Volunteerism is helping corporates and their employees make a real difference in people’s lives

The African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ resonates deeply in SA, where government alone cannot provide adequate assistance to those in need. This is where the corporate sector can step in – and increasingly, it has. Corporates are recognising that they have a duty to play an active role in the ‘village’, not only by taking the more convenient route and donating money and goods, but also by encouraging and enabling employees to pull up their sleeves and get stuck in.

‘We understand that the challenges we have in South Africa will always require a collaborative effort,’ Kone Gugushe, head of the FirstRand Foundation, told Radio 702 in 2025. ‘And we need to be quite deliberate in terms of how we design some of the solutions we come up with.

‘We certainly deal with some of the most stubborn challenges, being poverty, inequality and unemployment, and these have been persistent over the past couple of decades,’ she said. ‘FirstRand is really driven by its purpose of creating a future of shared prosperity for a number of our stakeholders including our clients, our employees and certainly our societies in which we operate.’

The company drives its social impact strategies through three main foundations, but also uses its employee ecosystem to promote an active and vibrant volunteer programme. ‘It’s important for corporates like FirstRand who are large, systemic organisations to really be active and be at the forefront of driving an agenda for development of change. We are mindful of the position we hold within the South African economy and we are quite deliberate in making sure we play our part,’ said Gugushe.

Corporate social investment (CSI) has evolved extensively in recent years. Where once the focus was largely on donations, today employee volunteer programmes (EVPs) have become central to how companies support and engage with communities – and their own staff.According to Trialogue’s 2025 Business in Society Handbook, of the 57 firms that reported having an EVP, 67% now have a stated EVP policy, indicating that corporates are dedicating more resources to EVP management. But while many firms have programmes and policies in place, one thing is clear – those that apply thorough thought and planning, rather than simply ticking a few boxes, make a real difference to their employees and communities they support.

‘Well-run EVPs deliver benefits on three fronts: community, company and employee. For communities, skills-based volunteering or hands-on support is often better than sporadic donations, and it helps fill critical capacity gaps,’ notes Trialogue.

Besides boosting staff well-being and morale, these programmes can also improve retention and have become attractive to prospective employees – particularly among millennials, who value making a difference. This is backed up by a recent study by Deloitte, which found that 84% of millennials believe it is vital for a business to make a positive impact on society beyond just making a profit. A survey by Cone Communications similarly revealed that 76% consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work. A report on volunteerism from Momentum Metropolitan, which surveyed a sample of staff members, employees from other corporates and several non-profit organisations, shows that ‘the 25–34 age bracket presented as those most active when it came to volunteering’, citing that they ‘wanted to set a good example’ as their primary motivator.

The benefits for employees of all ages are much broader, though. ‘In terms of teaching teamwork, volunteerism is one of the most effective ways of bringing people together to achieve a common goal,’ says Patronella Sono, Momentum Group’s staff volunteer specialist. ‘As part of Momentum Metropolitan’s staff volunteer programme, we once had to cook 2 000 meals and plant veggie gardens for a preschool and an old-age home. Everyone – including our leaders – was out there digging holes or adding the potting soil to ensure everything was completed and ready for harvest time. This demonstrates the true power of teamwork in action.

‘One of our business leaders always says that building a cohesive and motivated team is crucial for project success. Through volunteerism, you can learn how to identify individual strengths, delegate tasks accordingly and foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration among diverse group members,’ she says. ‘As a team leader, you need to communicate goals, tasks and instructions clearly to your team members. You also need to listen to their feedback and concerns. Through this experience, you develop effective communication skills, both in conveying your ideas and actively listening to others.’

Sono says volunteering also teaches planning and organising, and encourages compassion. ‘In a work environment, this form of care for others can make you a much admired and respected colleague or leader.’

These benefits aren’t merely soft values; they feed into company culture and job satisfaction, which ultimately increases productivity and builds loyalty. A global study cited by Forbes found that 70% of respondents believe workplace volunteer programmes improve morale more than informal social events, while 89% feel that companies with volunteering programmes offer a better working environment.

This appears to be the case in SA too, where the most successful and proactive EVPs have one common thread – they enable employees to select the programmes they want to support. ‘Volunteers in our staff volunteerism programme have shared different reasons for why they volunteer and the causes they choose to support,’ says Sono. ‘Ultimately, we as an organisation need to allow them this freedom, by providing resources and opportunities for them to give back to those that speak to their hearts. What matters to them, matters to us, and we need to support them as best we can.’

Another initiative that follows this principle is the FirstRand Volunteers programme – which was launched in 2003 and is funded by the FirstRand Foundation. It includes cause-related and skills-based volunteering, and volunteering with the foundation, and allows employees to make a real difference by matching their time and monetary donations to their chosen registered organisation or school. The initiative also features rand-for-rand matched funding for employee donations of time and money, enables employees to source causes to support, has annual group drive incentives and provides training and guidance for staff who wish to share their time, skills and knowledge with their chosen organisations or schools.

Employees are also encouraged to create strong long-term relationships with the communities they support and to track the impact of their initiatives. The number of employees volunteering has shown a marked increase, up from 1 258 in 2023 to 5 433 in 2024. Donated hours increased from 7 669 to 24 220.

Two reasons for its effective execution are meaningful engagement – they communicate constructively with communities to find out their real needs and work with them – and the fact that employees, many of whom live in the communities they assist, choose the organisations they support and cultivate long-term relationships with them. This empowers volunteers and reinforces ownership and purpose.

Anglo American’s Ambassadors for Good, which reached an estimated 150 000 people worldwide in 2024 through targeted, skills- based interventions, follows a similar ethos. ‘What sets this programme apart is not only the scale of the impact, but also the spirit in which it is carried out,’ says Alison Atkinson, chief projects and development officer and global executive programme sponsor. ‘Ambassadors choose the causes that matter most to them. They contribute their time and professional expertise to tackling real-world community challenges… It is a hands-on, community-focused initiative and a true team effort.’

The programme, which works in partnership with others and gives Anglo American and De Beers Group employees the chance to use their skills to help their communities, is backed by the Anglo American Foundation. After its pilot in the UK and SA in 2018, the initiative was expanded to Brazil and Canada and has since then experienced impressive growth.

According to its 2024 Volunteer Report, 268 community projects were designed and implemented (with 25 in South Africa alone), and there were 702 employee volunteers in 15 countries, with 18 557 hours contributed by volunteers.

‘When I think about Ambassadors for Good, it’s that means by which we can really connect with each other. We can connect over something that’s dear to our hearts, that we’re passionate about, and that we’re able to make a difference in our communities, as part of the way we do business and the way we do work individually and collectively,’ says Atkinson.

Phil Read, group human resources officer at Tetra Pak, also emphasises the value of allowing employees to select the programmes they want to support. ‘When employees feel encouraged to take part in these programmes, they bring their passion and talents to activities that benefit society as a whole,’ says Read.

‘We hope to enable employees from all backgrounds to connect with a common sense of purpose, and our structured approach to volunteering is designed to help them get there. Some people feel more strongly about the planet, others feel more strongly about education, and they will follow their beliefs about what’s important.’

Reid also stresses that engaging with the real challenges of local communities is essential for an EVP to truly make an impact and have a long-lasting effect.

‘In some parts of the world like Switzerland, employees have been involved in tree planting or cleaning up the lake – whereas in Brazil, employees have been involved in sports activities with people with disabilities, or mentoring opportunities with young people. It depends quite a bit on what is what is most needed in the area. And obviously we’re trying to focus it where it makes sense, in local communities where our employees may live or commute from, or where we have operations.’

Partnerships with local organisations are also vital, to ensure that the initiatives are relevant and aligned with the ongoing needs faced by the communities.

Read believes that working with local expertise amplifies the reach and effectiveness of projects while deepening that local connection, creating a lasting foundation of support. ‘We want our commitment to extend beyond short-term actions; it’s about sustaining projects that foster long-term change. This is how corporate volunteering can evolve into a tradition where companies, colleagues and communities come together to give back and pay it forward.’

Speaking at a Trialogue conference, MMI Holdings’ head of sustainability, Charlene Lackay, also highlighted that companies offer the ideal platform for employees to volunteer. ‘Many people would like to act as fully engaged citizens but feel they don’t have the means. Corporates can create that enabling space so that people can make a contribution.’

ForGood, which facilitates staff volunteerism for some of the country’s biggest corporate entities, echoes this sentiment. ‘Amid the noise, volunteering remains one of the most powerful ways for corporate employees to reconnect with themselves, their community, and a sense of purpose. Giving time and skills to a cause they care about doesn’t just help others; it boosts happiness, builds relationships and strengthens communities.’

EVPs have proved to be one of the most effective ways business can give back. But for volunteering to become a true investment in people and purpose, it cannot be a oncea-year affair; it must be ongoing and aligned with corporate values and with what employees care about.

By Philippa Byron
Image: iStock