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‘Tis the season – for workplace volunteering.
While Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday and holiday toy drives are familiar end-of-year opportunities for companies and their employees to give back, corporate volunteerism is in fact on the rise year-round.
According to a recent survey by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP), 61% of firms reported that participation in employee volunteer activities increased in 2023. This growth is driven by companies offering a greater variety of options and time off to volunteer in groups, in person and individually.
Nasdaq enables employee volunteerism through its GoodWorks program, through which the company provides all full and part-time employees two paid days a year to volunteer in 2023. Along with the Nasdaq Foundation and Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, the GoodWorks program supports Nasdaq’s Purpose to “Advance Economic Progress for All.”
“Volunteerism and community involvement are integral parts of Nasdaq’s Purpose, and through GoodWorks we’re giving our employees the opportunity to make a direct impact in the communities they live and work in,” Jailan Griffiths, Vice President and Global Head of Purpose at Nasdaq told Traders Magazine.
“Nasdaq GoodWorks provides a framework for finding, creating and leading volunteer projects,” said Raven Bolding, Corporate Purpose Specialist at Nasdaq, noting that the initiative’s volunteer week in April of this year drew more than 200 volunteers from 15 Nasdaq offices, to support more than 25 different organizations.
“Nasdaq has always been a purpose-driven organization. Initiatives like GoodWorks have enabled us to make it easier than ever for our employees to get involved – whether that’s through charitable giving, nonprofit board service, or even organizing office-wide opportunities for teams to volunteer in their communities.”
As part of its mission, Nasdaq’s Purpose team recognizes employees who demonstrate exemplary commitment to service and have found unique ways to integrate Purpose into their work lives.
This year, Nasdaq has named six Purpose Champions from various regions, most recently Margareta Baxén, Executive Assistant at Nasdaq in Stockholm. Baxén’s engagement has included volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House in Huddinge, Sweden; organizing gift collections for underprivileged children; and engaging in community environmental cleanups.
“We want to ensure that all our employees have an opportunity to make a meaningful difference while supporting the causes that matter to them the most,” Griffiths added. “I want to give a special congratulations to all of Nasdaq’s Purpose Champions, who were recognized by their colleagues for going above and beyond in their efforts to advance Nasdaq’s Purpose.”
Other large and influential capital markets firms with volunteer initiatives include Morgan Stanley, whose employees have provided more than 2.8 million volunteer hours in June alone since establishing it as its Global Volunteer Month in 2006; BlackRock, whose Gives Network enables employees to work collectively to address needs of their communities via local nonprofits; and Virtu Financial, whose 10-year-old Give Back program has had employees clean up harbors in Los Angeles, run for charities in Hong Kong and donate blood in Melbourne.
“Employee giving and volunteerism programs increase engagement and tangibly align corporate values with those of employees,” ACCP President and CEO Carolyn Berkowitz said in a November 15 release. “In today’s highly competitive talent market, employee volunteerism and giving are essential strategies for recruiting, engaging and retaining staff. A recent IBM study showed that 70% of job seekers are more likely to apply for and accept an offer from socially responsible companies.”
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