Volunteering for Impact Hills 2007

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Volunteering for ImpactBest Practices in International Corporate Volunteering

Greg Hills and Adeeb Mahmud

September 2007

SPONSORED BY


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About FSG Socia l Impact Advisors

FSG Social Impact Advisors is a nonprot organization

dedicated to accelerating social progress by advancing the

practice of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

FSG services include:

Advice: Advising leading foundations, corporations,

andnonprotsonhowtoincreasetheirsocialimpact

throughstrategydevelopmentandevaluation

Ideas:Publishingoriginalresearchandinnovativeideas

Action: Incubatingandlaunchinglong-termaction

initiativesincollaborationwithourclients,funders,

and partners

WithofcesinBoston,SanFrancisco,Seattle,andGeneva,

theFSGinternationalteamoffull-timeconsultantscombines

thehigheststandardsofstrategyconsultingwithadeep

understandingofphilanthropyandthenonprotsector.The

organizationinvestsheavilyinresearchtolearnandtodevelop

newideas,andFSGthinkingisregularlyfeaturedinsuch

publications as Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social InnovationReview, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

GuidedbytheworkofCofounderandSeniorAdvisorMichael

E.PorterofHarvardBusinessSchool,FSGSocialImpactAdvi-

sorshasworkedwithdozensofglobalcorporationssuchas

GE,Microsoft,Nestle,Pzer,Shell,andSwissRetobuild

competitiveadvantageandsocialvaluethroughinnovative

practicesincorporatesocialresponsibilityandphilanthropy.

Formoreinformation,visitwww.fsg-impact.org.

About Pf izer Inc

Foundedin1849,Pzeristheworldslargestresearch-based

pharmaceuticalcompanytakingnewapproachestobetter

health.Pzerdiscoversanddevelopsinnovativemedicines

totreatandhelppreventdiseaseforbothpeopleand

animals.Throughconsistent,high-qualitymanufacturingand

distributionoperations,Pzermedicinesreachpatientsin

180nations.Thecompanyalsopartnerswithhealthcare

providers,governments,andlocalcommunitiesaroundtheworldtoexpandaccesstomedicinesandtoprovidebetter

qualityhealthcareandhealthsystemsupport.Pzercolleagues

workeverydaytohelppeoplestayhealthierlongerandto

reducethehumanandeconomicburdenofdiseaseworldwide

About The Brookings Inst i tut ion

TheBrookingsInstitutionisaprivatenonprotorganization

devotedtoindependentresearchandinnovativepolicy

solutions.Formorethan90years,Brookingshasanalyzed

currentandemergingissuesandproducednewideasthat

matterforthenationandtheworld.

Forpolicymakersandthemedia,Brookingsscholarsprovide

thehighest-qualityresearch,policyrecommendations,and

analysisonthefullrangeofpublicpolicyissues.ResearchatThe

BrookingsInstitutionisconductedtoinformthepublicdebate,

notadvanceapoliticalagenda.Scholarsaredrawnfromthe

UnitedStatesandabroadwithexperienceingovernment

andacademiaandholddiversepointsofview.Brookings

goalistoprovidehighqualityanalysisandrecommendations

fordecisionmakersintheU.S.andabroadonthefullrange

ofchallengesfacinganincreasinglyinterdependentworld.


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Volunteering for ImpactBest Practices in International Corporate Volunteering

Greg Hills and Adeeb Mahmud

September 2007

SPONSORED BY


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A Message f rom the Sponsors

As multinational corporations become truly global, they are seeking new, strategic, high-impact opportunities through which theymay engage with the communities in which they work. International Corporate Volunteering (ICV) has thus emerged as animportant new vehicle for corporate citizenship programming that not only deepens local corporate community involvement, butalso leverages the human assets and vast technical skills of a company to effect improvements in areas such as the environment,health care and education. ICV programs provide powerful opportunities for corporations and employees to engage directly inaddressing social challenges in the local communities where they operate, worldwide. These programs provide a unique platformfor creating both social and business impact.

Despite the growing number of corporate employee volunteering programs, the eld of ICV generally suffers from a lack ofwidespread documentation of existing and effective models. Given the emergence of high-impact models that are sustainablefrom a business perspective, the growing number of corporations seeking to engage in the arena, and the vast array of globaldevelopmental challenges a critical need existed for further research on this topic.

We believe that Volunteering for Impact: Best Practices in International Corporate Volunteeringis an important and uniquecontribution to the eld of international service. Researched and written by FSG Social Impact Advisors, this independent whitepaper provides a useful overview, identies a variety of models, and describes detailed case studies, all of which we believe willplay a key role in enhancing the dialogue around increased effectiveness of ICV.

From Brookings perspective, this paper is an exciting addition to our Initiative on International Volunteering and Service. As partof this initiative, we are exploring ways for the culture of volunteering to enhance global understanding and security. This paper isan important contribution to the Initiatives Corporate Afnity Group and provides a compelling discussion of the unique power

that ICV can bring in improving the lives of people across the globe.

At Pzer, we are particularly excited about the diversity of models that this paper illustrates. Since launching our Global HealthFellows program in 2002, we have gained signicant insights from our experience and continue to seek new ways in which tobetter assist our partners and increase developmental impact on the ground. It is our hope that by documenting the variety ofmodels and effective practices of leading corporations, this paper will provide a useful guide for those seeking to initiate orexpand ICV activities.

Pzer and The Brookings Institution are proud to sponsor and share this research with the eld. We encourage corporationsacross industries to learn from and build upon the experiences of others and to recognize the opportunity that exists to achieve

both social and business goals through effective and strategic ICV programs. We submit that it is only by building the capacity oflocal institutions and individuals through effective knowledge and skills exchange that we will be successful in addressing thechallenges our world faces today.

Robert L. Mallett David CapraraSenior Vice President Director and Nonresident Fellow

Worldwide Public Affairs & Policy International Volunteering ProjectPzer Inc The Brookings Institution


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1. Introduction Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 DeningInternationalCorporateVolunteering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Research Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2. What Corporations Are Doing Operational Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3

Corporate Resources Deployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Social Sector Focus Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Implementation Partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Measuring Impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3. Increasing Business and Social Impact A Strategic Framework for ICV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Case Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Accenture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

TNT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Ernst & Young. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Starbucks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Timberland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28PricewaterhouseCoopers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

IBM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Pzer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

BD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4. Recommendations Implementing Best Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Future Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Appendix A: Overview of a Sample of ICV Programs . . . . . . . . . 38

AppendixB:ListofOrganizationsInterviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40


6/444 2007 FSG Social Impact Advisors

An IBM volunteer shows children in her community

how to participate in IBMs KidSmart Ear ly Learning

program, which has been used by 2.6 million students

and teachers in 7,500 centers in 60 countries.


7/44Volunteering for Impact

Executive Summar y

Multinational corporations invest signicant time and moneyto deploy employee volunteers throughout the world. A rangeo international corporate volunteering (ICV) programs have

emerged in recent years with an estimated 40 percent o majorcorporations supporting employee volunteering eorts aroundthe world.1 International corporate volunteering, or ICV, reersto the practice o engaging employees in service projects incountries outside o the companys headquarters country. ICVincludes two principal models: local service, in which employeesbased in countries outside headquarters volunteer in their localcommunities; and cross-border service, in which employees travelabroad to volunteer.

Similar to corporate grantmaking, corporate volunteeringsuers rom a disproportionate emphasis on the quantity

o activity rather than potential impact. Just as corporategiving ocuses on metrics like total grantmaking dollars, thetypical corporate volunteering program highlights numberso volunteers and total hours o service. Corporations neitherregularly articulate the strategic purpose nor measure the socialimpact o volunteering. Tey justiy ICV programs based onimproved employee morale and contributions toward corporatecitizenship. While these traditional motivations are valuable,they set a low bar o expectations that ignores volunteeringspotential or increasing business or social impact.

o increase the overall understanding and eectiveness o these

programs, Pzer and Te Brookings Institution engaged FSGSocial Impact Advisors to research and analyze best practicesin the eld. Tis paper seeks to explore and understand thelessons learned among major corporations, and is intended tobe a rst step toward creating a more structured and systematicunderstanding o the landscape o ICV. It provides an analysiso a sample o leading corporate programs, suggests ways in

which corporations can more strategically align volunteeringprograms with their businesses, and provides recommendationsor companies to consider or the uture.

FindingsTis paper analyzes the two principal ICV operationalmodels: local serviceand cross-border service. Te ICV projectsreviewed ranged rom occasional hourly contributions tolonger term, ull-time volunteering, known as ellowships.Te local service model, which is a more established and

widespread way in which corporations engage employees in

service, diers widely by country and oce location, as it isoten dictated by the needs and interests o local employeesand community members. Te cross-border model o ICV i

a relatively new phenomenon in corporate philanthropy andinternational development each o the 11 cross-borderprograms researched in this sample was initiated withinthe last nine years. Tereore most o the corporations weproled are still in learning mode as they seek to improveand rene programs.

Among the companies in FSGs research sample, a widerange o ocus areas and approaches spanned the twooperational models. Te amount o corporate investmentin ICV programs ranged rom lean programs covering onlyemployee salaries to more resource-intensive eorts that

included tailored preservice training programs, centralizedproject management, structured partner relationships, producdonations, and grant enhancements. Programs address suchissues as economic development, education, the environmentdisaster relie, and health care.

Te most common beneciaries o corporate volunteeringwere nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and only a ewprograms beneted multilateral organizations, governmentagencies, private businesses, or individuals. While somecorporations work directly with individual organizationsto plan volunteer assignments, many corporations partner

with a nonprot intermediary that manages placementlogistics. Program measurement remains elusive, as only aew corporations have conducted structured evaluations tounderstand the impact o ICV program investments.

Increasing Business and Social Impact

Reviewing the landscape o activity in international corporatevolunteering illuminates the wide range o choices thatcorporations make as they design and implement programs.Tis paper provides a strategic ramework that can guide

choices and help tether program design and execution topurposeul objectives. Te ramework depicts two importantdimensions or ICV programs: (1) business motivations; and(2) leverage o corporate assets and expertise. Te businessmotivationsdimension makes a distinction between generalmotivations o employee volunteering (such as corporatecitizenship, company reputation, and employee morale) andmotivations that align with a corporate strategy (such as

1 GivinginNumbers:2006Edition,CommitteeEncouragingCorporatePhilanthropy,2006.Percentagereectsresponsesromasampleomorethan100 corporationsthatCECPsurveyed.



stakeholder relations, customer ocus, competitive context,and leadership development). Te leverage o corporate assetsand expertisedimension refects the degree to which corporatevolunteering programs draw on the workplace skills oemployees and the companys distinct corporate and/orphilanthropic resources.

An examination o nine companies stories illustrates howleading corporations have chosen to utilize their employeesto provide both business and social impact. Te SchoolFeeding Volunteer Program at N, the express delivery andlogistics provider, is an example o traditional volunteeringthat addresses a critical social need in the developing world.Te cross-border programs o the management consultingrm Accenture, the accounting rm Ernst & Young, and

N exhibit a high leverage o employee knowledge andskills. Teir employees serve in valuable capacity-building andtechnical-assistance roles. Starbucks program sends volunteersto the coee cooperatives o its suppliers, and the ootwearand apparel company imberland perorms reorestation workin Asia. Both examples highlight a strong level o corporatesocial responsibility to employees and customers.

Among the corporations in this research, a handul exhibitqualities o high-impact volunteering: strategic motivationsand high leverage o corporate assets and expertise.PricewaterhouseCoopers Ulysses program deployshigh-potential senior employees on skills-based serviceprojects as part o a structured internal leadership-development program. IBMs On Demand Communityleverages its employees skills and the rms customizedportal technology to acilitate widespread volunteering,

while at the same time showcases the eectiveness o itstechnology solutions. Pzers Global Health Fellows programsets the bar or cross-border programs by dispatchingdozens o highly skilled employees each year to addressglobal health issues with key nonprot and governmentstakeholders in the developing world. Similarly, the medicaltechnology company BD recently launched an ICV programcombining product donations, enhancement grants, andskilled employees to improve the eectiveness o hospitallaboratories in sub-Saharan Arica.

Recommendations

With the goal o increasing the impact o internationalcorporate volunteering, FSG has compiled several bestpractices that can be incorporated into the planning andimplementation o uture programs:

1. Set Goals before Roles:Identiy the business motivationsor volunteering and then develop programs to t thosegoals. Whether corporations engage in ICV orgeneral motivations or strategic goals, identiying theappropriate business objectives is critical. While bothtypes o motivations are important, companies need toidentiy whats driving their work and design programsand outcomes accordingly.

2. Walk before You Run:Determine which o the twooperational models to pursue cross-border or local service based on your level o experience with internationalprograms and your desired presence in a target country. Allcorporations with international locations should considerthe local service model. Companies that have a signicantlocal presence in strategic markets with a strong culture

o volunteering could be candidates to implement localellowships. For rms that may not have signicantinternational experience but would still like theiremployees to learn rom cross-cultural opportunities, across-border model with a low commitment o resourcesis most appropriate. Fully unded ellowships oremployees to volunteer abroad are more appropriate orcorporations that have developed extensive internationalprogram experience and are comortable managing thecomplexities o highly engaged programs.



3. Lead with Leverage:Opportunities to create social impactwill be greater i companies leverage employees workplace skillsand knowledge. Not all companies are equally equippedto utilize the skills o their employees with every type obeneciary. Corporations in any industry should make asystematic decision about which projects may be the bestopportunities or employees to use their workplace skills.

4. Align with Philanthropic and Corporate SocialResponsibility Activities: Look or opportunities tocombine volunteering programs with ongoing philanthropicor CSR work. Cash and in-kind donations or otherservices can increase the social impact o internationalvolunteering. Focus and alignment with the rest o thecompanys philanthropic eorts also make it easier toprioritize, promote, and publicize ICV activities.

5. Partner Proactively: Partnerships can provide access toresources the company may not have. It is important thatcompanies pick partners that have relationships in the

country and are intimately amiliar with local culturesand practices. In addition, relationships within thecompany can be just as important as external alliances.

6. Invest in Infrastructure:Ensure adequate internalresources (staf, unding, systems) to manage volunteeringprograms. For cross-border programs, resources areparticularly important due to the additional needso training, logistics, and coordination.

7. Communicate Clearly: Be up-ront about the motivationsand benets o your program, and communicate those messages

to internal and external stakeholders. ICV initiatives canhave multiple stakeholders (employees, management,beneciaries, intermediary partners, third-party observers),not all o whom may bring the same objectives orexpectations to the table. Both internal and externalstakeholders need to be aware o the programs goals.

Looking toward the uture o ICV, corporations can thinkmore broadly about their goals. Tey can go beyond simplyrunning an eective ICV program and toward opportunitiesto create an exponential increase in the scale o impact.Signicant opportunities exist or companies to structure

high impact programs through expanded local serviceprograms. Given the cost dierentials and limited liedisruption or employees, the biggest opportunity orscaling ICV is with these local models.

Another powerul way to scale impact is to collaborate withother corporations. Working together with other companiesprovides several potential benets: deeper expertise can beleveraged as companies draw on a broader range o core

competencies, implementation risk can be spread acrossseveral organizations, and costs can be saved rom poolingadministrative resources. Corporations would still benetrom the ambassadorship o their own employees whovolunteer in the community, but a broader level o socialimpact could be achieved.

While most examples o corporate collaboration ocus onevent-based disaster relie, such as the volunteers rom IBMand Cisco, the technology supplier, who worked on tsunamrelie, such joint eorts could be applied toward moreproactive and ongoing eorts to benet society. Whether

it is through individual or collaborative eorts, it is clearthat creating high-impact ICV programs requires strongleadership to ensure that investments benet business goalsand also eectively address important global issues.



BD volunteers worked alongside health care workers

at Mpanshya Mission Hospital in Zambia to ensure safe

testing of blood samples.



1. Introduction

Background

Multinational corporations invest signicant time and money

to deploy employee volunteers throughout the world. Ascompanies embrace the increasingly interdependent natureo business and society, they oten use employee serviceprograms as a vehicle or addressing critical social challengesin international markets. A range o international corporatevolunteering (ICV) programs, rom occasional hourlycontributions to longer term, ull-time volunteering known asellowships, have emerged in recent years. Tese ICV activitiesare captured by two operational models: local service, in whichemployees based in countries outside headquarters volunteerin their local communities; and cross-border service, in whichemployees travel abroad to volunteer.

Despite the corporate investment o time and money inthese programs, however, a lack o research exists about thelevel o activity and overall eectiveness o employee servicein international markets. Te U.S. National Council on

Workplace Volunteerism recently announced that its membercompanies have involved more than 463,000 employeevolunteers, who have donated nine million hours to employeevolunteer programs in the U.S. and abroad.2 While this is alarge quantityo community service, CEOs should interpret thisnumber as a monumental investment o corporate resourcesand should ask about the impact o that investment: What

strategic benet is the company accruing and how eective haveemployees been at adding value to society?

Whatstrategicbenetisthecompanyaccruing

and how effective have employees been at adding

value to society?

Similar to corporate grantmaking, corporate volunteering suersrom a disproportionate emphasis on the quantity o activityrather than potential impact. Just as corporate giving ocuses

on metrics like total grantmaking dollars, the typical corporatevolunteering program highlights numbers o volunteers and totalhours o service. Corporations neither regularly articulate thestrategic purpose nor measure the social impact o volunteering.Tey justiy ICV programs based on improved employeemorale and contributions toward corporate citizenship. Whilethese traditional motivations are valuable, they set a low bar oexpectations that ignores volunteerings potential or increasingbusiness or social impact.

Setting such low expectations or volunteering programs posesreal risks to corporations. Employee volunteering draws directly

rom the active employee base the lieblood o any companyEvery hour o corporate-sponsored volunteering time representan hour that an employee is not working toward the bottomline o the business. Such high opportunity costs can dwar acompanys level o cash giving. Additionally, i volunteeringprograms are not executed eectively, dissatised employees willose interest in continuing to volunteer their time. Programsthat struggle to deliver signicant business value or socialimpact will ail to capture the attention o senior executives,as well, ensuring that they will be doomed to a ate similar tothat o other nonstrategic philanthropy programs a slowading rom importance resulting in a reduced commitment onancial and human resources.

In addition to these general risks, international corporatevolunteering programs ace a unique set o issues. Since ICVinitiatives oten require multiweek travel to internationaldestinations, they can include signicant direct expenses aboveand beyond the value o an employees time. In addition,program planning and execution inherently involves additionalmanagement and logistical complexities, which have humanand nancial costs to the company. Successul programs requireadvance planning with the local beneciaries, training ovolunteers, and coordination o in-country logistics. Further,since volunteers serve as inormal ambassadors or the

company abroad, choosing the wrong volunteer or having anunsuccessul program poses corporate reputation risks.

Understanding the potential risks, as well as the potentialbusiness value and social impact o international corporatevolunteering, can help corporate executives and philanthropyleaders plan, design, and implement more strategic and eectivprograms. Despite its increased activity and attention, ICVremains at a nascent stage. Even among corporations thatdemonstrate best practices in this eld, experience is measuredin years, not decades. According to Jane Nelson, senior ellowand director o the CSR Initiative at Harvards Kennedy School

o Government:

Were still at the early stages o making this athrust or global corporations. Tere are only atiny handul o companies that are thinking ovolunteering strategically, and an even smallernumber internationally.

2 NationalCouncilonWorkplaceVolunteerismAchievesImportantMilestone,Pointso LightFoundationWebsite(www.pointsoight.org),March29,2007.



Strategies or ICV are evolving and systems or executingprograms are still being created. Likewise, the challenge oaccurate measurement o social or business impact is everpresent, just as it is with other corporate philanthropy programs.

Defning International Corporate

Volunteering

While corporate employees have been engaging in variousdegrees o community service internationally or years,a widely used denition or this service does not exist.

A variety o terms are used ellowship, communityengagement, volunteering, and service all o which implya range o activities. For the purposes o this paper, and witha goal o establishing a more widely accepted nomenclature,

we have developed the ollowing denition:

International corporate volunteering (ICV)

engages employees in service projects in

countries outside a companys headquarters

country.

Te two principal models of ICV are:

n Local Service: Employees based in countriesoutside headquarters volunteer in their localcommunities; and

n Cross-Border Service: Employees travel abroad

to volunteer.

Research Objectives

o increase understanding o ICV, Pzer and TeBrookings Institution engaged FSG to research andanalyze best practices.3 Tis research is a key element o theCorporate Working Group o Te Brookings InstitutionsBuilding Bridges Coalition, an initiative dedicated to

catalyzing increased international volunteering through theparticipation o corporations, universities, nonprots, andgovernments. While additional research and activities are

planned in the coming year, this paper represents the rstsubstantive research o the Corporate Working Group.

Volunteering or Impact seeks to explore and understandthe lessons learned among major corporations whoseemployees have engaged in international volunteering. Whilemultiple studies have been published on domestic corporatevolunteering activities, only a ew studies ocus exclusivelyon international eorts.4 Te state o ICV is still nascent,and there is ar more known about corporate philanthropythan about international corporate volunteering, saysDavid Caprara, director o the Initiative on InternationalVolunteering at Brookings.

Tis study is a rst step toward creating a more structuredand systematic understanding o the landscape o ICV. Itprovides targeted analysis o a sample o leading corporateprograms, suggests ways in which corporations can morestrategically align volunteering programs with theirbusinesses, and provides recommendations or corporations

to consider in the uture. While this paper does not seek toprovide a comprehensive assessment o the ICV landscape,it is our hope that it advances the discussion, identies areasor urther exploration, and increases the uture potentialimpact o ICV.

3 Bestpracticesinthispaperareasetoeectiveapproachesthattheauthorshaveidentifedbasedontheirfndingsromextensiveresearch,analysis,and interviewswithmajorcorporationsandsubject-matterexpertsoninternationalcorporatevolunteering.4 SeedeGilder,Dick,etal.,Eectso anEmployeeVolunteeringProgramontheWorkForce:TheABN-AMROCase,Journalof BusinessEthics,2005;BSRSta, VolunteerismandReleaseTime,BusinessorSocialResponsibility,undated;Logan,David,ed.,EmployeesintheCommunity:AGlobalForceorGood,The CorporateCitizenshipCompany,2002.



Methodology

Te studys research methodology applies the results oprimary and secondary research to a strategic ramework.Te primary research draws on phone interviews andtargeted surveys with more than 30 experts representingcorporate volunteering programs, international volunteering

intermediaries, nonprot advocacy groups, and academia(see Appendix B or List o Organizations Interviewed).Te initial list o interviewees consisted o members othe Corporate Working Group o the Brookings Initiativeon International Volunteering and Service, and wassupplemented with additional relevant corporationssuggested by the interviewees and other experts.

Te phone interviews ocused on developing an in-depthunderstanding o best practices and lessons learned rom asample o major corporations involved in ICV. Secondaryresearch included a review o relevant reports, studies,and articles rom a range o sources on the subject ointernational volunteering and international corporatephilanthropy. In addition, the analysis adapts several strategicrameworks on corporate philanthropy to the specic issueo international corporate volunteering.5

Te ndings o this report are divided into three primarysections. Te rst section provides an overview o thelandscape o international corporate volunteering. It identiesthe two primary models o ICV and the key distinctionsbetween those models, as well as provides an understandingo how dierent companies have chosen to ocus their ICVprograms. In the second section, the authors argue oran increase in the potential business and social impact oICV initiatives. Te discussion contrasts the more generalmotivations o corporate volunteering with motivations thatare more closely aligned with corporate strategy. In addition,the section highlights the increased value that corporationscan achieve i they leverage their corporate assets andexpertise, such as workplace knowledge and skills, corporatephilanthropy resources, and other relevant unctions. Tethird section oers strategic and operational recommendationand lessons learned or both models.

While this paper oers insights and advice or corporationsthat are currently engaged in ICV or that are considering

a program, we acknowledge that our research may omitsome corporations that deserve to be proled but couldnot be included due to time, scope, and space limitations.Nonetheless, we hope that the discussion and ndings providideas that will ultimately lead to a more strategic use oresources to address the worlds social problems.

The Brookings Institutions Initiative on InternationalVolunteering and Service

As the need grows to increase dialogue and cooperation between people of different countries worldwide, the

Brookings Initiative on International Volunteering and Service seeks to explore ways in which the culture of volunteering

can help enhance global understanding and security. The initiative was launched in June 2006 and comprises a coalition

of more than 70 groups, including corporations, nongovernmental organizations, leading universities, and government

agencies, who work in par tnership to encourage more Americans to volunteer internationally.

The Brookings Initiative is engaged in a three-year project seeking to expand American volunteer service efforts

internationally and improve service quality, capacity, and positive impacts in communities throughout the world. The

initiative will achieve these goals through four distinct areas of operation and strategy: assessment of international

service; Building Bridges Coalition and public engagement; public policy analysis and recommendations; and corporate

sector engagement. Further information is available at: www.brookings.edu/global/volunteer.

5 SeePorter,MichaelE.,andMarkR.Kramer,TheCompetitiveAdvantageo CorporatePhilanthropy,HarvardBusinessReview,December2002.



On an Earthwatch expedition in Kenya, HSBC

volunteers monitor the movements and behavior

of elephants in Tsavo National Park.

Photo credit: Guy Stockton



Tis study captures the range o volunteering programsthat corporations currently oer to their employees. ICVprograms dier in thegeographic baseo employees, which

results in two dierent operational models. In the localservice model, employees o a multinational companyare based in and volunteer in countries that are outsidethe country in which a company is headquartered. In thecross-border service model, employees are typically basedin developed countries but travel abroad to volunteer indeveloping countries or a xed length o time. Te localservice model usually allows employees to volunteer intheir communities while maintaining the responsibilities otheir ull-time job during the year (although local ull-timeellowships are also possible). Te cross-border model, on theother hand, allows employees to take o a specied length o

time rom their ull-time jobs to volunteer.

Operational Models

Model 1 Local Service: Tis model allows employeeso multinational companies who work outside thebusiness headquarters country to volunteer in their localcommunities. Local service is by ar the most commonmodel o ICV. Te majority o activity in the local servicemodel consists o hourly volunteering during the work dayor ater hours, although a ew companies oer local ull-time

ellowships. Nearly all o the companies that participatedin this study oered the hourly volunteering option toemployees. GE is an example o a global company utilizingthis option. For its 300,000 employees and 100,000 retirees

worldwide, GE has more than 140 local volunteer councilsin oces around the world that allow each oce to set itsown volunteering agenda. Our employees work with us toprovide volunteering opportunities in their communities,explains Paul Bueker, GE Volunteers manager. Someprojects enhance corporate philanthropic initiatives withvolunteer eorts. Others are based on employee-driveninterests and respond to local needs.

Local service allows companies to tailor volunteer programsto local needs and contexts. It also has a lower cost peremployee than the cross-border model, which carriessignicant expenses in terms o direct costs and staresources. As Patrick Kirby, service manager o the socialenterprise department at the ootwear and apparel companyimberland, explains, Because it is less costly and moresustainable, the local service model is a huge potentialopportunity or multinational companies.

A local service ellowship oers a more resource-intensiveversion o the model. Te local ellowship engages employeein their own countries, but oers a sabbatical-type structure

similar to the cross-border approach. It avoids some othe operational risks o cross-border programs, while stillallowing employees to engage ull-time, or several weeks ormonths, with a beneciary. Te company needs to deploymore resources per volunteer to cover salaries, expenses, andmanagement o the program, but gains rom a signicantengagement with the community. For example, IBMemployees in Australia can take a leave o several months tolive in aboriginal villages and transer needed skills. Whilethese local ellowships have unique advantages, overall theyare still a new concept. Cisco, the technology supplier, isthe only other company in this study that has an active

local-ellowship model.

Model 2 Cross-Border Service: Although still at anascent stage, the cross-border model has become popular

with several multinational corporations in recent years(see Figure 1 next page). Tese programs, by their design,oer a ellowship in which employees take a leave romtheir jobs to travel abroad or volunteer service. Employeestypically receive ull pay and benets, and most companiesalso cover all expenses related to the volunteering project.Beneciaries are oten recipients o other corporate grants,

which are commonly reerred to as enhancement grants.A system, either internal to the company or administeredby an intermediary, is usually in place or the selection,training, ongoing support, and reintegration o the ellows.

Accenture, BD, Cisco, Ernst & Young, HSBC, Pzer,PricewaterhouseCoopers, Starbucks, and the express deliveryand logistics provider N all employ the cross-bordermodel to various degrees.

Te Ulysses program at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), orexample, is an eight-week leadership-development projectthat sends seven to eight teams o employees each year todeveloping countries to assist in a range o social challenges.Employees use their business skills to work on projects

that have ranged rom rural electrication in Madagascarto the ght against AIDS in Swaziland. Te company paysemployees salary, benets, and all expenses, and conductstrainings both beore and ater the ellowship to assess itsimpact on participants.

Te resources companies dedicate to cross-border ICVprograms vary considerably. Our research identiedlower-resource versions o the cross-border model that send

2. What Corporations Are Doing



employees abroad to volunteer but utilize ewer resourcesthan the ull ellowship model. imberland has sent one totwo employees a year or the last ew years to volunteer withnonprots in developing countries. One employee went toLima, Peru, to volunteer with an orphanage. Te companydoes not provide expenses or these programs, but does oerull pay and benets during the time the employee is away.Such limited ellowships allow the employees to gain thebenets o a cross-cultural experience, but at a relatively lowcost. On the other hand, employees need to be more creativeand dedicated, since they must pay their own expenses, anda systematic process does not match them with volunteeropportunities abroad.

Premium versions o the cross-border model, on theother hand, provide signicant resources and tools toactively encourage employees to participate in cross-borderservice, and have the potential to reap the ull benets oa cross-cultural experience or ellows. But this approachis also more resource-intensive or a company, and can be

challenging because o cultural dierences and politicalrisks. Nevertheless, by providing a uller set o resources,the model provides unique cross-cultural andbusiness-learning opportunities.

Corporate Resources Deployed

Te resources companies utilize or ICV programs includeemployees who manage the programs, compensation orvolunteering during work hours, travel and other expensereimbursements, training, volunteers time, tools to identiy andmanage volunteering opportunities, and cash or other grants

to supplement the volunteering eorts. In general, the cross-border model usually requires a higher resource investmentper employee, due to the employees extended time away andexpenses related to international travel. (For an overview othe programmatic elements o a sample o ICV programs, see

Appendix A.)

While international volunteering is important to companiesas a component o their philanthropic eort, we ound thata relatively lean sta typically runs these programs. Oten,ICV is one o several responsibilities o those who manage itat the local level, or in the case o cross-border volunteeringprograms, at the headquarters oce. When corporations work

with intermediaries, the two partners are oten able to shareresponsibilities or the selection and management o cross-border ellows.

2003 500210021999 2007

Source: FSG interviews

Ernst & YoungCorporate Social

Responsibility

Fellows Program

HSBCpartnership with

Earthwatch Institute

Accenturepartnership with

Voluntary Services

Overseas

CiscoLeadership

Fellows Program

BDpartnership with

Catholic Medical

Mission Board in Zambia

Timberlandfirst cross-border

sabbaticals

TNTMoving the

World Partnership with

World Food Programme

Starbuckspartnership with

Earthwatch Institute

Pfizer

Global HealthFellows Program

PricewaterhouseCoopersUlysses program

2000 600240022002

GEprogram in

Africa

Figure 1: Timeline of Launch Dates for Cross-Border Programs



the initial excitement and corporate buy-in oten comes roma small number o individuals, requently senior executives, thelong-term survival o ICV initiatives depends on demonstratingthat these eorts are valuable not only to the beneciarycommunities, but also to the business and its employees.

Companies oer a wide range o training or volunteers interms o scope and length. Some o the leading cross-bordermodels have developed a comprehensive, multiday trainingsession or ellows beore they leave on their assignments,

while others limit training to a ew hours or even deliver itthrough an online resource. Systematic training programsallow or continuous renement and improvement oactivities. Initiatives like PwCs Ulysses program also providepost-volunteering sessions to allow employees to synthesizethe lessons learned and apply them to their jobs. Pzerhas added a re-entry component to its orientation to helpemployees adjust back to their jobs and to get employees anmanagers thinking about how to incorporate newly acquiredskills to benet their work groups.

Our program has a lot of support from global

and Americas leadership. I cant imagine, even in a

down time, the program will be compromised.

Maria Pena, Senior Program Manager for CSR AmericasErnst & Young

Employees are a companys most precious resource, so theirtime away rom work is a signicant cost. Sending employees

on cross-border models requires companies to incur either theincremental costs o replacing that employee or the opportunitycosts o the lost productivity. In addition, overseas ellowshipsinvolve traveling away rom home, oten or months at a time, sothese programs create additional logistical hurdles or volunteers.Employees with amily responsibilities (such as a spouse, childrenand/or elderly parents) would need to consider either bringingamily members with them or being away rom them or weeks omonths. While this highlights the higher likelihood o potentiallie disruption, anecdotal evidence rom Pzer indicates thatparticipants in the Global Health Fellows program represent arange o amily situations, with approximately 50 percent having

a spouse and/or children.

Sustaining a successul ICV program also requires companiesto maintain an appropriate level o engagement and excitementrom dierent levels o the company. While the initial impetusmay come rom senior executives or employee demand atthe grassroots level, to be sustained over time, ICV activitiesneed to be tied to a companys business needs. In general, the

international volunteering programs reviewed in this studywere resilient and highly valued throughout the company. Temajority o the corporate leaders interviewed were condentthat their programs would be sustained through leadershipchanges or business uncertainties. Our program has a lot osupport rom global and Americas leadership, says MariaPena, senior program manager or CSR Americas at Ernst &

Young. I cant imagine, even in a down time, the program willbe compromised. While at the beginning o these projects,


18/44



partnered withthe Catholic Medical Mission Board tosend volunteers to Zambia to address the acute AIDS crisisthrough improvements to laboratory acilities in rural healthclinics. In 2007, 12 volunteers completed a trip with DirectRelie International to Ghana to build maternal and inanthealth care capacity. Te program takes advantage o theunique skills, resources, and partnerships that the companycan leverage to address severe health care challenges indeveloping countries.

In GEs case, donations o equipment, such as diagnosticmachines, water purication technology, and solar panels,and cash are complemented by a limited number o GEVolunteers whose technical expertise helped to buildup much needed hospital inrastructure in Ghana. As aglobal pharmaceutical company, Pzer has been active inglobal health through a variety o activities, including itsGlobal Health Fellows program. Pzer ellows rom North

America, Europe, Australia, and other regions travel todeveloping countries in Arica, Asia, and Latin America toprovide technical assistance to health-services organizations,

particularly those ghting inectious diseases like AIDS andmalaria. In their volunteering eorts, all three companiesleverage their business presence in health care, whetherthrough drugs, equipment, or expertise.

IBM and Microsot, both o which employ the local servicemodel, are integrating education activities with their ICV

programs. With its On Demand Community program,IBM provides technology solutions to employees around the

world to aid in their volunteering eorts. IBM employeescan use the platorms I tools and resources as they workin schools. Other tools allow IBM proessionals to mentorstudents via the Web. Microsot has made a signicantcommitment to skills training as part o its UnlimitedPotential initiative. Te program supports I trainingat community technology centers around the world tobroaden the reach o technology and to create economicopportunities. Several Microsot oces, including those in

Australia, Singapore, and Spain, have used unds rom theprogram to complement their local volunteering eorts withyouth-service organizations.

Economic developmentis another ocus that severalinterviewees, such as Ernst & Young, Levi Strauss &Co., imberland, and N, identied. Ernst & YoungsCorporate Social Responsibility Fellows are deployed toprovide skills-based technical service to entrepreneurs at

small- to medium-size rms in underserved communities inthe Americas. Based on the belie that entrepreneurship hashistorically created economic opportunities and increasedstandards o living, the company makes available its mostvaluable assets to help promising entrepreneurs createsustainable economic value. Ns partnership with the

World Food Programme (WFP), the worlds largest aidagency, assists the agency in its mission o providing oodto 90 million people in more than 80 countries each year.In addition to providing general and specialized hands-onsupport in the orm o employee volunteers, the company alsotransers knowledge rom its specialized business operations,

makes cash grants, and provides awareness-building supportto WFP.

International environmental issues are a common ocus areaor ICV programs, particularly in developing countries.Starbucks and HSBC, both working in partnership with thenonprot Earthwatch Institute, are helping to improve theenvironment through their ICV eorts. As part o HSBCsInvesting in Nature initiative, the company sends volunteerson Earthwatch expeditions around the world. Te goals othe initiative or 2007 are to resuscitate three o the worldsmajor rivers, help halt global plant extinction, and deliver

a century o environmental research.6

For Starbucks, theenvironment is also a key ocus area, given its sourcing ocoee rom developing countries. Trough Earthwatch,the company sends volunteers both employees andcustomers to a coee cooperative in Costa Rica rom

which Starbucks sources its coee. Volunteers work withlocal armers and scientists to understand and contribute tosustainable coee arming.

6 HSBCWebsite(www.hsbc.com).



Implementation Partners

Tere are two types o implementation partners or ICVprograms: (1) beneciaries, the organizations that receive thevolunteers services; and (2) intermediary organizations, theentities that provide support to corporations in knowledge,logistics, and management.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are the mostcommon beneciaries, since their missions typically align

with social objectives and they are natural recipients ogrant and volunteer support rom corporations (see Figure2 below). O the 14 companies in our study, 12 mentioned

working with nonprot beneciaries. Alternatively,other ICV programs, such as Ernst & Youngs CorporateSocial Responsibility Fellows, provide technical assistanceexclusively to or-prot entrepreneurs in developingcountries. Ns cross-border program works with a singlelarge multilateral organization, the World Food Programme.

At other corporations, such as Accenture, Cisco, IBM,Pzer, and imberland, employee volunteers provide servicesto governments, in addition to working with nonprots.Government agencies require special considerations, as theyoten carry political and implementation risks, particularlyin developing countries. Tere are challenges o trust andtransparency barriers to entry o beginning to work

with government agencies, but governments also providethe opportunity to eect large-scale social change, saysJennier Anastaso, CEO o BuildingBlocks International,a nonprot that brings management expertise to community-based organizations in developing countries. According toCiscos Barbara Jones, program manager o its LeadershipFellows Program:

While we still work almost entirely with nonprots,our ellows are starting to work with local

governments. In Arica, a group o companies areworking with local governments on education toimprove educational systems. We are going to engagein more activities o that kind going orward.

FSG Social Impact AdvisorsICV Study Status 3-7-07 1

BD

NGOs Individuals

TNT

Timberland

Starbucks

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Pfizer

Microsoft

Government(National, Regional,

and Local)

MLOsPrivate

Businesses

Levi Strauss & Co.

IBM

HSBC

GE

Ernst & Young

Cisco

Accenture

Company

Beneficiary

Note: NGOs refers to nongovernmental organizations; MLOs refers to multilateral organizations.Source: FSG interviews

Figure 2: Types of ICV Beneficiary by Company



Te second type o implementation partner, the volunteeringintermediary, provides unique knowledge o social sectors,local context, and operations. Several o the companieseatured in this study partner with such intermediaries,particularly or a cross-border model in which a companyslocal knowledge and contacts are oten limited. CurrentICV partnerships include: Accenture with Voluntary ServiceOverseas (VSO); BD with Catholic Medical Mission Boardand with Direct Relie International; Ernst & Young with

Ashoka, echnoserve, and Endeavor Global; and HSBC andStarbucks, both with Earthwatch.

Intermediaries provide several important benets tocorporations. Trough extensive knowledge o local cultures,customs, and processes, as well as deep sector expertise, theyoer unique insights that may otherwise be unavailableto companies. Since these intermediaries specialize involunteering and identiying beneciaries, they are oten muchbetter equipped at matching volunteers with appropriateopportunities than corporations. Maria Pena o Ernst &Young

describes their partnership with Endeavor Global to operatethe Corporate Social Responsibility Fellows, who assistentrepreneurs in the developing world:

Te partnership has been critical or the success oour program. In addition to the support, we wouldnot be able to nd the entrepreneurs without theirhelp. Our sta is working on tax and audit. Ourexpertise is not in identiying small- and medium-size enterprises in developing countries. We rely onour partners work and expertise to make sure werehelping the right people.

Intermediaries also provide much-needed operationalassistance in volunteer and partner selection, training, andon-the-ground support. Te volunteering opportunities thatintermediaries can provide open doors to a much larger seto options than i corporations had been working alone.HSBC, or example, sends employees to 50 to 60 Earthwatchprograms around the world each year. Once the opportunities

are posted internally, applications are sent directly toEarthwatch sta, who make the selection and identiy theappropriate match. Tese partnerships also enhance thereputation, credibility, and publicity o the programs, to thebenet o all parties involved. Working with established andknown partners also provides an opportunity to share therisks, indicates Dianna Smith, director o VolunteerMatch, anonprot that links volunteers to service opportunities.

Te benets to the intermediary organization are obvious.Oten, intermediaries are recipients o corporate grants. Forexample, Accenture provides grants to its partner, VSO, andnancial assistance or each Accenture employee who goeson sabbatical through the program. In addition, corporationscan provide publicity and indirect marketing support orintermediaries through their extensive networks. We regularlsupport VSOs eorts to broaden its network o corporatepartners by sharing the benets o our work with othercompanies that may be considering similar programs, saysCecile Walton, Accentures global VSO coordinator.



Measuring Impact

Te majority o companies involved with ICV have notengaged in signicant measurement o their programs.However, most o the companies identied impactmeasurement as a key area to ocus on in the coming years.Some o the major challenges identied with measuring

impact include: (1) the costs and complexities associatedwith robust, long-term evaluation; (2) the newness o manyICV programs; and (3) the diculty o attributing specicimpacts, such as employee retention or improved healthoutcomes in developing countries, to the volunteeringprogram. Measuring social impact is a challenge, since thereis no standard approach to measure the outcome at a globallevel or the social impact that volunteers create, says Kirbyo imberland.

Even i specic metrics can be identied and measured, itis oten dicult to assess exactly which changes are due tothe volunteers work versus other changes in the beneciarysinternal or external environment. Pena o Ernst & Youngexplains:

Its dicult to attribute impact on theentrepreneur to just Ernst & Youngs ellows.Tere may be many other actors at play. Howdo you measure the ROI o a balanced-scorecarddevelopment? Its hard because so much o thework o our ellows is strategic.

In spite o the challenges o quantiying impact, severalcompanies interviewed have already taken steps to tackle

the issue. In many o these cases, companies are working onevaluation studies either with their nonprot volunteeringpartners or external evaluators. IBM, or instance, engagedthe Points o Light Foundation, a nonprot working toengage more people and resources in volunteer service, toevaluate its local ICV program, On Demand Community.Pzer has been a leading player in the measurement o itsGlobal Health Fellows program, and is now conductingthe second phase o the programs evaluation with BostonUniversity (see sidebar).7

In addition, BD has evaluated both the social and businessimpact o its program in Zambia in collaboration with theCatholic Medical Mission Board. In a case study aboutthe initiative, BD mentions both business and communityoutputs, as well as longer-term impacts. Among thecommunity-level outputs are the leveraging o otherresources, the enhanced laboratory skills o the beneciaries,and the increased knowledge that local beneciaries bring.Benets to BD include anecdotal evidence o increasedemployee morale and pride, and the development oleadership and teamwork skills o BD employees. In terms olong-term impact, the study lists a set o potential indicators(ewer laboratory accidents, better patient services, improvedreputation, employee skill development), but acknowledgesthat it would be necessary to do more extensive assessmentsto measure these actors over a long period o time.

o identiy a programs impact on employees, manycompanies use internal surveys and anecdotal evidence togauge employees interest and preerences, as well as the

impact o their ICV programs. Surveys include questionsabout employee perceptions o the program and whetheremployees are likely to recommend the program to others.Nigel Pate, senior manager o corporate responsibility atHSBC, describes his companys experience with evaluation:

We commissioned a research company in theU.K. to do a study among our Earthwatch

ellows to nd out what employees thought, andwhat they applied to their work when they cameback. We asked i employees would recommendHSBC as a place to work, and received very

positive answers. We are now planning toimprove the employee survey.

Similar to the attribution problem in measuring social impact,however, internal surveys oten ask about a companys overallcorporate citizenship activities rather than ICV componentsspecically. Tat makes it challenging to discern whetherhigher employee morale or retention comes rom ICV eortsor other citizenship activities.

7 Foradiscussionotheevaluation,seeVian,Taryn,etal.,Public-PrivatePartnershipstoBuildHumanCapacityinLowIncomeCountries:FindingsFromthePfzer P ro gram,HumanResourcesforHealth(anopen-access,peer-reviewedjournalatwww.human-resources-health.com)5:8,2007;andVian,Taryn,etal.,Cor porate SocialResponsibilityinGlobalHealth:ThePfzerGlobalHealthFellowsInternationalVolunteeringProgram,HumanResourcesPlanning30(1):30-35,2007.



Pzers Global Health Fellows program loans employees to health care-related NGOs and multilateral and governmental

organizations for a period of three to six months. Fellows transfer technical skills and help build local capacity in

developing countries. Colleagues from Pzers U.S. and international locations apply to specic positions that the host

organization creates, and are hired by that organization. The fellows performance is then measured against specic

development and capacity-building objectives. Between 2003 and 2006, Pzer deployed 128 cross-border fellows to 30

partner organizations in 31 countries.

To measure the impact of the program, Pzer and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) engaged

Boston Universitys Center for International Health and Development. USAID was interested in Pzers ICV program as

a model for public-private partnerships that respond to global public health issues. Between October 2005 and January

2006, the center evaluated the rst two years of program operation, covering 72 fellowships. The researchers conducted

interviews with more than 200 individuals whose work had been touched by the program.

They found signicant positive impact on both the beneciaries and Pzer employees. About a third of the fellowships

produced operational improvements that expanded service delivery at the beneciary organizations. About 88 percent

of the fellows reported that the experience had met most or all of their goals. In a second phase study of the Pzer

program completed in August 2007, the Boston University team created an ICV Evaluation Toolkit that uses nine individual

impact measures, as well as a composite impact index to allow monitoring of programs over time and across countries.

Using the index with a subset of recent Pzer fellowships, the team found that 60 75 percent of fellowships could be

considered high impact or very high impact in terms of strengthening the capacity of recipient organizations to deliverefcient, high quality services. The ICV Evaluation Toolkit can also be adapted by other companies wishing to evaluate the

impact of their volunteering programs.

How Pzer Evaluates Its Global Health Fellows Program



During weekly rounds at Mulago Hospital in Uganda,

local pharmacy students of a Pzer Global Health Fellow

interview and examine patients who presented medical

conditions discussed during lectures.

Photo credit: Richard Lord



A Strategic Framework for ICV

There are opportunities to make volunteeringmore strategic and truly international and global.

Its not just about cross-border programs, but

also about local volunteering of multinational

companies. Volunteering should be globally

strategic and locally relevant.

Jane Nelson, CSR Initiative, Harvards Kennedy Schoolof Government

Corporations ace a wide range o choices as they design and

implement ICV initiatives. Te types o volunteers, geography,beneciary, social sector, and level o corporate support allrepresent strategic choices that executives must make. Giventhe signicance o this investment o time and money, howshould decision-makers think about these choices? What arethe key actors that should drive a corporations ICV strategy?

o aid in understanding these questions, we developed astrategic ramework that depicts two important dimensions o

ICV programs: business motivations and leverage o corporatassets and expertise (see Figure 3 below). Considered togetherboth o these dimensions can guide strategic choices and helpdesign and execute purposeul programs.

Beore describing the two dimensions o the strategicramework, it is important to note that an overarchingassumption o this paper is that all ICV programs have aninherent objective o achieving social impact. Corporatevolunteering eorts in local or oreign communities arenot prot-driven activities they deploy people in thecommunity as a way to improve elements o society. Howeversince corporations are organizing and supporting such eortso their employees, and oten allow employees to volunteer

while on the clock, corporate volunteering must be viewedthrough a dierent lens than pure community service. Teollowing discussion o the strategic ramework provides thiscustomized lens.

High-Impact Volunteering

Traditional Volunteering

Business

Motivations

Leverage of

Corporate Assets

and Expertise

General(e.g., corporate

citizenship, reputation,

employee morale)

Low(e.g., nontechnical

service, low leverage

of corporate resources)

High(e.g., skills-based

service, high leverage


Strategic(e.g., priority stakeholder

relations, customer focus,competitive context,

leadership development)

Achieving Business and Social Impact in International Corporate Volunteering

Figure 3: Strategic Framework

3. Increasing Business and Social Impact



Te Business Motivations dimension depicts a spectrumbased on how a corporation articulates the primary purposeo its ICV activity in the context o its business strategy.Shown on the vertical axis o the ramework, this dimensionranges rom general at the bottom to strategic at thetop. It draws on the corporate-philanthropy-motivationsramework created by Michael Porter and Mark Kramerand tailors it to the ICV environment.8 Specically, it makesa distinction between typical motivations o employeevolunteering and motivations that align with a dierentiatedcorporate strategy. For example, nearly all corporationsidentiy the goals o good corporate citizenship or doingthe right thing as elements o corporate volunteering.Similarly, positive public relations and visibility in the localcommunity are integral to a corporations local reputation.Employee dimensions such as team building, moralebuilding, recruitment, and retention all important tocompanies, but not core to business strategy are also otenarticulated as common motivations or volunteering.

Te strategic end o the spectrum demands that corporatevolunteering programs address social issues andbe aligned

with a dierentiated business strategy. Tese programs,by denition, look dierent rom company to company,and are based on the corporations distinct strategic needsand competitive environment. Strategic motivations caninclude enhancing relationships with priority stakeholders,improving customer interest/loyalty, addressing elements othe competitive context, and ostering strategic leadershipdevelopment.9 While a number o these motivations couldapply to domestic corporate volunteering, ICV oersdistinct opportunities or corporations to address strategic

considerations unique to a global marketplace. For example,ICV can expose employees to strategic elements o thecompanys global supply chain, develop an internationalmindset among its uture leaders, or directly address thesocial issues o importance to key international NGOs orgovernment stakeholders.

Te Leverage o Corporate Assets and Expertise dimensiono the ramework refects the degree to which corporatevolunteering programs draw on the workplace skills o theemployees and the companys distinct corporate and/orphilanthropic resources. Depicted on the horizontal axis, this

dimension distinguishes between skills-based volunteering service that directly applies an employees technical

workplace knowledge and skills and nontechnicalservice that could be done by almost anyone. Skills-basedvolunteering has the potential to yield much higher socialimpact, because the nonprot beneciary theoretically isgetting much higher value per hour than is possible withnontechnical service.

Another way to draw on corporate assets and expertise is tointegrate ICV programs with corporate and/or philanthropiceorts. An employee volunteer working in the community

without the support o corporate or philanthropic resourcesis similar to a salesperson working without marketingmaterials or an expense budget. While it is possible to deliverresults, the addition o nancial and nonnancial resources

would dramatically increase the likelihood o success.Likewise, the benets and potential social impact o ICVactivities can be signicantly improved by providing grantenhancements, product donations, and other corporateresources, such as public relations, legal, or nancial services.Grants to cover a nonprots overhead expenses, donationso technology and equipment, and linkages with corporatecommunications inrastructure can all add value to thetime that individual volunteers donate. o the extent thatcorporate or philanthropic resources are more integrated

with ICV activities, they will have a higher potential ordelivering social impact.

8 Ibid.,PorterandKramer.9 Foraurtherdiscussionabouthowcorporatephilanthropycanaddresselementso competitivecontext,seeibid.,PorterandKramer.Foramoredetailed discussionocompetitivecontextingeneral,seePorter,Michael,TheCompetitiveAdvantageofNations(NewYork:FreePress,1990).



General Motivations, High Leverage

Tree ICV programs we studied are positioned in thebottom-right quadrant o the ramework, employing generalmotivations and high leverage o corporate assets andexpertise. Te ICV program atAccenture, the managementconsulting rm, provides a powerul example o leveragingcorporate assets and expertise, both through skills-based

volunteering and grant enhancements. Te rms VoluntaryServices Overseas/Business Partnership Scheme (VBP) sendsits consultants to work with nonprots and governments onbusiness, management, and technology issues. Accentureemployees with more than two years o experience take anunpaid leave o absence or between 1 and 12 months and

Allofthevolunteersareutilizingtheirskillsfrom

their work at Accenture.

Cecile Walton, Accenture Global VSO Coordinator

receive a nancial subsidy rom Accenture and a local salaryrom Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), the nonprotvolunteering intermediary that processes placements andmanages travel and logistics. Drawing employees rom 16

Accenture oces around the world, the program can deploy

Case Studies

While the strategic ramework ofers broad guidelines or ICVprogram design and implementation, oten the most useulway to understand these concepts is to apply them to existingprograms. Tis section provides deeper dive proles o speciccompanies whose ICV programs demonstrate one or several

characteristics o each o the our quadrants o the ramework.Tese nine case studies illuminate the ways in which majorcorporations have chosen to deploy their employees to provideboth business impact and social impact (see Figure 4 below). 10

Historically, corporations have organized traditionalvolunteering programs that engage employees in a rangeo service activities, oten with little consideration or thelinkage to corporate strategy or the unique skills and assetso employees. Depicted in the lower let quadrant o theramework, these programs can deploy employees to an arrayo sectors, activities, and partners. Te programs, i wellexecuted, can provide signicant value to a corporation interms o employee morale and a corporations reputation as agood citizen. However, the opportunity to make more strategicchoices about how employees spend their service time bothin terms o what issues they tackle and how they address them presents a compelling case or transitioning rom traditionalvolunteering to high-impact volunteering.

10 NotethattheprogramsprofledineachcasestudydonotnecessarilyreecttheullextentoacompanysICVprograms.Otherprogramsarelikelytoexistthat werenotmentionedinthisresearch.Therelativepositioningonthestrategicrameworkreectstheauthorsinterpretationo thehighlightedprograms.

Achieving Business and Social Impact in International Corporate Volunteering

Traditional Volunteering

Business

Motivations

Leverage of

Corporate Assets

and Expertise

General(e.g., corporate

citizenship, reputation,

employee morale)

Low(e.g., nontechnical

service, low leverageof corporate resources)

High(e.g., skills-based

service, high leverage


Strategic

(e.g., priority stakeholderrelations, customer focus,

competitive context,

leadership development)

Figure 4: Case Studies



volunteers in up to 34 countries, based on VSOs countrieso operation. In early 2007, Accenture had more than 20individuals in VSO programs.

Accentures program embodies skills-based volunteering. AsCecile Walton says, All o the volunteers are utilizing their skillsrom their work at Accenture. Accenture volunteers providehigh-value services that have the potential or signicant socialimpact, including change management, nancial management,market analysis, or other business services.

A London-based Accenture manager, or example, volunteeredin Arica as part o the VBP program. Working or theVocational Education Authority in anzania, she used her

consulting skills to research and analyze the ormal andinormal labor market to ensure that both college studentsand the wider community could receive the relevant trainingrequired to get jobs or improve their livelihoods.11 Adjustingher salary to consulting rates in anzania, and assuming she

would bill at $10 per hour to the clients, the value o her eight

months o work locally would be over $14,000.

Contrast this scenario to one in which the same volunteerpainted schools in anzania or eight months. Assuminga painter in anzania earns $1 per hour, the eight monthso work would represent just over $1,400 or the sameamount o time volunteered. In this example, skills-basedvolunteering delivered 10 times the economic value onontechnical volunteering. Its a compelling argument orcorporations to deploy valuable employees in a way thatincreases their potential or social impact.

In addition to the skills-based component o its VSOpartnership, Accenture provides additional resources toimprove the potential success o volunteering eorts. Term makes enhancement grants to VSO or each volunteerto oset the costs o managing each deployments planningand logistics. In addition, it provides a livelihood grantto support in-country organizations associated withvolunteering projects, such as a recent grant to assist a dairysupply-chain improvement project in Malawi.

Te express delivery and logistics provider TNTs partnershipwith the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)oers another case o a high-leverage, cross-border ICVprogram. Te Netherlands-based company deploys itsvolunteers in a number o projects, with a common aim oghting world hunger. Since the N and WFP partnershipbegan in 2002, N employees have volunteered to providesupply-chain and logistics expertise, engage in disaster-relieood distribution, and improve eeding inrastructure andhealth and nutrition in schools.

Ns specialist program provides a structured

opportunity to leverage the skills, knowledge, and expertiseo the companys proessionals. Te program deployspeople who have particular areas o expertise with WFPdevelopment projects that need their assistance. Volunteersgo abroad or three to six months, working on projectsthat match WFPs needs with Ns skills in logistics andoperations. For example, one French employee who is aspecialist in feet-management sotware has volunteered in

Angola, Ivory Coast, and Sudan on a feet-managementrollout. In the atermath o the Asian tsunami, Nemployees provided advice about airplane-ramp-unloadingprocesses to ensure ecient and eective distribution o

supplies in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Te typical emergency-response deployment lasts three to six weeks. N has alsoprovided emergency-response assistance in Sri Lanka, Sudan,Djibouti, Niger, and Pakistan, among others.

11 TanzaniaProvidesChallengestoCharityWork,AccentureWebsite(www.accenture.com).



Alongside the skills-based specialist program, N alsooperates a generalist School Feeding Volunteering Program.It sends 36 volunteers annually rom Ns global oces tothe developing world or three-month deployments that seekto increase educational outcomes by improving the nutritionand health o preschool and primary-school children.Visiting Cambodia, Nicaragua, anzania, Te Gambia,and Malawi, volunteers have worked on such microprojectsas the construction o kitchens, storerooms, uel-ecientstoves, latrines, and water tanks. Tis generalist program isopen to a range o employees and does not oer skills-basedvolunteering. Te objective is to give employees a rst-handexperience which will make them eective advocates orthe activities o the WFP back home. As N evolves thisprogram, it is considering opportunities to more specicallyutilize the unique skills o its employees in support o the

WFPs school-eeding activities.

Ernst & Youngs (E&Y) Corporate Social ResponsibilityFellows program is another high-leverage initiative that

deploys skilled employees to improve social conditions inthe developing world. Started in 2005 and partially modeledater the Pzer Global Health Fellows program, E&Yseort is unusual in that, unlike most volunteering initiativesthat work with NGOs or governments, its ellows workdirectly with private-sector businesses. Te rm sends veemployees per year on three-month assignments to provideskills-based technical service to entrepreneurs at small- tomedium-size companies in underserved communities inthe Americas. Based on the belie that entrepreneurship hashistorically created economic opportunities and increasedliving standards, the program assists promising entrepreneurs

in their eorts to create sustainable economic value. It utilizesellows workplace skills in accounting, tax, audit, I, andproject management or volunteer advisory projects thatoer technical assistance to entrepreneurial companies. Teellows are chosen rom an applicant pool o high-perormingemployees who are at the manager level and above and havebeen with the company usually or ve to seven years.

While E&Ys ellows program leverages the skills o itsproessionals, the companys business motivations ollowthe more general goals o corporate citizenship, employeemorale, and local community relations. Our volunteering

abroad allows us to add a human ace to our work, explainsMaria Pena o E&Y, citing the programs expanded licenseto operate. Within the broad umbrella o economicdevelopment, the company does not strategically denespecic industries o ocus. We dont prioritize any sector,says Pena. We really look at the needs o the entrepreneurs.

We try to identiy where we can add value, where the needis greatest, as opposed to the specic industry. For example,2005 and 2006 ellows worked on such projects as a dairycooperative in Nicaragua, a vegetable-seed company in Chile,

and a sotware-development company in Argentina. Only inits second year, the program has already gathered signicantexcitement within the company and will be expanded inuture years. Scale-up is planned in Latin America, and othergeographies are also interested in introducing it, adds Pena.

Strategic Motivations, Low Leverage

wo ICV programs we studied are positioned in the top-letquadrant o the ramework, employing strategic motivationsand low leverage o corporate assets and expertise. Forcorporations seeking to migrate their ICV eort rom generalbusiness impact to a more strategic approach, the evolutionoStarbucks program is an instructive case study. WhileStarbucks overall ICV strategy is still being developed, in ashort time the rm has identied ways to align its volunteering

with elements o its corporate strategy (see sidebar next page).

While Starbucks program does address strategic motivations,it currently has limited leverage o corporate assets and

expertise. As Starbucks Web site says, No special training isneeded, just a desire to learn, engage with others, and make anenduring contribution to the environment. Likewise, as Kristin

Anderson, Starbucks senior specialist in stakeholder engagemensays, At this point, no skills are leveraged. In our revamping othe projects, that is something we may consider.

We were spending all this money, but it was

unclear what lions in Africa had to do with coffee.

Kristin Anderson, Senior Specialist, Stakeholder

Engagement, Starbucks



Similar to the Starbucks example, the ICV program atTimberland, the ootwear and apparel company, showshow employee volunteering can be ocused on issues aligned

with a rms corporate strategy. While volunteering is anatural extension o imberlands deep-rooted culture ogiving back to communities in which employees live and

work, the company has also targeted its events strategicallyto deepen relationships with key business partners andcustomer segments.

In Asia, imberland partners with a local NGO, GreenNetwork, to mobilize employees, customers, and businesspartners as volunteers to plant trees in northern Chinaand Mongolia. Known as the Horqin Desert ReorestationProgram, the eort seeks to plant one million trees in thisregion prior to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Asimberland eyes large potential growth opportunities in theChina region, it is targeting the increasingly aware outdoor

enthusiast customer segment with programs that resonatewith consumers desire or environmental improvement.An estimated 50 percent o program volunteers are inimberlands target customer base, providing strong visibilityand connection to the company. We asked ourselves thequestion, How can we address an environmental need thatis absolutely a compelling concern or our consumers? saysPatrick Kirby at imberland. A clear indication that this ICV

program is strategic to imberlands uture business is the actthat it is managed by the companys marketing and brandteam, rather than the corporate social responsibility team.

We asked ourselves the question, How can we

address an environmental need that is absolutely

a compelling concern for our consumers?

Patrick Kirby, Service Manager, Social Enterprise

Department, Timberland

imberland sponsors the Path o Service program at its24 employee locations worldwide, providing all ull-timeemployees with 40 hours o paid time to volunteer in arange o social sectors. A majority o volunteering is in threebroad areas: youth engagement, community revitalization,

and environmental sustainability. Program participation iswidespread throughout the company, with more than 70percent o imberlands global employees in 2006 usingsome o their allotted hours, with an average o nearly14 hours per employee who volunteered. Tese ICVeorts are direct-service programs that do not explicitlyleverage employees workplace knowledge and skills. Forexample, imberland sponsors two fagship local service

Starbucks partners with the nonprot intermediary Earthwatch Institute to place employee volunteers in environmental

projects. However, the company did not see the business value in the initial volunteer expeditions: We were spending all

this money, but it was unclear what lions in Africa had to do with coffee, recounts Kristin Anderson, senior specialist in

stakeholder engagement at Starbucks. In 2004, Starbucks instituted some focus by limiting the program to only coffee-origin

countries. But that alone did not provide strategic alignment: We were never making a connection with the environment,corporate social responsibility, or Starbucks, says Anderson. Partners [Starbucks employees] and customers were saying,

This is cool, but we werent sure how it was relevant.

In 2007, Starbucks and Ear thwatch created a program that brings each of these elements together. The program works with

scientists and farmers at the CoopeTarrazu cooperative in Costa Rica, a coffee farm that Starbucks buys from. In addition

to being open to 10 Starbucks employees, the program is also being offered to 20 Starbucks consumers on a lotter y basis.

Given the importance of corporate social responsibility to the Starbucks customer, the program provides a strategic linkage

between the companys CSR efforts and its customer base through a highly visible and tangible oppor tunity. In addition, it

connects farmers, baristas, and customers, allowing employees and consumers to witness the impact of the company at

different levels of its supply chain.

The Evolution of Starbucks Strategic ICV Program



events Earth Day in April and Serv-a-palooza inSeptember. Other recent projects include nontechnicalvolunteer work, such as improving an elementary schoolin Santiago, Dominican Republic, where 195 volunteerslandscaped, renovated a playground, and installed lightingand ans; and improving an elementary school in Zhuhai,China, where more than 200 employees and guests providedlandscaping and painting services.

imberlands cross-border initiative, which is a relativelynew and airly small sabbatical program, sends one or twoemployees annually rom the U.S. abroad or up to sixmonths. It oers employees wide fexibility in choosingprojects. Employees retain ull pay and benets during theirstay, but incur their own costs or travel and other logisticsand do not receive structured training or support romimberland on project implementation.

Strategic Motivations, High Leverage

In the last category o case studies, the top-right quadrant othe strategic ramework, ve ICV programs are both strategicin their diering motivations andachieve high leverage otheir assets and expertise. We believe these companies havethe highest likelihood o delivering both business and socialimpact rom their ICV activities.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Ulysses program providesa unique example o a strategic ICV program that alsoleverages direct business expertise. Ulysses is a highlystructured leadership-development program that targets

high-potential, senior-level proessionals. It includestraditional trainin

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