Does Your Company Have a Corporate Giving Program for Employee Volunteerism?
By: Yana Bostongirl
Do you enjoy donating your time and talent to worthy causes?
I know I do! In addition to being a volunteer ESOL tutor to immigrants who need help acclimatizing to the language and culture in the US, I also provide content to a variety of nonprofits across the country that represents causes that are close to my heart.
They range from an organization that is dedicated to helping families of pediatric oncology patients to one that primarily consists of one person, a doctor who is trying to help his community by providing grief counseling. Yet another one of the nonprofits I volunteer for, Tutoria, is heavily involved in assisting immigrants to learn English and preparing them for the US Naturalization exam.
What is amazing about all these organizations is that they are run by volunteers who selflessly give of their time and talent to not only make a difference in people’s lives but also help forge stronger communities.
And they rely on donations and grants to do the wonderful work that they do.
One of the ways they receive funding is through corporate philanthropy such as volunteer grants. Volunteer grants are charitable gifts given to nonprofit organizations by corporations in recognition of volunteer work being done by a company’s employees.
An Employee Volunteer Grant Program (EVG) is a great way a company can support employee volunteerism and the nonprofit they volunteer for as a Tutoria volunteer, Theresa Lee, explains. Theresa successfully applied for an EVG from her employer, VMware, and the grant received is helping Tutoria keep its lights on and also invest in expanded programming.
How One Volunteer Helped Procure an Employee Volunteer Grant for Tutoria:
Thank you for agreeing to be part of this interview. How did you discover Tutoria and decide to volunteer?
I am grateful that my previous employer, VMware, gave me the opportunity to take a break and spend three months volunteering for a nonprofit over the Summer of 2021. In my nonprofit search, I came across Tutoria.
What impressed me about Tutoria is that it is a small, all-volunteer nonprofit supporting a huge mission to help anyone seeking assistance in learning English. They have a specific program for those in the immigration process to help prepare them for the US citizenship exam. My parents were immigrants to the US many years ago, and whether or not something like this was available back then, it is a cause that I can support because learning English can be challenging and is so important while living in the US.
In performing HR pro bono work for Tutoria, I was able to utilize my skills and knowledge in my profession to support volunteer recruiting and engagement efforts for a greater cause in which I believed. I never thought my HR background and experience would help a nonprofit in this way, and my work with Tutoria has opened my eyes to see what else I can do in the world.
What attracted you to explore the EVG program at your previous company?
VMware has a strong “giving back to the community” culture with a social impact program that recognizes an employee’s volunteer commitment by making a grant award to their nonprofit organization of choice after completing 40+ volunteering hours in the calendar year. This is a competitive process, during which a committee reviews and approves how to award funds set aside for “Citizen Philanthropy Investments” in nonprofit organizations.
I chose to submit Tutoria for the committee’s review because of the amazing “eye-opening” volunteer experience I’ve had here and getting a grant through this process would go much farther at a “small fish” like Tutoria in a big pond of nonprofits. (Tutoria is all-volunteer but relies on donations to support the development, hosting, licensing, etc. of our online platform.)
How did you find out about the paid volunteer time and EVGs — was there a particular department within the company that you reached out to?
Taking 3 months with paid time off and a full benefits package is an employee perk for those who have been with VMware with 5+ years of service. HR managed and administered this program which gives the employee a choice to spend 3 months on another team internally or volunteer with a nonprofit externally. This program was communicated in new hire orientation as well as on our intranet.
The grants (Citizen Philanthropic Investments) were part of VMware’s offering managed by our Social Impact / Community Relations team, and recommendations can be made regardless if employees participated in the 3-month program as long as they have volunteered 40+ hours for the calendar year.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Do you have any additional thoughts to share?
Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to share my Tutoria experience! Even though I am no longer volunteering full-time, I’m still enjoying my time with Tutoria helping out wherever I can. Every single thing counts, no matter how big or small, to continue to support and further our cause.
As a parting thought, I strongly encourage all of our volunteers to make the most of what they do here, to learn and grow. In addition, if they are employed, check with their company whether they have something like an EVG program in place and consider Tutoria in their grant process — a little can go a long way!
Just like Theresa, you can make an even bigger impact with your volunteer work by finding out if your company has an Employee Volunteer Grant program and applying for it. Your nonprofit is counting on you!
To know if your company offers EVGs or other donation matching programs, you can look it up on Double the Donation,
For a complete list of all the available volunteer positions, please check out Tutoria’s 👉 LinkedIn page.
