The Past Year Saw a Significant Increase in
In-Person Volunteering, Upward Trend in Giving to International
Organizations
CHARLESTON, S.C., July 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blackbaud Institute, a
research lab at Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of
software for powering social impact, today 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 volunteer 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.
Download the Spotlight Report here.
Learn more about YourCause and Blackbaud's solutions
for companies here.
About Blackbaud Institute
The Blackbaud
Institute develops leading-edge research and convenes expert
voices to equip the social impact community with knowledge,
insight, and confidence. The Blackbaud Institute draws
from Blackbaud's data set, the most comprehensive in
the social impact community. In addition, the Institute facilitates
public research studies to drive original qualitative and
quantitative insight. Our research agenda is grounded in a
commitment to topics that social impact organizations can apply
immediately to better understand, benchmark, and improve their
essential business operations. We are guided by our commitment to
the social impact sector to provide timely, transparent, and
well-rounded research that is free to access. From how
organizations run to how donors give, we're 100% focused on
research and resources for this sector.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider
exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the
nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social
responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential
software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit
financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social
responsibility and education management. With millions of users and
over $100 billion raised, granted or
managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's
solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and
organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to
Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's
list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of
America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has
operations in the United States,
Australia, Canada, Costa
Rica and the United
Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at
www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn,
Instagram and Facebook.
Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements,
expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are
forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of
products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be
accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible
that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on
which such statements are based. In addition, other important
factors that could cause results to differ materially include the
following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased
business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in
sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and
other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with
successful implementation of multiple integrated software products;
the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated
with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles,
particularly in larger organization; technological changes that
make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk
factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for
Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the
SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's
investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names
appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Blackbaud, Inc.
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SOURCE Blackbaud