Using Awareness Months and Holidays to Connect Your DEI and CSR Initiatives

Why Corporate Social Responsibility Should Be Part of Your DEI Strategy

When people think of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, they often think of them as external in focus: helping people and communities outside of the company. However, CSR programs can also be a powerful driver of a company’s internal efforts to support diversity, equity and inclusion, employee belonging, and more.

Here’s how: company-sponsored service activities and fundraising efforts for communities in need are great ways to build awareness about, and deepen empathy for, the experiences of people from a variety of backgrounds. What’s more, volunteer efforts often prompt employees to work alongside colleagues who are different from themselves, bringing employees together who normally may not work or socialize together. These powerful personal connections can help support understanding across your employees, awareness of different experiences and perspectives, and ultimately allyship for others–all of which create an environment of inclusion and belonging, a central goal of DEI work.

Moments that Matter: How to Use Awareness Months and Holidays for CSR and DEI

Awareness months and holidays not only give organizations the chance to promote employee learning and conversations internally, but they also provide an opportunity to align CSR activities to employee interests. From Giving Tuesday to Black History Month to International Women’s Day, these “moments that matter” throughout the year can be:

• catalysts for employee engagement in causes that are meaningful to them, and
• tools for building employee connection and belonging

One more benefit: your company can demonstrate its commitment to giving back while creating a more inclusive world for all. As we know, engaging in social good efforts is no longer a “nice to have” for organizations; it is an expectation of today’s employees, customers, investors, and more.

Employee Engagement for Q1

Internationally and nationally recognized philanthropic giving and service days give companies a great way to engage their workforce all year. We’re making it easier for companies to activate employee engagement and DEI awareness in Q1 with toolkits that connect DEI conversations and learnings with opportunities to give back.

• If you are an EVERFI from Blackbaud Customer, ask your account manager for the free DEI Toolkit: Awareness Months and Holidays. It is also available on the customer resource center.
• If you are a YourCause from Blackbaud customer login to the CSRconnect product community for the giving and service days toolkit.

Below are resources and suggested activities for each month

January – Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service

This day prompts us to recognize the many contributions of Dr. King and honor his legacy through our own acts of service.

February – Black History Month

This month we honor Black History Month. In the United States, President Gerald Ford first declared February as Black History Month in 1976; in Canada, the House of Commons did the same in 1995. This month is an important opportunity to honor and celebrate Black History, as well as learn about the continued contributions of, and challenges still experienced by, the Black community today.

March – International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month

This month we celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8) and Women’s History Month, both of which honor the many economic, political, social, and cultural contributions of women throughout history, as well as challenges still faced by women around the world today.

Activate: Community Service and Giving

Goal Setting: Set aside time to bring leadership together to collaborate and understand how DEI should inform internal employee engagement + external community engagement efforts.

Engage Employee Resource Groups: Seek their input. Ask if they may be planning to celebrate and honor Dr. King, Black History Month or Women’s History Month, or if their members would like to be involved in sponsoring, planning, or holding an employee event or any other company effort. Lift those events up t
o the entire company. Celebrate the hard work of ERGs and recognize their efforts towards helping plan events.

Curate a List of Volunteer Opportunities: Start by pulling a report of organizations your employees have supported in the past. The YourCause toolkit provides detailed instructions on how to create keyword search banners and highlight a list of organizations that support social justice, civil rights, and women’s rights, including tags and NTEE codes to search by.

Show your Support: Remind employees of any time off for volunteering to show your support for employees giving back. Consider creating a special matching gift or volunteer grant for service during this time. Use a nomination grant program to have employees pick organizations that align with these causes areas to receive a corporate grant.

Create a Campaign: Use volunteer manager in CSRconnect to create a campaign or event category. This can make it easier to offer a special incentive like Volunteer Time Off as well as track these hours associated with this cause area. This reporting can help you plan for next year!