Employer Supported Volunteering

What is Employer Supported Volunteering? (ESV)

Employer-supported volunteering (ESV) or corporate volunteering refers to initiatives where businesses encourage and support their employees to engage in meaningful volunteer work. ESV offers a strategic avenue for businesses to foster corporate social responsibility (CSR), enhance employee engagement, and contribute to community well-being.

Through ESV, shared value strategies, and cross-sector collaboration, Volunteer Lethbridge can help your business strengthen your social impact, retain employees, and build lasting relationships with community organizations.

As Lethbridge’s economy evolves, the success of your business will increasingly depend on meaningful community connections, strong local networks, and an engaged workforce – all of which can be targeted through a successful ESV program.

Volunteer Lethbridge recognizes that businesses are not just economic changemakers– they are also vital community partners.

With a Comprehensive ESV Program, you can:

Boost employee recruitment, retention, and engagement.

Employees who frequently engage in volunteer work are more connected to both their workplace and their broader community. ESV fosters a sense of purpose and belonging that can significantly increase job satisfaction and decrease burnout. A workplace that promotes volunteerism often becomes more attractive to job seekers, especially younger generations who increasingly seek employers with a genuine commitment to social responsibility. Overall, a strong volunteer culture continues to serve as a distinct advantage for recruitment and employee loyalty.

Develop a skilled, motivated, and loyal workforce in a strong corporate culture.

Volunteering enhances employees’ transferable skills such as collaboration, communication, leadership, and problem-solving. By engaging in skills-based volunteering, employees gain new perspectives and build capabilities that go beyond their regular job responsibilities. This not only contributes to their personal growth but also strengthens the overall corporate culture. A workforce that is empowered through service is often more motivated, loyal, and aligned with the organization’s mission and values.

Strengthen company reputation and drive business growth and success.

Companies that align their corporate social responsibility strategies with volunteerism create meaningful impact while enhancing their organizational resilience. As a nonpartisan force, volunteerism benefits everyone involved. A business recognized for its volunteer efforts is more likely to earn public trust, attract conscious consumers, and retain loyal customers. Overall, holistic ESV programs are linked to improved stakeholder engagement and long-term sustainability. These initiatives provide authentic and compelling narratives that can strengthen brand identity and boost public relations efforts.

Build cross-sector relationships, contribute to resilient and inclusive communities.

ESV helps bridge the gap between businesses and nonprofits by offering valuable human resources to the charitable sector. This exchange not only boosts the capacity of local non-profits but also allows businesses to become more in tune with community priorities. Cross-sector partnerships encourage innovation, co-hosted events, and shared learning, all of which contribute to inclusive, future-ready communities. When businesses invest in these relationships, they also invest in the health, resilience, and prosperity of the places they call home.

Implementing an ESV Program: 8 Step Guide

Decide why your company wants to support volunteering.

What does your business care about?
Are you trying to boost employee morale?
Attract customers?
Build community credibility?

Establish clear goals for your ESV program that align with your company’s mission and community needs. Goals can include:

% of employee participation
Hours of individual/group/company-wide volunteering
Number of partnerships with nonprofit organizations

Volunteer Lethbridge provides 1-on-1 consultations to help define your CSR and ESV priorities.

Evaluate internal capacity: understand what time, budget, and staff capacity exist to support the program.

How much time can employees reasonably devote to volunteering?
What budget can be allocated for program coordination, supplies, or incentives?
How can we make paid volunteer time feasible?
What resources can help manage the logistics of the program?

Review staff interest and willingness to integrate volunteering into your culture.

What causes does your team care about?
What supports would enable employees to get involved?

Volunteer Lethbridge offers training and orientations for your ESV coordination.

Create clear guidelines outlining the structure of your company’s ESV program. Include the following details:

Company goals and objectives
Eligibility and participation process
Types of volunteer opportunities supported
Paid/unpaid time allowance
Safety, liability, and recognition protocols
Approval and reporting procedures
Steps on submitting volunteering requests

Ensure policies are communicated effectively to all employees.

Volunteer Lethbridge provides ESV policy templates and consultations to review your policy drafts so your business is aligned with local practices.

Introduce the policy in a staff meeting or newsletter. Include participation guidelines, resources, and forms, highlighting the benefits and opportunities available. Encourage participation by sharing benefits of volunteering and the goals of the ESV program.

Implement accessible forms for individual participation. Include the following questions:

Where do you want to volunteer?
Why? How will this benefit you as a person? As an employee?
What skills do you want to build?
When do you want to volunteer? How many hours?
How can we support you?

Host a company-wide volunteering day. Engage your team through accessible forms. Include the following questions, and choose an opportunity during a team meeting:

Where do you want to volunteer?
Why? How will this benefit you as a person? As an employee? How will this benefit our company? Team involvement and input ensures success in the team volunteering opportunity.
What skills do you want to build?
When do you want to volunteer? How many hours?
How can we support you?

Track who participates in volunteering, what they do, what opportunities they take, and how these volunteer opportunities align with your company’s goals.

Volunteer Lethbridge provides promotional materials for your ESV program, shares volunteer opportunities, and can manage onboarding volunteers through the Community Volunteer Management Model (CVMM); our advanced screening process includes a complimentary Vulnerable Sector Check (provided by Volunteer Alberta) and a complimentary Police Information Check (provided by Volunteer Lethbridge).

Note: Vulnerable Sector Checks are complimentary to all employees of your business. Volunteer Lethbridge provides five complimentary Police Information Checks and is proud to offer an 80% discount on any additional Police Information Checks.

Collaborate with local non-profits and community groups to identify volunteer opportunities that match your company's objectives and employees' interests.
Decide what kind of engagement your company is looking for:

Do you want short-term events?
Long-term partnerships?
Skills-based projects?

Volunteer Lethbridge offers the opportunity to match you with trusted nonprofits from our database of organizations and facilitate conversations.

Incorporate volunteer recognition into performance conversations; recognize how volunteer work contributes to skill-building, leadership, and personal growth.
Highlight and thank volunteers in internal emails or meetings.

Highlights could include:

Thank-you messages
Short stories about employees’ volunteer work
Peer-nominated recognitions
Integrate volunteer highlights into your social media (i.e., social media volunteer shoutouts, Volunteer of the Month stories, nonprofit partnership posts).
- Public recognition reinforces the value of your team’s efforts and encourages others to participate by showing that the company values service.

Volunteer Lethbridge spotlights volunteers and provides a platform for your company to engage within the community. Through social media channels, we feature volunteers weekly. During annual recognition events such as National Volunteer Week, we recognize and celebrate nominated volunteers.

Understand what makes an ESV program successful and the impact it has on your workplace and the community.

Regularly assess the program's impact on employee engagement, community relations, and business outcomes.

Track ESV progress to see how the impact aligns with your established goals and objectives. Using data tracking and feedback forms, your ESV report could include:

% of employee participation
Hours of individual/group/company-wide volunteering
Number of partnerships with nonprofit organizations
Qualitative stories and testimonials
Employee satisfaction

Publish a year-end ESV report to promote your company’s impact. Sharing your impact enhances your presence in the community and connects you to more nonprofits.

Volunteer Lethbridge offers reporting templates and 1-on-1 consultations to track details such as hours, impact stories, and satisfaction; VL also distributes year-end ESV reports to establish new nonprofit-for-profit partnerships.

Review participation data and community impact annually; analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and obtain feedback from staff and nonprofit partners.

Use metrics and learnings to review and revise your ESV program annually. When necessary, refresh your goals and objectives.

As your business grows or changes direction, your volunteer program should evolve with it; review which causes you are supporting, the ways in which you are engaging volunteers, and how to revise your current model to ensure it meets your workforce’s current interests and availability.

Volunteer Lethbridge provides 1-on-1 consultations to review your ESV program and suggest revisions based on evolving best practices, community trends, and strategic insights.

How can Volunteer Lethbridge help?

Volunteer Lethbridge is happy to assist you in implementing an employer-supported volunteering program at your company. We provide the following services:

1-on-1 consultations to help define and review CSR and ESV policies
Training and orientations for ESV coordination
Tailored ESV policy templates and consultations to review policy drafts
Brochures for ESV programs
Onboarding and training for effective volunteering
Complimentary Volunteer Sector Checks and up to 5 complimentary Police Information Checks, with an 80% discount on any additional Police Information Checks
Connections with local nonprofits seeking volunteers, and a wide variety of volunteer opportunities here!
Regular volunteer recognition and spotlighting
Reporting and metric templates
Evaluation and assessments of ESV programs and their success

Volunteer Lethbridge is one of Canada’s leading volunteer centers, and we are committed to amplifying volunteerism through tailored business partnerships. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your impact, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Ready to Get Started?

To initiate an employer-supported volunteer program, use the form on the right to schedule a 1-on-1 consultation with Volunteer Lethbridge. Let us know your organization name, the best way to contact you, and a little bit of information on what you're looking for!

Our team will work with you to develop a tailored employer-supported volunteering timeline and strategy that aligns with your business goals and community interests.

Want to learn more? Let's connect!