blog, written by members of the team as well as third-party experts in the volunteering and technology community, is a must-have source for trends and best practices in the field.
The HandsOn Network is a nonprofit organization focused on community service. The organization is based in Atlanta, Georgia but has a global influence. Their blog informs readers of awards in the field, great ideas for meaningful civic engagement, and stories of recent inspiring events. One of my favorites is a recent blog called 7 Reasons to Date a Volunteer.
8. International Association for Volunteer Effort
IAVE exists to strengthen and celebrate the development of volunteering worldwide. With global influence, IAVE’s resources span a wide range of useful topics including upcoming conferences and events, recently published studies, best practices, and trends in the field. Watch for IAVE’s upcoming events in your area.
Australia has consistently proven to be ahead of the curve in all things volunteering and giving. This site provides news items focused on volunteering by business people and professionals as pro bono service. While the news items are locally based, the potential learnings are applicable globally.
10. Pyxera Global
Pyxera is a global pro bono and international volunteering organization. Their “Borderless” blog allows the reader to filter by multiple useful topics organized into four categories: issues, services, signature initiatives and regions. Just click, search, and dig into a wealth of articles written by experts in the field.
11. Realized Worth
It’s us! As a for-profit consultancy that designs, implements, and manages corporate volunteer programs for major companies across the globe, we try to stay up on the issues and provide our blog as a resource for all types of CSR practitioners. Our blogs address major industry challenges, share key resources, and most importantly speak to “why” behind corporate volunteering and giving.
12. The Huffington Post – Volunteerism
With the tag line “Some news is so big it needs its own page,” the popular daily news site has aggregated its volunteer related stories in a special section. Many posts are blogs from the HuffPo blog site. This section is guaranteed to provide a bump of inspiration on a day when the cubicle is getting you down.
13. Uniterra
Uniterra is a Canadian-based organization that provides voluntary cooperation and international development programs. Check out the site to learn how to participate with an international volunteering opportunity or simply browse the blog page for stories of hope and inspiration, upcoming Uniterra events, and avenues to involvement.
14. Voluntare
Voluntare is a global corporate volunteering network committed to providing resources, answering questions, and making connections for its members. Voluntare’s website is brimming with useful materials and their “contact us” page is worth utilizing if you’re looking for help related to corporate volunteering. This site is particularly useful for Spanish speakers as resources are provided in both English and Spanish.
15. Volunteer Canada
Volunteer Canada represents and advocates volunteering in Canada. The Corporate Citizenship section of their website focuses specifically on needs related to employee volunteering and giving, including information on Volunteer Canada’s consulting services as well as topics such as capacity building, knowledge exchange, and community engagement.
Volunteering England is a membership organization for both nonprofits and corporations in the UK. While members have access to a more extensive array of resources, the website is meant to serve and assist anyone who works with volunteers including a section specifically focused on employer supported volunteering. Note the Case Studies tab and the long list of program examples available to read and download.
Virtual volunteering has become a significant enough form of volunteering that it now has its own Wiki! Opened in 2014 by Jayne Cravens and Susan J. Ellis as a virtual appendix to their new book, The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook, the site is a platform for sharing news items, research papers, and other resources about online service.
18. Volunteering Is CSR: The VolunteerMatch Blog for Business Leaders
All about corporate social responsibility, Volunteering Is CSR is another blog provided by the VolunteerMatch team, but this one is intended specifically for the corporate audience. Subscribe to this blog to keep up on VolunteerMatch webinars, also a great resource for education in CSR.
19 CSR Organizations & News Resources
1. 3BL Media
3BL Media is the number one reputable CSR news site. With content generated by hundreds of corporations who are engaging as responsible corporate citizens in innovative and meaningful ways, this site is absolutely necessary for keeping up with the latest in CSR.
B Corporation provides a certification for companies intending to benefit society as well as their shareholders. While very focused on their own work, B Corp’s website provides a great resource for understand what it means to intentionally become a more responsible company, including the steps to begin the process of becoming a certified B Corp.
3. Boston College Centre for Corporate Citizenship
As one of the prominent leaders in the CSR field, BCCCC offers services that range from “built-in research team” to “peer-to-peer networking and collaboration”. While some online resources are available only to members, even non-members can find valuable information on the site, particularly under the Conferences & Events and Knowledge & Events tabs.
4. Business for Social Responsibility
BSR is a consulting firm that seeks to help businesses operate in a way that contributes in the creation of “a just and sustainable world” through implementation of their suggested strategies. The BSR website offers a robust insights section where case studies, research reports, podcasts, and the BSR blog can be found.
Business in the Community is a British outreach charity promoting responsible business, volunteering, and CSR. Their blog articles are fun, informative, and cover a wide range of topics from inspiring stories from the developing world, to best practices examples of corporate social responsibility programs.
Business Respect offers articles and information on CSR events and semi-current CSR news. In addition to reviews, their resources section has a ranking system which is helpful for deciding what to read on topics ranging from child labor to philanthropy.
Caux Round Table is an international network of business leaders working to develop ethical business practices. Caux provides intellectual strategies and management tools including downloadable toolkits and handbooks for practical use in companies.
Corporate Knights is a Canadian based “real” magazine (you can subscribe to the hard copy) that also provides an incredible, interactive website with a myriad of interesting and accessible resources on responsible business, corporate volunteering, best practices, thought leadership, sustainability, and more.
9. Corporate Responsibility Magazine
CR Magazine is the organization that generates the annual “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list! The website provides easily searchable information on topics such as business ethics, social responsibility, and socially responsible investing.
10. CSR Europe
On their site, they state that they are the “leading European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility”. If you would like to learn more about what’s happening in the CSR field in Europe then this is the site to frequent.
11. CSR News
As the title suggests, CSR News covers international news items related to corporate social responsibility. While the German site is updated more frequently than its English counterpart, both are great sources of current events and up-to-date information.
12. CSRwire
CSRwire, along with Justmeans.com, SocialEarth.org, and 3blmedia.com, is part of the 3BL Media family of companies and platforms, raising awareness for CSR and sustainability initiatives around the globe. Their platform keeps you in the loop for CSR and sustainability issues. On the site you’ll find news, events, book recommendations, and more.
Ethical Corporation serves CSR, compliance, risk and governance communities with topical and insightful business intelligence and meeting places. With frequent updates, lists of current events, interviews with CSR leaders, industry reports and more, this site is a must-have source of information. You can even sign up for a free weekly Ethical Corp update.
Originally established in the UK, Ethical Performance now provides CSR news worldwide. The website and monthly newsletter both provide extensive content, though a subscription is required to access or download full articles and reports.
15. Good Magazine
Good is unlike any other magazine as it focuses on new and inspiring stories internationally that offer practical and motivating steps toward become a “Good” global citizen. This site is brimming with inspiration for a day when the world feels a little dark.
16. Harvard Kennedy School of Government (The CSR Initiative)
The CSR Initiative provides original content used by students for research papers and publications. Keep an eye on the site for CSR-related events typically held throughout the year and often open to the public.
17. Stanford Social Innovation Review
Stanford’s Social Innovation Review is an incredible resource for “informing and inspiring leaders of social change.” Smart, relevant, and current, SSIV publishes articles on social business, global issues, nonprofit management, employee volunteering, social entrepreneurship, and more. We recommend subscribing to the old-school, hard-copy magazine as well as checking out the podcast, Social Innovation Conversations.
18. TriplePundit
Triple Pundit is a new media company for highly conscious business leaders. With an interview series, lists of CSR courses, tweets on the current events, and insightful articles on relevant issues, Triple Pundit’s website is a resource treasure trove for all topics related to sustainability, ethics, volunteering, and corporate citizenship.
The UN Global Compact is a “strategic policy initiative for businesses” that matches current strategies and operations with “ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.” Both business and non-business organizations can collaborate here for better business practices or simply utilize the myriad of resources provided.
20. Points of Light
Points of Light is a nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the advancement of the practice of volunteer service globally. They work with both corporations and nonprofits to provide resources and guidance for increasing program effectiveness and overall impact. Between their website, blogs, conferences, and webinars, you can find everything you need to become an expert in all things volunteering!
7 CSR Bloggers
Ramesh currently lives in Bangalore and provides his insights on business, CSR, and economic issues. As volunteering and giving become increasingly important topics as they relate to India and the recent policy changes, Business Musings is a timely and relevant resource.
2. Coethica
David Connor, a longtime blogger and Director of CSR Wire, publishes insightful commentaries on issues related to corporate social responsibility. In his writing, he reveals a genuine passion for seeing business and people claim ethical practices as a natural and expected way of life.
Dirk Matten and Andy Crane, respected authors and professors at Schulich School of Business out of York University, provide intelligent, insightful, and often subversive perspectives on topics related to CSR, shared value, sustainability, and current events.
Elaine Cohen, renowned blogger, respected consultant, and published author writes this charming, personality infused blog on sustainability reporting. You’ll feel like you’re out for coffee with a friend while you learn better reporting practices.
Aman Singh is a CSR communications and social media expert, committed to advancing the field with critical analysis and forward thinking ideas. Her website, subtitled Connecting the Dots Between Business, Society & the Environment, is updated a little less frequently lately, but still a great source for a smart look at CSR related issues.
Jayne Cravens is a known expert in the fields of volunteering and corporate social responsibility. She was one of the earliest practitioners providing online resources and continues to be an incredible resource. Her blog provides commentary and information on volunteerism, community engagement, nonprofit development, communications, and more.
Chris MacDonald is a business ethics educator, speaker, and consultant. His blog features news and commentary about corporate ethics. Those who believe the sole purpose of business is to make money will probably not be a fan of this blog.
7 Workplace Giving Resources & Blogs
Note: the following is by no means a comprehensive list of workplace giving software providers; rather, these are providers who happen to host useful resources or blogs on their websites. Please watch for our updated list of workplace giving software providers soon.
1. Benevity
Benevity provides a workplace giving solution and helps corporations enhance their volunteer program interface across various online platforms. The Benevity Blog hosts articles written by experts in the field about the latest trends and most effective best practices in giving and program enhancement.
2. Causecast
Causecast’s workplace giving software focuses on helping create “high-impact employee led programs” for companies. Their regular blog articles address the latest challenges and trends in the world of corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, and corporate volunteering.
Charities@Work aims to help companies maximize the efficiency of their employee engagement programs and to show them the different possible giving options. Their website provides educational resources, volunteering opportunities, insightful blog articles, and more.
Double the Donation helps nonprofits and schools increase the funding they receive from corporate matching and employee volunteer grant programs. Their site provides multiple resources for companies and nonprofits including blog and a benchmarking tool.
5. EarthShare
EarthShare is an employee engagement platform that raises awareness for important environmental causes and connects companies with partnering organizations. The EarthShare@Work program connects employees with partner environmental foundations. Start by clicking on The Issues to get oriented to the resources EarthShare provides.
This online giving platform enables companies to implement a direct and efficient employee volunteering program instantly. What’s unique about this is that it matches your “employees’ skills and interests to local nonprofits so both parties will receive optimum value out of the interaction. Their blog provides research and ideas for effectively engaging employees in workplace giving.
7. YourCause
YourCause, a provider of a workplace giving software platform, provides a fun and quippy commentary on the issues they run into as they work with companies on providing engaging giving programs. Most articles include steps for easily applicable solutions to the challenges CSR managers face on a daily basis.
What sites did we miss? Please add the URL in the comments section or reach out to us on Facebook and/or Twitter.
Realized Worth is a for-profit company that designs, implements, and manages volunteering and giving programs for major corporations around the world. Contact us via contact@realizedworth.com to discuss your program’s next step!
