- The number of corporate volunteers, who represent 10% of the total number of volunteers in Spain, will increase in 2022 according to a study on corporate volunteering conducted by Voluntare with the support of the Endesa Foundation
- Nine out of ten companies and all social entities with corporate volunteer programmes have been able to channel their action remotely and most will maintain part of this type of action in 2022.
- The priority Sustainable Development Goals for corporate volunteering in 2022 will be SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 8 (Decent Work), especially for the companies.
The Voluntare network has asked 96 companies and social entities what their corporate volunteering programmes will consist of in 2022. The study, conducted with the collaboration of the Endesa Foundation, shows how this volunteering, which involves employees of the companies that promote it and which is undertaken in collaboration with social entities, has been transformed within the framework of the pandemic.
"The Endesa Foundation is collaborating to continue promoting the Company's corporate volunteering and will launch new initiatives that will enable us to continue taking care of those who need us most and to contribute to the fight against climate change and for equal opportunities. All this, thanks to our fellow volunteers. With the results of this study, we now know that we are on the right track; we will continue to be committed to volunteering so no one will be left behind and we are moving forwards together in society", Javier Blanco, general director of the Endesa Foundation said.
According to data from the 'Radiography of Volunteering in Spain' study by the Telefónica Foundation (2019), 10% of the total number of volunteers are corporate volunteers. The conclusions drawn from the survey conducted by Voluntare also suggest that this number will continue to grow in the coming years.
This is due to several factors. These include the allocation of a larger budget, the growing interest of companies and, even more so of social entities, in cooperating with each other and the expectations of companies (71%) and NGOs (69%) in terms of the number of corporate volunteers they will mobilise. The study also shows that investment in corporate volunteering will increase in 2022 since, according to respondents, 70% of companies and 80% of social entities will maintain or increase the budget they will allocate to their programmes, which will favour the development recorded in 2021.
Non face-to-face corporate volunteering in 2021, which will continue in 2022
Due to health restrictions, the number of corporate volunteers decreased in 2021 in 38% of companies and in 35% of social entities. However, the pandemic context has not paralysed their action.
The creativity and flexibility of organisations enabled nine out of ten companies and all social entities to channel their corporate volunteering activity without the need for a physical presence throughout 2021. In both companies and entities, there has been frequent mentoring and online training, awareness campaigns and fundraising as well as remote accompaniment and leisure.
In companies, it has also been common for activities to be undertaken from home, probably due to teleworking. 63% of companies offered their employees actions with a social purpose such as the development of solidarity kits, educational support, etc. 44% of the companies also organised activities with an environmental impact from home, such as waste collection, plantations and recycling workshops.
Remote volunteering actions turned out to be very effective. This is why, although 78% of companies and 69% of entities intend to increase their face-to-face activities, remote action will also be consolidated in 2022. 89% of social entities and 83% of companies will use a mixed action model, combining face-to-face and non face-to-face activities.
Alliances and the beneficiaries of their actions will grow
With regard to companies, 52% will maintain the number of social counterpart entities, while 33% will seek more allies in the associative sector. 31% of the entities plan to maintain the number of collaborating companies, while 58% aspire to increase the number.
Along the same lines, organisations will increase the number of beneficiaries of their corporate volunteer programmes. 70% of companies and 78% of entities will increase the number.
Quality education and decent work, priority areas in 2022
Corporate volunteering programmes will have an impact on all the Sustainable Development Goals, although there is a marked interest in SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 8 (decent work), especially in companies.
Promotion of volunteering with United Nations Volunteers on radio and TV
On the occasion of International Volunteer Day, Voluntare, together with the United Nations Volunteers allied network developed a campaign for the promotion of volunteering, based on a spot and a wedge. With the support of Atresmedia, a partner of Voluntare, it was broadcast on its television and radio channels from 24 November until 5 December.
About the Endesa Foundation
The main objective of the Endesa Foundation, chaired by Juan Sánchez-Calero, is to contribute to social development through projects based on education, employment training, the environment and culture.
The Foundation's educational projects are aimed at fostering innovation and environmental education at all levels and promoting academic excellence in the university field.
Employment training projects focus on promoting the talent of people at risk of social exclusion, young people and professionals over 50 years of age.
It also supports the conservation and promotion of biodiversity, cooperating in the fight against climate change, contributing to the maintenance of emblematic species and raising awareness about environmental sustainability.
As for its cultural projects, we must highlight the ones regarding the lighting of artistic monuments and the conservation and dissemination of the historical industrial heritage of the Spanish electricity sector.
The Endesa Foundation also develops and finances programmes and actions aimed at providing humanitarian aid in extraordinary situations of health crises, natural disasters or other similar situations.
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About Voluntare
Voluntare is an international corporate volunteering network whose managing partners are the CaixaBank Volunteer Association, Campofrío, CODESPA Foundation, Co-responsible Foundation, Endesa Foundation, Exit Foundation, Repsol Foundation, Telefónica Foundation, Iberdrola, United Way and Work for Social. It also has a hundred collaborating partners distributed between companies and social entities, present in Europe and Latin America. Under the coordination of Volunteering and Strategy, they exchange learning and generate knowledge to increase the expansion and impact of this path of social action in all parties involved: The companies that promote it, the social entities with which they collaborate, the employees that participate, the communities in which they intervene and society as a whole.