Corporate volunteering & social days: how to use them for your organization

Social commitment and sustainability are becoming more and more important and companies are increasingly looking for ways to fulfill their social responsibility. One particularly effective and popular method of corporate engagement is corporate volunteering and, in particular, social days. This form of engagement benefits not only the companies themselves but also charitable associations and other non-profit organizations (NPOs). By working together with companies, they can access additional resources such as financial support, but also specialist knowledge and an extended network.

Are you wondering how you can use corporate volunteering for your association or non-profit organization? Here you can find out everything you need to know about social days, pro bono projects and corporate volunteering, what benefits they bring for you and how vostel.de can support you in organizing a social day:

1. What is corporate volunteering?
2. What advantages does corporate volunteering offer for Non profit organizations?
3. What advantages does corporate volunteering offer companies?
4. What is a social day or a pro bono project??
5. We want to organize a Social Day for our organization, what do we need to consider?
6. How do we plan a Social Day independently?
7. What awaits us on the Social Day itself?
8. How vostel.de supports you on your Social Day

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What is corporate volunteering?

Corporate volunteering refers to the voluntary involvement of company employees in charitable activities, often in partnership with non-profit organizations. Companies enable their employees to contribute their resources and skills to social, ecological or cultural projects and thus support social organizations or otherwise make a contribution to society. Both the non-profit organizations and the companies and their employees benefit from meaningful and needs-oriented cooperation. The form of cooperation can vary greatly, from active and skills-based support to pro bono services.

What advantages does corporate volunteering offer non-profit organizations?

Resources, financial support and expertise

In addition to the large amount of human power that is contributed, corporate volunteering is also often associated with financial support. This allows projects to be realized that would otherwise not be possible due to a lack of personnel or budget. However, companies not only contribute their manpower, but also specific expertise and resources as part of social days or pro bono projects, which can be invaluable for charitable organizations.

Network and visibility

Collaboration with companies increases the visibility of an organization. This is because companies often use corporate volunteering events for their own communication. For example, a joint social media post or a newspaper article can draw attention to the work of an organization. This can lead to additional supporters and potentially long-term partnerships. In addition, the assignments can also be shared via the company’s communication network and people can find out about you.

Fresh ideas and new perspectives

Involving employees from different sectors can lead to creative solutions and new approaches to existing challenges. For example, new ideas and innovative approaches can make a big difference to the visibility of an organization in voluntary social media work. As part of a pro bono project, for example, your social media posts could be given a new look, or an exciting image film could be created for your organization.

What advantages does corporate volunteering offer companies?

Not only charitable organizations benefit from corporate volunteering, but also the companies themselves. Among other things through:

Strengthening the corporate culture

By volunteering with an NPO, a company can show what values it represents and stand up for them. This can strengthen employees’ identification with the same values and thus have a positive influence on the corporate culture. It also has a positive impact on the company’s image.

Increased motivation and loyalty

Employees who participate in charitable projects often find more meaning and fulfillment in their working lives. This is why they are often more satisfied with employers who promote social commitment. The increased motivation can have a positive impact on the entire company.

Personal & professional development

Non-profit work not only gives participants the opportunity to create completely new skills, but also to further develop existing ones. This is because they can apply the skills they use in their everyday work in a new environment and with new challenges.

What is a social day or a pro bono project?

A Social Day is a form of corporate engagement. Companies give their employees a day off to support one or more charitable organizations. These activities can take many different forms – from renovating premises and supporting cultural events to providing advice on IT issues. Projects in which companies specifically make their employees’ expertise available (e.g. coaching, website testing or design support) are called pro bono projects.

For many non-profit organizations, such Social Days offer the opportunity to implement projects, some of which have been planned for a long time, in a short space of time and to draw on valuable resources and know-how from companies at no cost.

For company employees, on the other hand, Social Days are an excellent team-building measure. This is because they gain valuable experience outside of their usual work area and tasks and solve problems together.

We want to organize a Social Day for our organization, what do we need to consider?

The organization of a successful Social Day requires some planning and we have summarized the most important points you should consider in the next paragraph. We will be happy to support you free of charge with the organization and implementation and put you in touch with interested partner companies in our network. All you have to do is send us your requirements using this form and we will contact you as soon as we have a suitable company inquiry.

How do we plan a Social Day independently?

Set yourself realistic goals

Clear goals should be defined that can be achieved in one day. Depending on the size of the team and the nature of the tasks, what is achievable can vary greatly. The goals should be clear to everyone involved at the beginning. For example, do you need to build a new raised bed in your garden? Then it can easily be done in one day with a small team. More resources would be needed to renovate one or more rooms.

Think about how much support you need

Many hands, quick end? That’s not always the case. For some projects, a small, specialized team can work better than a large group. Other projects, on the other hand, require many hands working at the same time. Before the start of the Social Day, think about the number of people that actually makes sense.

Prepares rooms and organizes necessary material

Make sure that the location is prepared accordingly. Are the room size and equipment suitable? Is there any material that needs to be procured in advance or do you need special tools or equipment for your project? Clarify what is needed and, above all, who will take care of it so that everything is on site on the day of the event. If you want to provide food, which we recommend for longer social days, you should also organize this in advance.

Calculates the costs in advance

A Social Day inevitably incurs costs, be it the cost of materials or the cost of catering for the participants. These should be clarified in advance so that they can be compared with your own budget or communicated to the respective partner company. This is because companies often cover the costs incurred. For example, Social Days organized via vostel.de always include a donation or the assumption of material costs. But even if you organize a Social Day yourself, you can ask the companies to cover the costs.

Creates a realistic schedule

A detailed schedule can make a big difference. Which task takes place when? When are breaks planned? Can you use the schedule to make sure that everything goes according to plan and that your project stays on track? You can also record your defined goals and write down responsibilities here. This way, you have everything in one plan and can concentrate fully on the commitment.

Checks specific requirements at an early stage

Find out whether there are any special requirements for your project (e.g. a non-disclosure agreement) and take care of this early on. You should also clarify questions in advance such as: Can or should the press be on site? Are there any companies you do not want to work with? It should also be clear who will insure the volunteers on the day of the event, especially if they are providing active support. As part of a Social Day with vostel.de, we will of course advise you on such specific questions.

What can we expect on Social Day itself?

There are also a few things you should bear in mind on Social Day itself:

Coordinator on site

There should be at least one person from your organization or club who is responsible for coordination on site and is available to answer questions.

Introduction & getting to know each other

Getting to know each other and introducing your organization at the beginning is a great start to a successful Social Day and motivates all participants.

Clarify image rights

If you have press on site or if pictures and videos are to be taken during the Social Day, you must obtain a declaration of consent from all participants in advance. We are happy to provide you with templates for declarations of consent.

Feedback round at the end

We recommend ending the day with a feedback session. This gives those involved the opportunity to express their thoughts and feedback and you can take away valuable suggestions for your next Social Day.

With these tips, nothing should stand in the way of a successful Social Day. If everything goes well for you and the participants in the end, you can also think about further collaboration.

How vostel.de supports you on your Social Day

As we know how much effort can go into such a Social Day, we are happy to support you with the organization and implementation completely free of charge. The first step is for you to send us your requirements and ideas for a Social Day. You can do this using the form linked below.

Your request will be checked by our Corporate Volunteering Team and, if necessary, someone from our team will contact you with any questions or details that need to be clarified. As soon as a suitable company request is found, we will bring you together and accompany you on the way to a successful Social Day.

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