Corporate philanthropy is “the act of a corporation or business promoting the welfare of others, generally via charitable donations of funds or time.”

Over the years, corporate giving and employee volunteering has provided tremendous value not only to businesses but to society as whole.

There are various ways your business can provide philanthropic efforts:

• Company-wide service day
• Corporate giving (everyone receives $X to give to the charity of their choice)
• Volunteer competitions
• Matching gift programs
• Volunteer grants

No matter what type of philanthropy you choose, here are a few ways giving back can increase employee retention and engagement:

Employees Learn Something New:

Looking for new and creative ways to develop your employees? This is it. Through volunteering, employees are provided opportunities to not only give back, but also learn something along the way. From improving their leadership skills to physically building a house, there are a variety of ways employees can serve their community and continue their professional development. By pushing them to give back, employees feel valued and trust that their employer is invested in their future.

Employees Feel Supported:

According to a Robert Half survey, 41% of employees are already volunteering in some capacity. In fact, many employers find that by either matching their existing donations or giving them the day off to participate in volunteer efforts they can show their support for activities and passions employees may already have. Consequently it’s an excellent way to see great talent doing great things.

Employees (Especially Millennials) Feel Good about Their Work:

The Millennial generation has a strong desire to make an impact in the world. Idealism? Maybe. But we can’t fault them for wanting to do meaningful work. For this reason, many companies are seeing employee engagement spike as they empower their employees to make a difference. In fact, one report states that over 90% of companies that participate in community involvement found positive correlations between volunteer participation and employee engagement.

Employees Bond with Each Other:

An obvious side effect of employees engaging in volunteer activities is that they learn to work together in a team. For many companies, cross-departmental cooperation doesn’t happen on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Volunteering can be a great time to learn how others in the company work and improve communication as a whole among departments.

Because we’re all about the perks, and corporate philanthropy is just one of many easy and inexpensive ways to engage and retain employees. Therefore by commissioning employees to give back, you’ll show them you’re invested in their well-being and their passions.