Developing a Culture of Charitable Activities

Lead by Example

When leaders in your organization engage in volunteerism, it inspires employees to follow suit. From top to bottom, encourage leaders to take part in your charitable initiatives and programs, share their volunteer work through work channels, and feature them as volunteers in your employee publications. By dedicating time away from work to charitable causes, leaders give permission to their subordinates to do the same.

Your organization as a whole can promote leading by example by setting volunteerism goals for supervisors and above, as long as you have a program that offers paid time off for volunteer activities.

Sponsor Employee Programs and Charity Events

Sponsoring employee programs and events helps demonstrate your commitment to social responsibility and make a positive impact in your community. Here are some ways to do this:

• Identify relevant causes by allowing employees to suggest or vote on causes they're passionate about or that align with your mission, vision, and core values.
• Allocate a budget specifically for charitable causes each year, including employee volunteer hours, monetary donations, or fundraising events.
• Offer employees paid time off or flexible schedules so they can engage in meaningful volunteer activities.
• Consider implementing a matching gift program, where employee gifts are matched up to a certain dollar amount each year.
• Support employee-driven initiatives by providing resources such as marketing, printing, or logistics support to employees leading charitable initiatives in the community.
• Highlight the impact made through employee programs and events in internal and external publications to acknowledge employee efforts and inspire others to get involved.

Provide Flexibility and Support

It can be challenging for employees to engage in non-profit work if their full-time job is too restrictive. Therefore, one of the most valuable ways to develop a culture of social responsibility is to provide the flexibility and support your employees need to contribute. This can be done in several ways:

• Offer flexible work hours, allowing employees to arrive between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and work an 8-hour day, accommodating their lunch break. They can leave between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
• Implement a four-day work week option where employees work ten hours a day for four days instead of eight hours a day for five days, providing them with an extra day each week for personal causes like family, volunteerism, and self-care.
• Allow employees to work nine work-days every two weeks instead of ten, freeing up one day every two weeks for volunteerism.

When it comes to supporting employees, let them know that the organization cares about social and environmental causes. Provide specific instructions upon hiring for requesting time off or accommodations for missions, volunteerism, and other charitable work.

Recognize and Celebrate Contributions

Another way to foster a culture of social responsibility and charitable engagement is to recognize and celebrate employee, leader, and company contributions. Consider the following ideas:

• Offer spot awards such as gift cards or small bonuses for employees who go above and beyond in this area.
• Establish annual awards to recognize outstanding contributions, like Volunteer of the Year.
• Maintain a bulletin board where employees can share volunteer opportunities, fundraising events, and other charitable announcements.
• Spotlight employees who give back to their community through work-sponsored programs or by using their paid volunteer time in internal and external publications.

Build Local Partnerships

Lastly, consider partnering with local non-profit agencies to provide opportunities for employees to contribute through payroll deduction, volunteer during work hours, or participate in team-building activities. These partnerships can benefit employees who don't have established relationships with non-profit

Exact Payroll understands the importance of corporate social responsibility. Contact us today to learn how our payroll solutions can help you streamline your payroll processes, giving you more time to focus on developing a culture of charitable activities within your organization.