Corporate Social Responsibility: The Definitive Guide
What is corporate social responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility (also known as CSR) is a term used to describe a company’s efforts to improve society in some way. These efforts can range from donating money to nonprofits to implementing environmentally friendly policies in the workplace.
Who does CSR impact?
CSR impacts companies, nonprofits, and employees, as well as society as a whole. Corporate social responsibility is not a mandated practice in the United States; instead, it is something extra that companies do to improve their local and global communities. This means that the general public can be impacted by CSR as well when they get to reap the benefits of companies’ do-good efforts.
What is the purpose of corporate social responsibility?
The purpose of corporate social responsibility is to give back to the community, take part in philanthropic causes, and provide positive social value. Businesses are increasingly turning to CSR to make a difference and build a positive brand around their company. And because social responsibility is not a mandated practice, it can function as a powerful differentiator for companies that partake.
How can CSR programs help nonprofits?
CSR helps encourage companies to get involved and support a wide range of nonprofit causes. For those charitable organizations, taking a strategic approach to leveraging social responsibility opportunities can help drive corporate giving revenue, employee volunteerism, and more.
Though individual donors continue to make up roughly three-fourths of an organization’s total monetary contributions, CSR initiatives can assist nonprofits in driving the remaining 25% of funding after they’ve maximized their individual support. Not to mention, some CSR programs (such as matching gifts) can even increase individual giving as well!
How much money has been donated as a result of corporate giving?
Corporations donated a total of $36 billion to nonprofits in 2022. 28% of total giving went to education programs, while 25% went to health and social services, and 16% went to community and economic development programs.
CSR Statistics: What You Need to Know
Individuals work for companies with matching gift programs.
Of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
Is donated by the top 10 corporations annually in cash to nonprofits.
Is donated through matching gift programs each year.
Of corporate donations are made through matching gift programs.
Of employees believe companies must lead with purpose.
Of consumers want to buy from companies making the world a better place.
Of people want to know about a company’s CSR efforts.
Source: Double the Donation Research
Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility
For Nonprofits
Companies with strong corporate social responsibility programs are looking for nonprofits to receive their support in the form of grants, matching gift programs, and volunteer grants. CSR initiatives help nonprofits find support beyond individual donors.
For Businesses
Research shows that consumers are more likely to work with companies or purchase goods from companies that are socially responsible. You can also raise brand awareness by being featured on donor recognition walls or acknowledged in marketing materials.
For Employees
Employees like working for companies that have a good public image and are constantly in the media for positive reasons. Nearly 60% of employees who are proud of their company’s social responsibility are engaged in their jobs.
For Society
CSR is a thoughtful and practical way to give back to society. When businesses are conscious of their social and environmental impact on the world, they can benefit society by giving back and helping to find solutions to everyday issues.
Types of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Grants
Corporations offer monetary grants to organizations whose missions and projects align with theirs. To acquire a grant, a nonprofit must undergo an application process, where they must meet a series of conditions and create a case for support. The funding organization typically has a set fund and will only choose one or a few recipients to disperse the funds to. Essentially, nonprofits try to stand out among other applicants to win the grant.
However, there are some rare instances where the corporation has unlimited (or a large amount of) funds. For instance, the Google Ad Grants program supplies any and all eligible nonprofits with $10,000 each month to use on its paid advertising platform. In other words, there’s no competition for funds. If you meet the criteria, you’ll receive the funding. Most nonprofits turn to a grant manager to acquire corporate grants like these.
Corporate Philanthropy
Corporate philanthropy occurs when a corporation promotes the welfare of others, usually through charitable donations of funds. Companies can leverage this type of CSR in various ways, though one of the most popular methods is by matching gifts their employees make to nonprofits.
Corporations that offer matching gift programs essentially double the donations that their employees are giving to eligible organizations.
Corporate Volunteerism
Corporations can leverage corporate volunteerism by encouraging their employees to volunteer. Many companies allocate hours to go toward volunteering during the workday, and many more encourage involvement by offering volunteer grants to the nonprofits where their employees volunteer.
This kind of socially responsible program is a win-win for every party involved. Employees are seen volunteering and donating their time to important causes in the community, and nonprofits are receiving free time and volunteer work, which is essential for the success of so many organizations. Not to mention the reputation the business can build as they support local missions!
Environmental Leadership
Corporations can demonstrate environmental leadership in several ways. For example, they can:
- Put forth efforts to reduce their carbon emissions
- Recycle their products
- Give back to environmental causes
By showing that they care about improving and preserving the environment, companies can gain more support and business, and also build a solid reputation as an environmental leader.
Ethical Labor Practices
Part of being socially responsible for a corporation means participating in ethical labor practices. These practices can include:
- Offering more competitive salaries and compensation packages to employees
- Providing generous parental leave
- Offering tuition reimbursement
Following ethical labor practices reflects well on companies and causes more individuals to want to work with them—and consumers feel better about buying their goods or services.
Economic Responsibility
In being economically responsible, companies “pay their dues” to society. This is often done by:
- Keeping up with their taxes
- Investing back into their communities
- Paying their employees competitive wages
Companies that take part in economic responsibility are truly paying it forward for the greater social good. This not only impacts their values as a company but also their employees and the well-being of the economy overall.
Workplace Giving
Workplace giving is a specific type of corporate philanthropy within the overall CSR umbrella. One of the main elements that sets workplace giving (or employee giving) apart is that companies get their employees involved in the efforts in hands-on ways. Here are two of the most popular forms of workplace giving: Matching gifts are a type of corporate philanthropy in which companies match donations that their employees make to nonprofit organizations. When an employee makes a donation, they’ll request the matching gift from their employer, who then makes their own donation. Companies usually match donations at a 1:1 ratio, but some will match at a 2:1, 3:1, or even a 4:1 ratio. Matching gifts are also growing in popularity. Check out these statistics: Matching gifts can make a huge difference in nonprofit fundraising, as well as employee engagement.Matching Gift Programs
Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are a form of corporate giving that encourages employees to volunteer in their local community. Companies then provide monetary grants to the organizations where these employees regularly volunteer.
Volunteer grants are a great way to turn volunteer time into tangible funds and are also rising in popularity. For example:
- 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
- 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs offer between $8-$15 per hour volunteered.
- 66% of companies that were surveyed provided paid-release time volunteer programs in 2019.
Volunteer grants essentially help nonprofits meet their volunteering and fundraising goals at the same time.
How To Create Lasting Partnerships With Companies
Personalized eCards
Go a step beyond the traditional thank-you email with personalized eCards! Digital cards can help communicate your appreciation for your corporate sponsors in a visually-engaging way. After all, who doesn’t love receiving a thoughtful card? Your team can either send one-off thank-you cards or eCards for special occasions. For example, design holiday cards. Then, create a personalized message to send along with it to each of your partners. This can be a cost-effective way to show corporate partners you’re thinking of them and value their support. The year-end season is a particularly opportune time to reach out as companies reflect on the past year. Backed by digital greeting card tools, you can craft compelling designs that communicate your gratitude year-round.
Gift Baskets
For your most generous corporate partners, you might send a gift basket after wrapping up a big campaign they supported. Just like with eCards, the holiday season is the perfect time to send gift baskets as well! You have a couple of options if you use this strategy: Either way, this is a great way to thank your committed corporate partners for supporting your mission.
Social Media Shoutouts
If you’re rocking and rolling on a limited budget, go with a zero-cost recognition option like social media shoutouts. Create posts thanking different sponsors and partners for their continued support for your cause. Don’t forget to tag their company’s accounts. This is a fantastic way to publicly thank companies for their generous support. Plus, you might even generate some extra publicity for your cause this way. Companies may be so ecstatic to see the post that they share it on their page, putting your cause in front of their customers.
Corporate Social Responsibility Examples
Take a look at some well-known companies with particularly standout social responsibility programs.
Companies can get inspired by these offerings as they look to craft and refine their own, and nonprofits can seek corporate partnership opportunities with mission-focused businesses!
| Company | Annual Giving Information | Learn More |
| Walmart | $250 for 25 volunteer hours | Walmart’s CSR program |
| Wells Fargo | $2,000 maximum match per employee | Wells Fargo’s CSR program |
| Akamai Technologies | $5,000 maximum match per employee [with auto-submission] | Akamai Technologies’ CSR program |
| Microsoft | $15,000 maximum match per employee | Microsoft’s CSR program |
| Apple | $25 per volunteer hour | Apple’s CSR program |
| $12,000 maximum match per employee | Google’s CSR program | |
| Boeing | $10,000 maximum match per employee | Boeing’s CSR program |
| ExxonMobil | $500 grant after 20 hours of volunteering | ExxonMobil’s CSR program |
| Chevron | $10,000 maximum match per employee | Chevron’s CSR program |
| Starbucks | Up to $1,000 for volunteering | Starbucks’ CSR program |
| Verizon | $750 volunteer grants for up to two nonprofits | Verizon’s CSR program |
Walmart
Walmart donated more than 1.4 billion globally in FY2019, and more than 47,000 associates in the U.S. volunteered more than 776,000 hours. Walmart also donated 640 million pounds of food in the U.S. alone.
In recent years, Google set a 5-year goal to give $1 billion in grants and contribute 1 million employee volunteer hours. They are also helping close the world’s education gap by supporting nonprofits that build platforms to scale digital learning resources.
Not to mention, they offer Google Ad Grants, giving eligible organizations free access to their paid advertising platform. Since 2003, they’ve awarded more than $10 billion in free advertising to over 115,000 nonprofits in 51 countries.
Microsoft
Microsoft strengthens communities all over. They recently donated $1.4 billion in software and services to NGOs, and their employees donated $158 million (including Microsoft matching gifts) to nonprofits.
Offers Matching Gift Auto-Submission
Innovative Discovery
Innovative Discovery has established a breakthrough matching gift program using Double the Donation’s auto-submission functionality. Plus, the company participates in CSR by offering VTO (or paid volunteer time off), volunteer grants, employee fundraising campaigns, nonprofit sponsorships, and more.
Offers Matching Gift Auto-Submission
Checkr
Checkr participates in corporate social responsibility by giving charitably to the organizations their employees believe in (made quick, easy, and accessible with matching gift auto-submission through Double the Donation). Not only that, but they also aim to drive forward fair hiring practices for all companies and offer assistance through expungement and reentry services for post-incarcerated individuals.
CSR Software for Nonprofits and Companies
Both corporate businesses and nonprofit organizations are deeply involved in elements of corporate social responsibility. As a result, there are a number of software solutions designed to aid both businesses and nonprofits in making the most of the opportunities at hand.
In the end, the critical purpose of each software revolves around simplifying and increasing participation in corporate giving initiatives. Because, ultimately, all stakeholders benefit from maximal program usage.
Here’s what you should know about each type of technology!
CSR Software for Nonprofits
Nonprofits can increase their revenue by promoting matching gifts and volunteer grant programs to their supporters. Through these CSR programs and others, donors can often double their contribution and volunteers can make an even greater impact with their time.
Double the Donation can help both nonprofits and employees take advantage of these CSR opportunities.
Double the Donation offers the world’s #1 matching gifts and volunteer grant database, with more than 8,500 organizations using it. As the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource, both nonprofits and corporate employees can gain access to thousands of profiles that can help them get their gifts matched and secure volunteer grants.
How the Database Works
STEP 1:
The donor sees the company search tool, giving them access to the matching gift database.
STEP 2:
The donor types the name of their employer into the auto-completing company search tool.
STEP 3:
The donor views all of their employer’s matching gift information, forms, and guidelines.
In addition to providing access to the industry’s most comprehensive matching gift and corporate giving database, Double the Donation also allows organizations to increase engagement and funds through automated and personalized donor outreach.
By triggering follow-up emails in the hours after an individual makes a donation, each donor receives a targeted message with employer-specific program criteria and direct links to next steps for submitting their matches.
This empowers organizations to drive more eligible matches to completion by ensuring every donor is exposed to matching gift opportunities; including those who would be otherwise unaware of the programs they may qualify for.
CSR Software for Companies
Businesses can also organize their CSR programs by using CSR software. CSR software designed for companies streamlines the giving and volunteering process into one central system, making it easier for employees to participate, as well as for companies to manage!
For example, CSR software helps companies:
- Manage employee donations
- Review and approve matching gift requests
- Coordinate and promote volunteer opportunities
- Log volunteer hours
- Review and approve volunteer grant and matching gift requests
- Communicate employee giving impact
When companies choose the right CSR software to manage their giving programs, this helps them get the most out of the programs they’ve implemented. It’s also great for nonprofits because they get to benefit from those programs as more and more employees participate.
And now, corporate-focused CSR platforms are working with Double the Donation to enable powerful auto-submission functionality. This new option further streamlines matching gift requests for employees by tightening partnerships between charitable-minded companies, their employees, and the nonprofits they both support.
Additional CSR Resources
Matching Gift Companies
There are a ton of companies that match their employees’ donations.
However, companies like GE, CarMax, and Johnson & Johnson stand out in the crowd. Find out why!
Volunteer Grant Companies
Many companies offer excellent volunteer grant programs to their employees.
Learn more about the top companies who offer this and how they take part in corporate social responsibility.
Corporate Giving Programs
Corporate giving programs allow all sorts of companies to invest in social good.
Learn more about how corporate giving programs can impact nonprofits and how employees can take part.
