CORPORATE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM MODELS Individual Volunteer Matching Employees are made aware of volunteer opportunities through a variety of communication vehicles such as bulletin board notices, pay packet inserts, newsletters, intranet links to volunteer databases and volunteer fairs. Management and Technical Assistance Individuals with particular management and technical skills are matched with non-profit agencies that request help in their particular area of expertise. Release Time A mechanism by which corporations allow employees time off, with pay, during regular working hours to respond to community needs. Examples include: On going, short-term, off company premises, i.e. tutoring programs; one day, off company premises, i.e. cleanup projects; shared time in which employees contribute a period of time and the company matches it with an equal amount of time. Other options are: “loaned personnel” who are placed at a community agency for a specific period of time to work on a defined project requiring specific skills and expertise, or social service leaves of absence, an extended leave at full pay, usually no more than one year, to work on a community project with a non-profit agency. Single or Annual Projects  Corporate volunteer time and contribution dollars are focused on specific nonprofit endeavors or community problems. Projects may be duplicated throughout a national organization. Some projects are employee directed. An elected or selected group of employees help the company determine the direction of involvement and may have decision-making authority over a portion of the corporate contribution dollars. Community Service Funds: Dollars and Volunteers A company links contribution dollars to employee involvement with a nonprofit agency. This link can include a direct match of dollars and volunteer time. A combination match of employee time and money to company money, or the consideration of employee volunteer involvement when analyzing requests for corporate dollars. Or, the process may go the other way, with the company recruiting employee volunteers for projects it is financially supporting. In-Kind Contributions In-kind contributions may be linked with corporate volunteer programs. They can be used to directly support employee volunteer efforts, or may result from an employee request for help with the overall needs of a non-profit agency. For information about our in-kind donations program, GiftMatch.   Information provided courtesy of United Way Massachusetts Bay