The Blackbaud Institute, a research lab at Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, released a new spotlight brief sharing insights from the company’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Industry Review, which analyzes CSR program data and employees’ philanthropic engagement. The spotlight report, based on 2023 data representing the giving and volunteering participation of millions of employees at companies spread over 104 countries, highlights a continued increase in the return to in-person volunteering with 87% of all hours volunteered being in-person, a nearly 21% increase from 2021 and a 6% increase from 2022. Additionally, employee engagement in volunteer activities increased 17% from 2022.

“Employees see tremendous value in giving back to their local communities and are craving the interaction and direct impact that volunteer opportunities provide. This year we saw an overall increase in volunteer engagement, and steady participation in giving programs globally, despite many external influencing factors such as economic challenges, political uncertainty, record levels of stress, and much more,” said Andrew Troup, director of giving and engagement, Corporate Impact, Blackbaud.

Key findings in the CSR Industry Review Spotlight include:

• Smaller Companies Led the Charge in 2023
  • The most significant volunteering engagement rate was with small companies (1-1000 employees) with a 40% volunteering engagement rate. Comparatively, companies with 1,001-5,000 employees had the next highest volunteering engagement rate at almost 25%.
• Employees Value In-Person Volunteer Opportunities
  • Of the more than 8.27 million volbunteer hours recorded, 87% were in-person events, up 6% from last year and nearly 21% from 2021.
  • Volunteer hours per volunteer remained the same but engagement increased, meaning more employees participated in the volunteer activity.
• U.S.-Based Employees are Generous with Their Time and Money 
  • While volunteer engagement was two percent higher for the U.S. compared to global employees, giving engagement was almost four times higher, at nearly 12% for U.S.-based employees compared to three percent for global employees.
• International Grantmaking is Trending Upwards
  • Of the grant dollars awarded by companies through YourCause’s GrantsConnect®, nearly 20% went to charities outside the U.S., a marked increase from 2022 when only 4% of total grant dollars was awarded to international charities.

“Nonprofits interested in engaging the millions of potential supporters of their causes in workplaces should be encouraged by the vast possibilities and continued momentum revealed in this data. Nonprofits looking to tap into more corporate support may want to consider the growing volume of in-person volunteering events and consider ways to engage corporate workforces in person for their causes,” said Dale Strange, president and chief operating officer, Blackbaud, Corporate Impact.

The report’s findings also provide insight to companies looking to increase employee engagement in their corporate volunteering programs: “In line with previous years’ data, we continue to find that companies that offer both giving and volunteering programs see much higher engagement than companies that only offer one option,” said Troup.

The increase in corporate giving to causes around the world in 2023 may in part reflect enhanced global giving options through Blackbaud’s YourCause portfolio. “We have been intentional about expanding our global partnerships to allow companies to amplify and scale their social impact initiatives around the world,” said Strange. “Their growing adoption of these capabilities showcases the commitment of companies of all sizes to address crises and support flourishing communities where their employees and customers live – and far beyond their borders.”

Blackbaud’s CSR Industry Review provides insights and trends from 412 companies (a subset of YourCause® from Blackbaud® clients) and more than seven million employees spread out over 104 countries where employees engage in social impact. Data was collected between January and December 2023 within Blackbaud’s YourCause® CSRconnect®, GrantsConnect® and NPOconnect® solutions.

With CSRconnect and GrantsConnect from the YourCause portfolio, companies have access to the largest global charity database. YourCause has expanded its global partnerships to allow companies to amplify and scale their impact by providing access to more charities from around the world, all while feeling confident in the vetting process that stays up to date with local legal standards.

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