72% of 2020 Best Workplaces Offer Corporate Philanthropy

Best places to work commit to corporate philanthropy

We analyzed the Built In 2020 Best Places to Work lists for 4 major markets: Chicago, New York, Boston, and Colorado. 

We pored over each individual list of 100 companies, as well as the total group of 400 companies, to identify which companies feature at least one of these philanthropic criteria as part of their Built In Perks + Benefits:

• Volunteer in local community
• Partners with nonprofits
• Match charitable contributions
• Paid volunteer time

We found the eye-popping results: 

72% (289/400) of Built In’s 2020 Best Places to work in Chicago, New York, Boston, and Colorado offer workplace philanthropy benefits.

78% of Built In’s 2020 Best Places to Work in Chicago offer workplace philanthropy benefits.

64% of Built In’s 2020 Best Places to Work in New York offer workplace philanthropy benefits.

74% of Built In’s 2020 Best Places to Work in Boston offer workplace philanthropy benefits.

73% of Built In’s 2020 Best Places to Work in Colorado offer workplace philanthropy benefits.

Additional best practices we recommend and saw in many of the “Best Places to Work” organizations:

• Pairing paid volunteer time with company-sponsored team volunteer events: Many companies who offer paid volunteer time also proactively plan group volunteer events, putting less burden on employees to research individual service opportunities.
• Full-time employees dedicated to workplace giving: Many companies have either full-time staff dedicated to their corporate social responsibility (CSR), or community impact efforts. 
• Cross-functional cares teams: Many have formed grassroots, employee-led “Cares Teams” that work to democratize how the company gives back.
• Focus on local impact: Many companies partner with local nonprofits, providing both donations and volunteer services to the communities in which they work and live.

Why the best-in-class give back

Years ago, workplace giving and employee volunteering programs were seen as a “nice-to-have,” but this clearly shows how rapidly times have changed—for the better! Today’s best-in-class companies now view giving programs as “must-haves.”

We know from our clients on this list, as well as 50+ C-Suite interviews we conducted, that companies have invested in workplace philanthropy for a few key reasons: 

1. Low-Risk, high-reward
   • As far as culture and employee engagement initiatives go, philanthropy presents the lowest risk. People love giving back, and giving back also makes your company look even better. 
2. Improves employee engagement, decreases employee turnover
   • Benevity’s 2018 two million employee study shows that engaging employees in both giving and volunteering reduces turnover 57%. Giving is scientifically proven to increase happiness and employees perform better when they are engaged in giving programs they are emotionally invested in.
3. Impact and value
   • No other initiatives positively impact each of these aspects of your company at the same time:
     • Company culture
     • Employee engagement
     • Employee retention
     • Employer brand
     • Community outcomes

What this means for your company

Now is the time to act. It’s easy to do good, it feels good, and it makes you look good.

Percent Pledge makes it easy for companies of all sizes and their employees to both make and measure a positive social impact. We cover everything for our customers, from nonprofit vetting and matching donations to employee volunteering and impact reporting. 

Best Places to Work trust our workplace philanthropy platform to authentically engage with their workforce, reduce employer turnover, and improve employer brand. Meet with one of our social impact experts to learn more about how we can help your company become a leading corporate citizen too.