November 4, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
More and more companies are linking their employee-volunteering programs to their business goals, according to a new survey.
The survey, released last month by the Points of Light Foundation, in Washington, found that eight out of 10 companies connect volunteering to their overall business strategies, such as enhancing their public image. A similar survey conducted in 1992 by the foundation and the Conference Board, a New York research group, found that only three out of 10 companies made such connections.
Both surveys examined company-sponsored programs that encourage employees to volunteer. More than 450 companies participated in the 1992 survey, compared with 258 this year.
Another recent survey, conducted by Mark R. Fisher, a fund-raising and public-relations consulting company in Farmington, Mich., examined volunteerism by company executives. That survey — which included 45 big corporations — found that the chief executives at nearly all the companies served on the governing boards of non-profit organizations. And, according to the survey, six out of 10 of the chief officers said that their and other company officials’ service on such boards “was beneficial to the company’s bottom line.”
For more information about the Fisher survey, contact the company at 32770 Grand River, Suite 206B, Farmington, Mich. 48336; (248) 888-5020.
Copies of the Points of Light Foundation’s “Corporate Volunteer Programs — A Strategic Resource” are available for $33.60 for members and $42 for non-members, plus shipping costs. Contact the foundation at 1400 I Street, N.W., Washington 20005; (202) 729-8000.
