State of CSI in South Africa 

Trialogue is pleased to present its 28th consecutive year of research into the state of corporate social investment (CSI) in South Africa. This chapter outlines the most noteworthy results from the 2025 primary research as well as Trialogue’s secondary analysis of CSI expenditure. Note that ‘2025’ refers to data from the 2024/25 financial year, which differs across organisations, depending on their month of financial year-end.  

Estimate of total CSI expenditure 

• This estimate is based on an analysis of the CSI expenditure of listed South African companies, multinationals operating in South Africa and state-owned enterprises. Our analysis considers: 
• Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of 138 listed companies and the net profit after tax (NPAT) of 110 listed companies, using publicly reported data. 
• Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of the 70 companies that participated in Trialogue’s 2025 primary research and a year-on-year comparison for the 44 companies that participated in both the 2024 and 2025 research. 
• A triangulation of published CSI expenditure as a percentage of published NPAT with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) data on total company taxable income and tax. 
• A comparison of the combined CSI expenditure of the top 100 published expenditure companies and scenario analysis of how much of the total market the top 100 companies represent. 
• An extrapolation of total expenditure based on the number of medium and small companies in South Africa. 

Growth in total CSI expenditure 

• The trend in CSI expenditure has been inconsistent following a sustained period of growth in real terms between 2000 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015, CSI expenditure experienced negative growth in real terms. In 2016 and 2017, real growth flattened. There was a modest increase between 2018 and 2020, followed by a significant drop in 2021 due to Covid-19. From 2022 to 2025, real growth has been minimal.  
• For 2025, our CSI estimate shows growth in line with inflation, with nominal growth of 3.3% but no real growth, resulting in total CSI expenditure of R13.1 billion for 2025 (up from R12.7 billion in 2024). This indicates a reversal of the recovery seen in the previous two post-Covid-19 years and highlights an ongoing challenging operating environment for companies in 2025. 

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CSI spend by industry sector

• Based on the published and estimated CSI expenditure data of 206 companies in 2025, the three industry sectors contributing the most to CSI were the same as in previous years.  
• Basic materials (29 companies), including mining, water, forestry and chemicals, accounted for the largest portion of CSI expenditure (36%) in 2025.  
• Consumer services (33 companies), including retail, media, travel and tourism, was the second-largest contributor, accounting for 27% of CSI expenditure, a sizable portion of which consisted of non-cash contributions. 
• Financials (58 companies), including banks, real estate and other financial services, was the third-largest sector, accounting for 20% of CSI expenditure in 2023. 

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CSI spend across the top 100 companies 

• CSI expenditure remained concentrated, with the top 100 companies (by CSI spend) accounting for R10.3 billion, or 79%, of total CSI expenditure estimated at R13.1 billion. 
• Of the total R10.3 billion spent by the top 100 companies, nearly three-quarters (74%) was spent by the 26 companies whose CSI expenditure exceeded R100 million and averaged close to R300 million in 2025. 

Respondents 

Companies 

Professional researchers conducted interviews with CSI representatives from large South African companies between May and August 2025. Companies were also given the option to self-complete the online questionnaire, which was then verified by the researchers. 

• Seventy companies participated in the 2025 research. Of these, 57 (81%) also participated in 2024. 
• The financial sector has been the best represented in the corporate sample since 2011, accounting for almost a third of companies (30%) in 2025. The second-largest sector was consumer goods (16%), followed by basic materials (11%) and state-owned and public enterprises (7%). The industrials, healthcare and consumer services sectors each made up 6% of the 2025 sample.  
• The surveyed companies were large, with 82% reporting an annual income of over R1 billion in their latest full financial year and 52% reporting an income of over R10 billion. Four in 10 participating companies (40%) had an a net profit after tax (NPAT) of over R1 billion.  
• Nearly half of companies (47%) employed more than 5 000 people, with 15% having more than 20 000 employees. 
• Almost half of companies (49%) had a broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) status of level 1, and 79% had received the full five points in the socioeconomic development (SED) element of the B-BBEE scorecard. 
• Sixteen companies in the sample (23%) are included in the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index. Of these, 11 companies are in the top 30 companies of the index. 
• Half of companies reported having conducted impact investing – that is, the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions when investing assets from the corporate foundation or assets managed by the company’s treasury department or a third-party asset manager – in the previous financial year.  

Nonprofit organisations

Research with nonprofit organisations (nonprofits) was conducted online between May and July 2025. 

• A total of 110 nonprofits participated in the 2025 research. Of these, only 25 nonprofits (23%) also participated in 2024. 
• The sample of nonprofits was weighted towards smaller organisations. Over half (56%) reported annual incomes of less than R5 million, while only around a fifth (21%) had annual incomes exceeding R20 million.  
• Over three-quarters of nonprofits (80%) employed 50 people or fewer, with around a third (30%) employing fewer than 10 people. Only 7% employed more than 100 people.  

CSI expenditure in 2025

Value of social investment by corporate sample 

• Of the 68 companies that indicated their CSI expenditure range, most (53 companies, or 78%) spent more than R10 million on social investment in 2025. Nineteen companies (28%) invested more than R50 million and 12 companies (18%) invested more than R100 million. 
• The total social investment reported by the 66 companies that provided exact expenditure figures for 2025 was just over R5.3 billion. The median was R26 million, down from R29 million in 2024, while the average total social investment increased to R80 million in 2025, up from R68 million in 2024.  
• Total social investment includes both cash CSI expenditure by a CSI division, foundation, or other department, as well as non-cash contributions such as donated goods, services and volunteering time.  
• Most social investment was in the form of cash expenditure through a CSI department, other department, or trust/foundation. Cumulatively, cash expenditure through these channels amounted to 74% of total social investment in 2025. Cash CSI expenditure totalled over R3.9 billion and was mainly spent through a CSI department (51% of total social investment) or a separate legal entity such as a trust or foundation (18%). 
• Non-cash giving amounted to almost R1.4 billion for the sample – equivalent to 26% of total social investment – and was almost entirely (98%) made up of donations of goods and services. This contrasts with the US, where product donations accounted for 59% and pro bono services 19% of non-cash giving in 2024 (with ‘other’ making up the balance). The high proportion of product giving in the South African sample over the past four years is largely attributable to the high value of goods donated by a few retail companies.  

Year-on-year changes in total social investment 

• Companies continued to report increased CSI spend in 2025 (61% of companies), continuing the upward trend since the lowest recorded levels in 2021 – during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn – when only 36% of companies reported an increase.  
• In line with this, only 19% companies reported a decrease in CSI spend in the past year, while 20% said it remained the same.  
• The most frequently cited reason for increased CSI spend was project requirements/needs of recipients at 38% in 2025, up from 34% in 2024 and surpassing changes in corporate profits (33% in 2025) for first position. More companies also cited project requirements/needs of recipients as a reason for decreased spend in 2025, up to 29% from 7% in 2024. 
• Changes in corporate profits remained the most frequently cited reason for year-on-year decreases in CSI expenditure (50% in 2025). 

Categories of social investment 

• In 2025, seven in 10 companies (71%) reported CSI expenditure through a CSI department, a notable increase from 56% in 2024. Average expenditure through a CSI department also increased significantly to 59% of total expenditure in 2025, up from 40% in 2024.  
• Only 14% of companies reported cash expenditure through another company department or division (other than CSI) in 2025, down slightly from 17% in 2024. Average expenditure in this category also dropped, from 9% in 2024 to only 3% in 2025. 
• Four in 10 companies (40%) reported cash expenditure through a trust or foundation in 2025, a slight increase from 37% in 2024, although not yet back to the 2023 level (44%). However, average cash expenditure through a trust or foundation decreased from 33% in 2024 to 26% in 2025. This is still fewer companies than in the US, where over three-quarters of companies (77%) reported cash expenditure through a foundation, comprising 37% of total community investments on average in 2024. 
• Forty-two companies (59%) reported non-cash giving of products, services, volunteering time, or a combination of these in 2025, up slightly from 55% in 2024. This is also lower than in the US, where 70% of companies reported non-cash giving. 
• Forty-nine percent of companies reported giving goods and services in 2025, consistent with findings in 2024 (47%). However, average CSI expenditure through this category declined to 11%, down from 14% in 2024. 
• Although 21 companies (30%) reported contributing volunteering time in 2025, only eight companies quantified its value, resulting in a low average value across the sample (1%).  

CSI expenditure line items 

• All surveyed companies included direct project expenditure in cash CSI expenditure, which made up 90% of total cash CSI expenditure on average, slightly higher than in 2024 (88%). 
• Costs related to CSI staff were included in the CSI budget by a fifth of companies (21%), consistent with 20% in 2024. Average expenditure on staff remained just 3% of companies’ cash CSI expenditure.  
• Just over a third of companies (34%) included employee volunteering and staff events costs in CSI expenditure, with an average spend of 2% for this category. 
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) costs were included by 26% of companies, a decrease from 33% in 2024 and 41% in 2023. The average percentage of CSI expenditure on M&E remained at just 1%. 

Costs included in verified socioeconomic development spend 

• Almost all companies (99%) included direct CSI project expenditure via grants to public benefit organisations (PBOs) in their verified SED spend for B-BBEE purposes. About half of companies (54%) also included grants to non-PBOs. 
• Interestingly, more companies (47%) included employee volunteering and staff events in their verified SED spend than in their CSI expenditure (34%). This is probably because even if the budget line item sits elsewhere in the company (in HR, for example), it is still claimed for B-BBEE purposes. 
• A third of companies included staff costs in SED spend and just under a third (29%) included administrative costs.  
• Companies were least likely to include CSI governance costs and membership-based organisation fees in SED spend, at 13% each. 

Governance and management

Governance structure  

• In 2025, around a fifth of participating companies (15 companies, 21%) reported having multiple structures for managing CSI. In most cases (11 companies, 16%), respondents indicated the presence of both a CSI department within the company and a trust or foundation. This is consistent with previous years, with 15 companies reporting CSI expenditure through multiple structures in both 2023 and 2024.  
• Most companies (81%) managed at least some of their CSI internally in 2025 – 39 companies (56%) through a dedicated department within the company and 18 companies (26%) through another internal department. Only one company reported having both a dedicated CSI responsibilities in another department. 
• Over two-fifths of companies (30 companies, 43%) managed at least some of their CSI through a separate legal entity. Of these, 20 companies (29%) used a registered trust and 10 companies (14%) used a registered nonprofit company (NPC). 

B-BBEE community trusts  

• In addition to CSI expenditure, both internally and through trusts and NPCs, a third of companies (22 companies, 32%) have set up one or more B-BBEE community trusts. Under the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 (B-BBEE Act), a trust can be used to facilitate ownership in the company by employees, communities, or other collective groups. Community trusts are separate from any trusts set up to manage the company’s CSI; the key difference is that B-BBEE trusts own shares in the company. 
• Among the 17 companies that provided information about their community trust trustees, the total number of trustees ranged from two to 12, with a median of five. There were more independent than non-independent trustees: the number of independent trustees ranged from one to 10, with a median of three, while non-independent trustees (company staff) ranged from one to five, with a median of two. 
• For a third of companies with B-BBEE community trusts (32%), the trusts were managed by the same company staff who oversee CSI, a slightly lower rate than reported in 2020 (41%) when the question was last asked. Another third (32%) indicated that their trusts were managed by staff or trustees within the company, using shared resources. About a quarter (23%) had B-BBEE community trusts managed entirely separately by dedicated trust staff. Only 9% of companies outsourced community trust management to a third party.  
• The majority of B-BBEE community trusts (82%) earned income from dividends from the founding company. About a quarter (23%) received income from grants from the founding company and an equal number from interest. 
• Eighteen companies reported either the exact value or the range of funds disbursed through community trusts in 2024/25. Disbursements ranged from an estimated R1.7 million up to R500 million, totalling about R1.1 billion. The estimated median disbursement (using range midpoints) was R17 million and the average was R63 million, a little lower than the median (R24 million) and average (R69 million) for company social investment. 

Management of CSI functions  

• In 2025, 62% of companies had small teams of fewer than five full-time equivalent (FTE) employees managing and administering CSI, while 17% had fewer than two FTE employees. 
• Nineteen percent of companies employed 10 or more people in 2025, up from 16% in 2024. 
• The median number of FTE CSI employees in 2025 was three, consistent with previous years. In the US, the median number of community investment employees was 10 in 2024. 

Investment in AI 

• More than half of companies (54%) have invested in the procurement or development of artificial intelligence (AI) in their core operations, up from 35% in 2023. However, a much smaller percentage (16% in 2025, compared to 10% in 2023) have invested in AI for their CSI work. 

Strategy 

Alignment and resources  

• Almost all companies (98%) had a CSI strategy that was either very closely or somewhat aligned with the overall business strategy, consistent with 2024 figures. The proportion of companies describing their CSI strategy as only somewhat aligned declined to 14%, from 21% in 2024. 
• Most companies (80%) conducted their own research to inform their CSI strategy and practices. This was followed by consulting government policy documents (77%) and global codes and standards (76%). The reported use of this Handbook increased from 57% in 2024 to 69% in 2025. Additionally, half of the companies (50%) used research on future trends to guide their strategy and practices. 
• Similarly, most nonprofits (73%) conducted research for their own projects and 69% referred to government policies to inform their strategy. Over half of nonprofits also used academic resources (61%) and researched the practices of other organisations (56%) for strategic input. In 2025, 44% of nonprofits used this Handbook, up from a quarter in 2024. 

Number and type of CSI projects 

• Companies supported numerous projects in 2025, with 69% supporting more than 10 CSI projects, while 9% – or six companies – supported over 100 projects. Over a third of companies (36%) supported between 11 to 20 projects, up from 32% in 2024. 
• At slightly lower levels, just over half of companies (53%) partnered with more than 10 implementing organisations in 2025, including one company that partnered with over 100 organisations.  
• Most companies (76%) identified projects through both proactive and reactive measures (projects identified and applications accepted) in 2025, in line with 71% in 2024. Almost a quarter (23%) identified projects proactively, down from 29% in 2024. Only one company (1%) identified projects solely via applications in 2025. These findings reflect a move from reactive charitable grantmaking to strategic CSI, though most companies continue to use a combination of approaches. 

CSI positioning

• In 2025, companies reported practising an average of two types of CSI as defined in Trialogue’s CSI Positioning Matrix, consistent with results from 2023. 
• The most frequent approach was strategic CSI, which delivers a combination of high positive social and business outcomes. Most companies (88%) practised strategic CSI in 2025, up from 76% in 2023 when last reported. More than half of average CSI spend (52%) went towards strategic CSI in 2025. 
• Companies practising developmental CSI increased from 65% in 2023 to 71% in 2025, but average spend on this approach remained consistent at 38%. 
• Similar to 2023, two-fifths of companies (41%) practised charitable grantmaking but this only accounted for 9% of average CSI spend. 

CSI funding options

• Company uptake of more progressive types of funding is relatively low. Most companies would not consider providing funding for reserves (80%), providing loans (77%), or offering unrestricted funding (91%, up from 69% in 2023).  
• In contrast, and somewhat surprisingly, 59% of nonprofits received unrestricted funding from companies in 2025, which is similar to the 60% that received it in 2023.  
• Use of funding dependent on outcomes is increasing. Companies most commonly provided this type of funding (63%, up from 37% in 2023) or would consider doing this (24%). Almost half of nonprofits (49%) reported they have received or used funding provided in this way, up from only 12% in 2023.  
• Funding to generate income is also on the rise. Half of companies provided resources to enable a nonprofit to self-generate funding in 2025, up from 28% in 2023, and another 21% said they would consider it. Close to a third of nonprofits (29%) received such funding from companies in 2025, up from only 3% in 2023.  

Impact of aid cuts  

• Only seven surveyed companies (10%) partnered with organisations funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). For three of these companies, their partners were not impacted by the cuts, while for two companies, each partner organisation had to retrench staff, revise activities, stop activities, or close.  
• Similarly, only 16 nonprofits (15% of the sample) were affected by the USAID/PEPFAR funding freeze. Of those affected, more than half (56%) said they lost income, 38% had to stop some of their programmes and 25% had to retrench staff. 

Development sector funding  

Companies 

• South African companies do not generally practise focused CSI, with an average of five sectors supported in 2025, in line with 2024. Almost two-thirds of companies (60%) supported more than five sectors, with 31 companies (44%) supporting six or more sectors, consistent with previous years. 
• Education remained the most popular cause in 2025, supported by 91% of companies. The average CSI spend on education was 44%, a marginal decrease from 45% in 2024 and 48% in 2023.  
• Social and community development remained the second most popular cause, supported by 84% of companies in 2025, a notable increase of nine percentage points from 75% in 2024. The average CSI spend in this area remained consistent with 2024 at 14%. 
• Food security and agriculture stayed in third position in 2025, supported by 64% of companies, a slight decrease from 67% in 2024. The average CSI spend on this sector increased slightly from 11% in 2024 to 13% in 2025. 
• The percentage of companies supporting the health sector rose significantly from 36% in 2024 to 46% in 2025, with a small increase in average CSI expenditure from 9% to 11% during this period. 
• There was a notable decline in companies that supported disaster preparedness and relief, continuing the downward trend from a high of 70% of companies in 2021 during the pandemic, to 57% in 2024, and 44% in 2025. Average CSI spend on this sector was 3% in 2025, down from 9% in 2021. Funding for this sector also decreased significantly in the US.  
• More companies supported entrepreneur and small business development, environment, housing and living conditions, sports development and safety and security in 2025 compared to 2024, although average CSI expenditure in these sectors in 2025 was similar to 2024. 
• • Fewer companies supported arts and culture, and social justice and advocacy in 2025 than in 2024, and these sectors received the smallest amounts of average CSI spend. 

Nonprofit organisations 

• On average, nonprofits supported three sectors in 2025, which is consistent with previous years and slightly lower than companies, highlighting nonprofits’ role as implementers. 
• As in previous years and similar to the corporate sample, nonprofits were most likely to support the education and social and community development sectors. More than half of nonprofits (58%) supported education and two-thirds (65%) supported the social and community development sector, respectively accounting for 35% and 24% of average total spend in 2025.  
• Entrepreneur and small business support was the third most supported sector (28% of nonprofits), with an average spend allocation of 8% in 2025. 

Geographic distribution of funding  

Companies  

• In 2025, companies supported projects in an average of four South African provinces, excluding international and national projects (those operating in two or more provinces), consistent with findings from 2024.  
• Over half of companies (51%) supported national projects, which accounted for 49% of average CSI expenditure in 2025. This is slightly down from last year, when national projects received 56% of average CSI expenditure. 
• As the economic hub of South Africa, Gauteng was again the most supported province, receiving an average of 20% of CSI expenditure from 46% of companies.  
• As in 2023 and 2024, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were the second and third most supported provinces. The percentage of companies supporting projects in KwaZulu-Natal increased to 39% in 2025 from 31% in 2024. 
• Projects in all provinces except Gauteng received less than 10% of average CSI expenditure, with the Northern Cape, Free State and North West province each receiving 2% or less of 2025 average CSI spend.  
• Only two companies (3%) supported international projects. This is, unsurprisingly, significantly lower than in the US, where 64% of companies reported making community investments to international organisations in 2024, and international giving accounted for 29% of total community investments on average. 

Nonprofit organisations  

• Nonprofits ran projects in an average of two provinces, not including those operating nationally or internationally. This trend is consistent with findings from 2023 and 2024 and remains below the company average, highlighting the community focus of many nonprofits. 
• The proportion of nonprofits running projects nationally rose from 18% in 2023 and 2024 to 26% in 2025, while average spending on national projects increased from 12% in 2024 to 17% in 2025. Importantly, average nonprofit spending on national projects is still much lower than corporate spending (49%), underscoring the role of nonprofits as hands-on implementers within specific communities. 
• As in 2024, most nonprofits operated in South Africa’s two main economic hubs, Gauteng (44%) and the Western Cape (32%). Average nonprofit spend was 28% in Gauteng and 22% in the Western Cape. 

Funding recipients

Types of organisations supported  

• Nonprofits continued to be the most supported recipient type, with 97% of companies allocating an average of 68% of their CSI budget to nonprofits in 2025.  
• Schools, universities, hospitals and other government institutions remained the second most popular recipient group, supported by 73% of companies and receiving 20% of average CSI expenditure, a slight increase from 2024. 
• More than a third of companies (37%) supported social enterprises, with an average of 3% of CSI expenditure in 2025. This is in line with findings in 2020, where 35% of companies supported social enterprises with 5% of average expenditure, showing that there has not been an increase in support for social enterprises. 
• For-profit service providers were the fourth most supported sector, with almost a quarter of companies (24%) allocating an average of 3% of CSI expenditure in 2025.  
• No companies support political parties and very few (6%) support religious institutions.  

Post-donation requirements  

• Most companies (79%) required a section 18A tax exemption receipt after making donations in 2025 and the same percentage of nonprofits provided this after receiving corporate funding. 
• The majority of companies (71%) also expected a report on the impact of their donations and 64% of nonprofits provided these reports. 
• Seventy percent of companies expected BEE information and this was provided by 62% of nonprofits.  
• Around half of companies expected access for visits (49%) and financial reports (47%) after providing funding. More nonprofits provided financial reports (54%) than organisational access for visits (45%). 
• Two-thirds of companies (66%) expected a thank you letter and the same proportion of nonprofits provided it. 
• The only category where company and nonprofit responses were out of line was receipts, which were the most commonly cited donor requirement by nonprofits (85%), but only a fifth of companies (21%) expected receipts after providing funding.  

Employee volunteering  

EVP policies and budgets  

• Most companies (81%) had employee volunteering programmes (EVPs) in 2025, up slightly from 78% in 2024.  
• Of the 57 companies that reported having an EVP, 67% had a stated employee volunteering policy, while 32% had no policy and one company respondent (1%) was unsure.  
• Over half of companies with an EVP (32 companies, 56%) allocated a CSI budget to employee volunteerism. A third of companies with EVPs (31%) allocated between 1% and 5% of their CSI budget to employee volunteering, 7% allocated between 6% and 10% and 8% allocated more than 10% of their CSI budget to employee volunteering.  
• Among the 27 companies that provided detailed budget information, the average CSI allocation to employee volunteering was 7%, with a median of 5%. The lowest allocation was 1% and the highest was 30%. 
• The proportion of nonprofits with a budget for managing volunteers and volunteering programmes remained low (19 organisations, 17%) in 2025, similar to the 16% recorded in 2024. 
• Among the 16 nonprofits that provided detailed information on volunteering allocations, the range was 1% to 100% of budget, with an average of 20% and a median of 8%. A higher percentage of nonprofits (83%) than companies (44%) reported no budget allocation for employee volunteering. 

EVP staffing  

• In 2025, 85% of companies with EVPs had at least one internal staff member assigned to manage volunteering, either in a full-time or part-time role. Only 15% of companies had no dedicated employee volunteering manager. 
• By comparison, just 55% of nonprofits had one or more staff members, full-time or part-time, responsible for managing employee volunteering. 

Types of EVP 

• In 2025, companies offered three types of employee involvement initiatives on average, down from an average of four in 2024. 
• Most companies with EVPs offered company-organised volunteering initiatives (96%), fundraising/collection drives (61%) and time off for individuals to volunteer during work hours (58%).  
• In the US, 93% of all companies offered matching-gift programmes to their employees in 2024, compared to just 35% of South African companies in 2025. 
• Although most companies organised staff volunteering initiatives, as in 2024, far fewer nonprofits (40%) benefited from these. Company-organised volunteering also remained among the least-liked types of initiatives by nonprofits at 15%, second only to virtual volunteering (17%) in 2025. 
• The initiatives most liked by nonprofits involved funding – give as you earn, collection drives and matched funding. Give as you earn remained the most liked, preferred by 26% of nonprofits in 2025.  
• Fundraising/collection drives and pro bono services were the second most received types of initiative, by 39% of nonprofits each. But while fundraising drives were most liked by 18% of nonprofits, pro bono services were preferred by only 5% of nonprofits, down from 12% in 2024.  

Communication

Budgets and staff  

• For more than a third of companies, CSI communication was the responsibility of the corporate communications department (39%) or marketing department (35%). For about a quarter (24%) of companies, CSI communication was primarily handled by the CSI department.  
• Only 22% of companies allocated a portion of their CSI budget to communication. The remaining 78% indicated that the communication budget comes from another department or that there is no separate budget.  
• Among the nine companies that provided detailed budget information, communication allocations ranged from 1% to 30% of CSI budgets, with a median of 5% and an average of 10%. 
• Half of nonprofits (51%) did not allocate any portion of their budget to communication in 2025, which is similar to 2024 findings (54%). Of those that did, most (29%) allocated 5% or less of their budget to communication.  
• Eight in 10 companies (80%) employed staff internally (in any department) to manage CSI communications in 2025 – 12% had one part-time, 22% had one full-time and 46% had more than one person. Only one company (1%) used external consultants for CSI communication. 
• Similarly, most nonprofits (75%) employ one or more people to manage communication internally, in either a full- or part-time capacity. Only a fifth of nonprofits (19%) did not have any staff managing the communication function.

Communication channels  

• Social media was the most common channel for reporting on CSI, used by 88% of companies in 2025. The next most used channels were company annual reports (87%) and websites (81%). 
• The use of company sustainability reports increased from 67% in 2024 to 79% in 2025, while use of the intranet increased from 64% to 76% over the same period.  
• Social media was also the most common channel for nonprofit communications, with 88% of nonprofits using Facebook, 71% Instagram and 65% LinkedIn. Similar to companies, 80% of nonprofits also used their organisation’s website. Fewer nonprofits (66%) than companies (87%) used annual reports to communicate.