Global Volunteer Month: celebrating impact and building momentum

We’re heading into Q2. Let’s make it count.

April is Global Volunteer Month, led by Points of Light (https://www.pointsoflight.org/global-volunteer-month/), and it’s a chance to recognise the incredible role volunteers play in strengthening communities.

Across organisations, people are already showing up, giving their time, sharing their skills and getting involved in causes that matter to them. There’s real energy behind it.

And this year, it’s part of something bigger. The UN’s International Year of Volunteers 2026 (UN IVY 2026 – https://www.unv.org/recognition-volunteerism-ivy-2026) is already underway, bringing a global focus to volunteering and the contribution it makes to communities and society.

So while this month is about recognising what’s happening, it’s also about building on it. Keeping that Q1 momentum going and making even more of the opportunity that’s already there.

There’s a lot to feel good about. Time to celebrate.

One of the most useful things to do this month is simply stop and look at what’s already happening. Because it’s a long way from where many businesses were even a few years ago.

Volunteering is no longer just a day in the calendar. It’s being built into something more deliberate. We’re seeing organisations commit to longer-term programmes, invest in relationships with charity partners, and design activity around clear outcomes that matter both to communities and to the business.

You can see that in how programmes are structured. Less one-off activity, more continuity. Less general support, more focus on where organisations can genuinely contribute, whether that’s through skills, time or sustained partnership.

There’s also a noticeable change in how this work is being tracked. It’s not just about who turned up. Organisations are getting much clearer on what’s being delivered, from volunteering hours through to the value created and the outcomes for communities. That level of visibility makes it easier to recognise what’s been achieved and to give it the attention it deserves.

You can also see a stronger link to wider priorities. Many programmes now sit alongside social value commitments and connect directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), such as education, health, inequality or environmental work.

Put simply, corporate volunteering is now more joined up. It’s more thought through, better supported and easier to champion.

And that’s worth recognising, because it delivers a stronger volunteer experience as well as greater impact in the communities being supported.

And that’s exactly why this is the moment to celebrate it.

Q1 check-in: how is your programme shaping up?

The end of Q1 is a great time to take a step back and look at how your corporate volunteering is playing out in your business.

Strategic: are you where you expected to be?

• Are your volunteering objectives being delivered, or still sitting more as intent than reality?
• Are you on track to meet your social value commitments and targets?
• If you continued at this pace, what would your end-of-year social impact statement actually look like?
• Is your programme aligned to your wider business priorities and brand, or running slightly alongside them?
• Are your charity partnerships delivering the kind of long-term impact you set out to create?

Engagement: who is really taking part?

• Are you seeing broad participation, or the same groups getting involved each time?
• Are people coming back to volunteer again, or treating it as a one-off?
• Are leaders visibly involved, or sitting slightly on the sidelines?
• Is volunteering something people talk about internally, or does it pass largely unnoticed?

Delivery: how is it working in practice?

• Does your programme reflect how people actually work, or is it hard to take part?
• Are opportunities varied enough to engage different interests, roles and locations?
• Is the experience strong enough that people leave feeling positive and want to do more?
• Are your charity partners properly supported, or carrying some of the delivery burden?

Visibility and impact: can you clearly show what’s happening?

• Is your programme visible across the organisation, or happening quietly in the background?
• Are you capturing impact in real time, or piecing it together afterwards?
• Can you clearly show the difference being made, both for communities and for your people?
• Are you using stories, images and feedback to bring that impact to life?

None of this needs to be perfect. But being clear on where you are now makes it much easier to decide what to build next.

If those questions highlight a few gaps, that’s not a problem. It’s exactly what this time of year is for. Because the opportunity now is not to start again, but to build on what’s already there, to take what’s working, make it more visible, and bring more people into it.

Make your volunteering visible. Get people talking.

Recognition plays a much bigger role in participation than most organisations expect. When people can see what’s happening, hear from colleagues and understand the difference being made, it changes how volunteering is perceived. It stops feeling like something separate from everyday work and starts to feel like something people want to be part of.

That’s where storytelling comes in. Not polished campaigns or long reports, but real moments communicated. A team working together in a different way. A charity partner explaining what the support meant in practice. The visible change created in a space that people recognise. Those are the things people connect with.

The stories that land best tend to be simple and human. They show real people, doing real things, in places others recognise. They capture the moment, not just the outcome. A before and after, a quote that says exactly what it meant, a photo that brings it to life without needing explanation.

Shared consistently, those stories start to build momentum. People see themselves in what’s happening. They recognise colleagues, teams, places they know – and it feels accessible.

At Employee Volunteering, we build this into how programmes are delivered. We capture images from volunteering activity, gather feedback from both participants and charities, and track outcomes as they happen.

When that picture is clear, participation tends to follow. People can see it, understand it, and feel part of it.

Build your momentum. Bring more people in.

Once your people can see what’s happening, the focus shifts to scaling what’s already working in your employee volunteering programme. That usually comes down to a few practical things.

Making it easier for people to take part is often the first shift. If opportunities fit around how people actually work, participation tends to grow without much effort. When they don’t, even the most well-intentioned programmes struggle to reach beyond a small group.

Variety plays a big role as well. Not everyone is drawn to the same type of experience, so a strong programme gives people different ways in. That might mean combining team-based activity with more flexible options, or offering both hands-on and skills-based opportunities depending on what people want to contribute.

Consistency matters too. One-off moments can be enjoyable, but they rarely build momentum on their own. When opportunities are available regularly, and people know they can come back, participation starts to feel more natural and less like a one-time decision.

Leadership is another important signal. When leaders take part and talk about it in a straightforward way, it shows that volunteering is part of how the organisation operates, not something on the edge of it.

And this is where the storytelling you’ve already built becomes powerful. When people see colleagues getting involved, recognise teams they know, and understand the impact being created, it lowers the barrier to entry. It feels accessible.

Taken together, these shifts are what broaden participation. Not a single initiative, but a more joined-up approach that makes it easier, more visible and more relevant.

If you’re looking to strengthen this area, we have set out practical guidance here:
Engaging your employees

Give people something they really want to do

Engagement starts with relevance. Employees are far more likely to take part when opportunities feel meaningful, easy to access and aligned to what they care about. When that’s right, participation doesn’t need to be pushed, it builds naturally.

That’s why the most effective programmes offer a mix of experiences. Some people are drawn to team-based activity that brings colleagues together, others prefer something more flexible they can fit around their day. Practical, hands-on work sits alongside skills-based contributions, and both in-person and remote options play a role depending on how people work.

You can explore these different approaches here:

• Team volunteering
• Individual volunteering
• Practical volunteering
• Skills-based volunteering
• Remote volunteering
• In-person volunteering

There’s an important distinction here. Access on its own doesn’t drive engagement. What makes the difference is how those opportunities are designed and delivered.

Well-structured, facilitated experiences give people the confidence to take part, help them get more from the time they spend, and make the impact clear. That’s where connection builds, and where people start to come back again.

What this looks like in practice

It’s one thing to talk about how this works, it’s another to see it in action.

Across our partnerships, this is happening every day through programmes that are designed around each business, the communities they’re working with, and the issues their employees care about.

With AstraZeneca, colleagues are sharing their expertise through STEM workshops and youth programmes, bringing science to life in classrooms and building ongoing relationships with local communities.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/employee-volunteering-cic_internationalyearofvolunteers2026-employeevolunteering-activity-7439654384277458945-uM0B

At L’Oréal, large-scale volunteering days are bringing hundreds of employees together across multiple locations, supporting practical community projects and creating a real sense of shared purpose.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/employee-volunteering-cic_citizenday-weareallcitizens-weareloreal-activity-7348702549647978496-tI02

Through partnerships with organisations such as Carers Trust, Standard Life under employees are supporting unpaid carers through thoughtful, human-centred initiatives that provide space to rest, connect and recharge.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/employee-volunteering-cic_unpaid-carers-give-so-much-to-support-others-activity-7426992442001772544-xUVn

And in programmes like the AI Enterprise Challenge across Southwark, volunteers are helping young people build confidence, explore ideas and develop skills that will stay with them long beyond the day itself.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/employee-volunteering-cic_aienterprisechallenge-futureskills-employeevolunteering-activity-7395147186566770688-YuvS

You can also see this in longer-term, structured programmes like Trouw Nutrition’s Community Day, where teams came together across multiple locations to deliver hands-on impact in schools, charities and community spaces.

Click here to read the case study.

Each of these looks slightly different, but they share something important. They are consistent, well-supported and built with intent. Not one-off moments, but part of a wider approach that brings people together, supports communities in a meaningful way, and creates impact that lasts.

EV: 20 years of building what works

2026 also marks 20 years of Employee Volunteering. Over that time, our focus has remained consistent on creating ever better experiences and stronger outcomes.

That approach runs through everything we’ve been talking about here. Programmes designed for long-term impact, not one-off moments. Built around trusted charity partnerships. Delivered through experienced facilitators who make the experience work for everyone involved. And supported by technology that makes it easy to take part, while giving a clear view of what’s being achieved.

It’s a practical approach, shaped over time, and it’s what allows businesses to build programmes that people come back to, and where the benefit for communities is clear.

You can read more about how our approach has evolved here.

Take your volunteering further in 2026

This time of year is a useful moment to take stock, and Global Volunteer Month naturally brings that into focus, creating space to recognise what’s happening and think about where it could go next.

This year, that sits within something bigger, with IVY 2026 already underway. Volunteering is getting more attention, more visibility and more recognition than usual.

This is a moment every business can make more of. By making volunteering more visible, widening participation, and strengthening how programmes are designed and delivered.

So what will you do next?

Will you recognise the people already contributing? Share the stories that bring your programme to life? Look at how you can widen participation and build real momentum?

There’s already real momentum behind this – now is the time to take it further.