Corporate Volunteering - Making a Difference Together
Corporate Volunteering, also known as Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV), is when businesses give their employees paid time to take part in volunteer activities — usually during working hours — for the benefit of the communities where they operate.
It's a powerful way for businesses to give back, strengthen teams and build lasting relationships within their local area.
How Sunderland Voluntary Sector Alliance can help
We connect businesses with local organisations to create meaningful partnerships that deliver real social value. Our role is to match needs, skills and aspirations, ensuring maximum benefit for communities while helping businesses meet their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) priorities in ways that are truly impactful.
For companies:
We maintain an up-to-date list of requests from community organisations and can connect you with projects that align with your company's mission, values and skills. If you are ready to explore corporate volunteering and create meaningful impact in your local community, get in touch.
- Team volunteer days - group activities where colleagues volunteer together, such as painting community spaces, planting gardens, or supporting local events.
- Skills-based volunteering - using specialist professional skills to support a charity or community organisation, such as a marketing professional helping with branding or social media strategy. These projects often create long-lasting impact for smaller organisations.
- Training & knowledge sharing - delivering short, practical training sessions (online or in-person) on topics that could benefit organisations. This approach can help multiple small organisations build skills and capacity.
- Trusteeship and mentoring- build a lasting connection with an organisation by contributing your expertise, insights and passion for its cause. Play an active role in guiding its strategic direction and helping secure its long-term success and sustainability.
For community organisations:
If you are a Voluntary, Community or Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisation and have a task or project that could benefit from corporate volunteers - whether it's extra hands-on help or specialist skills - we'd love to hear from you. We can work with you to shape ideas, put the right policies and procedures in place, and help you build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with corporate partners.
Why corporate volunteering works for everyone
Benefits for employees
- Boosted well-being and a genuine sense of achievement.
- The 'feel-good factor' of making a difference.
- Meeting and working with people from diverse backgrounds.
- Opportunities to use existing skills in fresh, rewarding ways.
- Enhanced CVs and career prospects.
Benefits for businesses
- Higher staff morale, pride and job satisfaction - supporting staff retention.
- Stronger, more connected teams.
- Unique professional development opportunities.
- Greater understanding of the communities you serve.
- Enhanced reputation, trust and brand profile.
- Meaningful fulfilment of CSR commitments, with opportunities for long-term partnerships.
Benefits for community organisations
- Access to fresh ideas, innovation and specialist knowledge.
- Broader networks and valuable new connections.
- Increased capacity to deliver projects and services.
- A deeper mutual understanding between business and community.
- The potential for ongoing support and collaboration.
Case studies
Take a look at some of our case study examples.
Added social value
If you're looking to amplify your impact through additional in-kind or monetary donations, we can help you find organisations making a real difference. Partner with us to ensure your generosity creates meaningful, lasting value for the communities that matter most to your business.
Contact us
· Marie Wisson, Community & Corporate Volunteering Coordinator: marie.wisson@sunderlandvsa.co.uk / 07350 392620.
· Sharon Quinn, Social Value & Investment Officer: Sharon.quinn@sunderlandvsa.co.uk / 07770 155710.
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