The “Giving Season” (October-December) is where people are most active in supporting nonprofits, and companies dedicated to culture and engagement are revamping their giving programs to embrace individual interests and the varied capacity to give.
Austin, Texas Oct 6, 2022 (Issuewire.com) - Swoovy, an Austin-based start-up is changing the game with its corporate employee volunteering platform, empowering companies to give their employees opportunities at their fingertips to get involved with volunteer opportunities that match individual interests, even remotely. Colleagues can connect through shared interests to find someone to volunteer with, fostering connection and team building, without it having to be through one big event that someone internally is coordinating, and the company and individuals can also track impact.
As we launch into the season of giving, nonprofits will see a spike in donations and volunteer activity throughout the fall and holiday seasons. On a normal daily basis, 90% of people say they want to volunteer, but only 1 in 4 do, according to the Stanford Center of Longevity. This isn't surprising; life happens and daily personal and work priorities get in the way of what's necessary to volunteer today -- a lot of time and research to find opportunities.
In the past, companies have taken steps to "give" to employees, offering corporate donations or coordinating a service day their people could attend -- but that approach doesn't effectively activate the mass groups of potential givers. It has been a top-down approach that is more of a feel-good for the company versus truly facilitating a connection between its employees and the community.
The future of work is people-first, and the future of corporate giving needs to recognize individual interests and support giving in ways that are meaningful to individuals but also attainable. Not everyone can, or should, be required to donate to a corporate payroll matching program. And only offering paid time off to volunteer is just not enough. This still leaves the employee having to research causes, where to volunteer, and determine how to fit it into their schedule.
Just months after EnsembleIQ launched Swoovy, they are seeing twice the industry average in employees signing up to find volunteer opportunities. Ann Jadown, Chief People Officer at EnsembleIQ said, "EnsembleIQ provides employees with two volunteer days per year to give back to their communities individually or as a group. Swoovy has provided our employees with an easy way to find in-person or remote volunteer opportunities that are based on their passions and interests. We have received a lot of positive feedback about this wonderful platform."
According to the Independent Sector, one hour of volunteer time on average today is worth $29.95 to a nonprofit. EnsembleIQ set a goal to volunteer 500 hours in the back half of 2022 and are over half the way there; that's $15,000 of value to the nonprofit sector and community their employees and organization will be celebrating that came from their time volunteering.
In the era that has evolved from the "Great Resignation" to the "Great Reshuffle" to now "Quiet Quitting", over 70% of employees say it is imperative or very important to work where the culture is supportive of giving and volunteering (America's Charities Snapshot Employer Research), and 64% of employees nationwide said that volunteering strengthened work relations (National Center for Charitable Solutions).
Furthermore, 56% of Americans said that they would work for a socially responsible company even if they were paid less (United Health Survey) and 87% of employees who volunteered through an Employee Volunteer Program reported improved perceptions of their employer, with 82% feeling more committed to their company (Gallup and Harvard Business Review).
"Colin's Hope saw an increase in our workload during the pandemic as behavior changes for families have increased the risks of drowning for children. As a small, but mighty, nonprofit with just 3 employees managing local, state, and national efforts, volunteers are essential to our work," shared Alissa Magrum, Executive Director. "We are grateful to partner with Swoovy who assists us in securing necessary volunteers, which ensures we are maximizing our mission in a time of high need." Colin's Hope needs assistance from volunteers to assemble water safety kits, which drive awareness of the prevention of drowning. The organization provided all of the materials to volunteers so they could build the kits from home while connecting virtually through team-building activities.
Swoovy's platform offers in-person and remote, skill-based volunteer opportunities from over 130,000 nonprofits nationwide and in Canada. They also support nonprofits with volunteer management and marketing tools to drive capacity.
ABOUT SWOOVY:
Founded in 2018 by Austin native Brooke Waupsh, Swoovy (www.swoovy.com) modernizes the way nonprofit organizations recruit and engage an untapped workforce for good. Swoovy matches people with similar interests and passions and provides them a way to get to foster their relationships while giving back. Groups and organizations can participate in team-building, set goals, connect through shared interests, and track impact.
ABOUT BROOKE WAUPSH:
Brooke Waupsh, an Austin native, is an award-winning marketer and experienced early-stage corporate leader and was recently featured as a two-time finalist by the Austin Business Journal for the "Women in Business" Awards (formerly "Profiles in Power"). She is a passionate change-maker, and in her former career spent close to a decade helping community banks and credit unions compete through building a national brand around a FinTech solution.
She was the recipient of the Austin Young Chamber's 2021 FAVE Award for Young-Professional Led Business and has been nominated for the 2022 FAVE Award for Innovative Company. Brooke has been named a "Female Disruptor" by Authority Magazine and a "Rising Star" by Voyage Austin. She was also a two-time finalist for the Austin Under 40 award for "Innovation and Start-Up" hosted by the Young Women's Alliance and Young Men's Business League, nominated for "Change Maker" by Austin Young Chamber, and featured on the KXAN Studio 512's "Women-Crush Wednesday" and a "Woman to Watch" by On The Dot Woman.
Brooke has been requested to share her story on entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, employee engagement, and corporate social responsibility through speaking engagements at the University of Texas McCombs Business School, Meal on Wheels Central Texas, the Mile High SHRM, and more.
Source :Swoovy
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.
