Corporate Grant Sizes Surged as Employee Volunteering Rose, New Data Shows

Blackbaud, the world's provider of AI-powered solutions for social impact, released its 14th Annual YourCause CSR Industry Review, which highlights that employee participation in social impact programs remained strong throughout 2025, even against a backdrop of ongoing economic pressures and shifts in how people work.

Each year, the YourCause CSR Industry Review—which draws on aggregated, anonymized data from a subset of the YourCause Global Good Network—delivers an in‑depth analysis of employee giving, volunteering, and corporate philanthropy trends across hundreds of companies and millions of employees worldwide.

Key findings from the 2026 YourCause CSR Industry Review include:

• Volunteering participation increased year-over-year, with more employees engaging globally, while a dip in average volunteer hours per participant suggests growing demand for shorter, more flexible opportunities.
• Employee giving participation remained stable, with the gap between average and median donation amounts holding consistent, as opposed to last year's widening donor gap.
• Corporate grantmaking continued to scale at a significant level, with a 44% increase in the average grant size, and a 23% higher median sum of grants per client.
• Small‑to‑mid‑sized companies continued to lead in engagement, reinforcing the role of culture, proximity and program design in driving participation.
• Global participation accelerated, with volunteering engagement rising across every region, including notable growth outside North America.
• Engagement rates, average donation values, and company match participation are increasing among newly hired employees, reflecting a growing focus on early program activation and CSR involvement in employee onboarding.
• The average donation value tied to Dollars for Doers also increased 21% from last year, highlighting how companies are strengthening the link between volunteering and giving through enhanced incentives and rewards.

"As companies navigate evolving expectations around work, flexibility and purpose, one thing is clear in this year's data: employee engagement isn't fading—it's thriving," said Andrew Troup, impact officer at YourCause from Blackbaud. "Employees continue to show up in powerful ways for the causes they care about—giving generously, volunteering their time, and doing both at meaningful scale. The organizations unlocking the strongest results are the ones removing friction, making participation relevant, and fully embedding impact into the culture of everyday work."

The report also highlights how program design choices—such as integrated giving and volunteering programs, targeted pledge campaigns, employee resource groups and visible moments of activation—are directly linked to higher engagement and deeper impact. Companies leveraging these approaches consistently outperformed peers with more limited or fragmented programs.

Now with over a decade of experience in social impact research, the YourCause CSR Industry Review continues to serve as a benchmarking resource for CSR, ESG and people leaders seeking to understand how employee expectations and participation are evolving—and how technology and strategy can help organizations respond with confidence.

Download the “2026 YourCause Global CSR Industry Report” here.

Source: Blackbaud