October 1, 2011
Groundbreaking Research Report on Global Corporate Volunteering
Washington, DC, USA – June 15, 2011 – The report, "Global Companies Volunteering Globally" was recently introduced during the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 6-8, 2011.
Commissioned by the Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), this important piece of work is the result of many months of intensive study – including in-depth interviews with 48 global companies, focus groups and meetings with NGOs, Volunteer Centers and others involved with the field of employee engagement globally, and investigation of other studies on certain aspects of the extensive topic.
“This is the first global study of corporate volunteering of its kind,” says Sam Santiago, Director of American Giving at American Airlines, and Chair of the GCVC. “It is also the first step in a continuing effort by IAVE and the GCVC to develop and share knowledge about corporate volunteering.”
Though not new, corporate volunteer or “employee engagement” programs have significantly increased in the last decade, and are becoming increasingly more strategic to business goals and important to employees. Global companies – in all industries and based in all regions of the world – are embracing their responsibility to be better corporate citizens and to be of benefit to the communities where they do their business, and where their employees live and work. Corporate volunteer programs are good for the community, supportive to the employee population, and also contribute to the business itself.
Global Companies Volunteering Globally focuses on two components of this subject: Firstly, the “State of Health Study” was designed to capture trends, challenges and opportunities that are shaping the way corporate volunteering is carried out in all regions of the world. Secondly, the “Global Companies Study” was based on personal interviews and captures the myriad of ways that companies are designing, organizing and managing these programs.
“We see this report as a major contribution of IAVE and the member companies of the GCVC to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the United Nations International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10), said Dr. Kang-Hyun Lee, World President of IAVE. “We are deeply grateful to our corporate sponsors who made this work possible, to the global companies that opened themselves to scrutiny and to the NGOs, consultants and others who so freely shared their experiences, insights and resources with our research team.”
Contact
Kenn Allen, Research Project Director
202-628-4360
kenn@civilsocietyconsulting.com
