The Globalisation of Corporate Volunteering

One of volunteering’s biggest growth markets, corporate volunteering will be a major topic at this year's Volunteering Australia national conference later this month.

Two international experts from the Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project will discuss the globalisation of corporate volunteering and how it fits with traditional ideas of volunteering.

Kenn Allen, President of the Civil Society Consulting Group (USA) and Sarah Hayes, Director of the Global Corporate volunteer Council, International Association for Volunteer Effort, will provide delegates with the current state of play on corporate volunteering from an international perspective and draw on findings from the Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project.

The Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project has been designed to create new knowledge about this phenomenon,

Photo: Corporate volunteers at work in Toronto Canada.  Flickr Image by user Barnaby Jeans via Creative Commons

knowledge that will help companies do more and do it better and help NGOs and companies build more effective volunteer-based partnerships. The session at Volunteering Australia’s national conference will offer a preview of what is being learned and how that learning can be put to work.

The session will look at the global spread of Corporate volunteering – from the largest global companies to small local businesses; from its birthplaces in North America and Western Europe to every region and, likely, every country in the world.

The session will look at why many Not for Profit organisations are wary of corporate volunteering and how they can best embrace one of the sectors biggest growth markets.

Kenn Allen is considered an international expert on corporate volunteering. He is the founder and president of the Civil Society Consulting Group LLC, a global consulting firm based in Washington DC that works with leaders of business, NGOs, and government, and is currently serving as director of the Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project.

Sarah Hayes is an independent consultant specialising in corporate volunteering and successful business-community partnerships. She currently directs the Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and is a member of the research team for the Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project.

Registrations are still open for the 13th National Conference on Volunteering, to be held in Melbourne 27 October 2010 – 29 October 2010. Click here to find out more.

Pro Bono Australia will be reporting live from all three days of the conference. Keep up to date with all the news, photos and comments and join in the conversation via twitter – #VA2010