Author: Carmen Adamson
The 2022 Giving Report from CanadaHelps shines a light on the current challenges the charitable sector faces in Canada. The report shows that giving participation has declined over the years while demand for nonprofit services has increased due to a number of reasons including generational trends, uncertainties caused by the pandemic, and the rising cost of inflation. For a little more context:
26%
of Canadians expect to use or already use charitable services for basic necessities
42%
of millennials said they could not afford to give to charities
1 in 4
Canadians expect to give less than they did in 2021
The good news is your corporate social responsibility program has the potential to fill that gap for the nonprofit sector. Companies that are looking to use CSR programs like employee volunteering as a part of engagement strategies for team building, leadership development or advancing skills would be providing much needed support to local nonprofits.
CanadaHelps reports that more than half of nonprofits are staffed by volunteers.
58% of Canadian charities are run by volunteers
90% employ 10 or fewer full-time staff
The value of employee volunteering
Volunteering is an integral part of Canadian culture as they are encouraged to do it as early as childhood with high school students being required to complete mandatory volunteer hours to graduate. 2018 data from Statistics Canada1 showed that 79% of Canadians 15 years and older volunteer, devoting approx. 5 billion hours. This report was provided to help organizations understand pre-pandemic activities and provide a baseline for measuring the impact of the pandemic on changes to volunteer behavior.
CSR could be the missing link that drives progress towards real social change. How, do you ask? In a previous blog we discussed the idea of social investment, where companies commit to solving a social problem by partnering with nonprofits and investing human and social capital. By applying human capital in a way that makes sense for the nonprofits receiving the service and applying social capital, like volunteer grants or other donations, CSR can help accelerate social change. Companies, employees, and the community can collectively benefit from the solved social problem.
Companies can motivate and enable their employees to serve their community with benefits through their CSR program, like volunteering for time off or days of service where employees can dedicate time during their work week to volunteer. We recommend designing your program and volunteer incentives in a way that aligns with your company culture. Learn more about the common mistakes to avoid when implementing a volunteer program in our employee volunteering guide.
Canadian workplace insights and global consumer surveys demonstrate the business value for CSR. At this point, it is no longer just a ‘nice to have’.
77%
of Canadians want to work for a company with strong corporate social responsibility program.2
92%
of Canadian consumers more likely to support a brand with purpose3
55%
of Canadians say when looking for a job it is important that the company participates in charitable initiatives2
65%
of Canadians think it is important to contribute to society and volunteer2
The value of CSR software
CSR software can help your business track and report on the collective social impact of your employees to reinforce the business case for doing good. YourCause CSRconnect integrates with CanadaHelps to provide their database of CRA registered organizations for companies and employees to support through giving and volunteering. This provides our clients with a database of over 86,000 Canadian organizations to volunteer with that align closely with local causes and the needs of individual communities.