Since the introduction of our Community Connections Program in 2020, Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) has engaged more than 470 private-sector professionals to volunteer their skills, knowledge, and expertise to help 149 social impact organizations build capacity.
From helping social impact organizations build out a risk management framework to offering advisory support on marketing strategies, legal matters, and fundraising, from collaborating to run Impact Jam workshops on business development for under-resourced women entrepreneurs and ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, we work with our corporate partners to effectively channel corporate philanthropic resources towards creating positive social impact, by supporting entrepreneurs and disadvantaged communities who otherwise wouldn’t have access to these capacity-building opportunities and solutions.
From our experience in designing, implementing, and assessing mutually beneficial skills-based volunteering initiatives, we believe this kind of volunteering is a scalable way to magnify positive social impact, because it goes a long way to support the people who support the under-served.
We do this because, at FSI, we believe broad cross-sector collaboration and free sharing of knowledge, resources, and information are key to driving systems change.
On 29 August 2024, we engaged Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks volunteers in an Impact Jam to enhance our corporate engagement and skills-based volunteering initiatives. Through discussions with the Community TeamWorks volunteers, the FSI team delved into these questions: What drives corporate professionals to do good? What are the challenges facing these corporate professionals who want to commit intentionally to a social impact journey?
Impact Visibility and Expectation Alignment
So, what motivates someone to carve out time from their busy schedule to volunteer for value-aligned social impact organizations?
Some Community TeamWorks volunteers highlighted the importance of seeing the positive change they help contribute to. This can be achieved by social impact organizations communicating the impact of their work and how it is created through various communication channels, such as social media, newsletters, websites, and direct emails of recognition and acknowledgment of the skills-based volunteers’ involvement.
Just as important, according to the volunteers, is expectation alignment. Social impact organizations and their volunteers should make an effort to communicate and agree on the details of the skills-based volunteering engagement, and the responsibilities and expectations of both parties, so that everyone involved is held accountable to work in the best interest of the engagement.
Goldman Sachs Supporting FSI to Maximize Impact
We would like to thank Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks for once again collaborating with FSI for a meaningful Impact Jam, and helping us enhance the communication approaches and materials of our Community Connections Program. With the insights gained from the workshop, we will continue our work in helping private-sector professionals find a sense of purpose and engaging them in our various skills-based volunteering initiatives.
As is characteristic of FSI’s mutually beneficial Impact Jams, the volunteers of this workshop found themselves amongst the beneficiaries too. For example, all Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks volunteers agreed that they learned new knowledge and skills that they could bring back to their respective professions.
Said one volunteer: “The workshop provided me with a much better understanding of what skills-based volunteering entails.”
“Great session where we discussed ways to communicate an NGO’s mission statement to max out impact!” said another volunteer.
Get Involved
Are you planning to be more intentional about your volunteering endeavors, by using your skills and expertise to support social impact organizations working to address the issues you care about? Learn how you can achieve this by joining FSI’s Community Connections Program. If you want to kick-start your social impact journey but are unsure where to start, get in touch with us at communityconnections@shared-impact.com.
Looking to achieve your company’s CSR or ESG goals? Join us as a corporate partner!
