Trialogue is pleased to present its 27th consecutive year of research into the state of corporate social investment (CSI) in South Africa. This article outlines the most noteworthy results from the 2024 primary research as well as Trialogue’s secondary analysis of CSI expenditure. Note that ‘2024’ refers to data from the 2023/24 financial year, which differs across organisations, depending on the month of financial year-ends.
Estimate of total CSI expenditure
This estimate is based on an analysis of the CSI expenditure of listed South African companies and multinationals operating in South Africa as well as state-owned enterprises. Our analysis considers:
- Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of 133 listed companies and the net profit after tax (NPAT) of 128 listed companies, using publicly reported data
- Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of the 75 companies that participated in Trialogue’s 2024 primary research and a year-on-year comparison for the 36 companies that participated in the 2023 and 2024 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-line in CSI expenditure has shown inconsistent movement after an extended period of growth in real terms between 1998 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015, CSI expenditure experienced negative growth in real terms. In 2016 and 2017, real growth flattened. It showed a slight increase between 2018 and 2020 before showing a significant decline in 2021 because of Covid-19. Growth in 2022 and 2023 was marginal in real terms.
- In 2024, our CSI estimate showed a 2.2% real (7.5% nominal) increase from the previous year to R12.7 billion. This real growth is a significant increase over the past two post-Covid-19 years and reflects a recovery from that period, despite a difficult operating environment for companies in 2024.
CSI spend by industry sector
- Based on the estimated CSI expenditure data of 195 companies in 2024, 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 (35%) in 2024.
- Consumer services (35 companies), including retail, media, travel and tourism, was the second-largest contributor, accounting for 29% of CSI expenditure, a sizable portion of which was non-cash contributions.
- Financials (55 companies) was the third-largest sector, accounting for 20% of CSI expenditure in 2023.
CSI spend across the top 100 companies
- CSI expenditure remained concentrated, with the top 100 companies (by CSI spend) accounting for R9.7 billion, or 76%, of total CSI expenditure estimated at R12.7 billion.
- Of the total R9.7 billion spent by the top 100 companies, nearly three-quarters (71%) was spent by the 23 companies whose CSI expenditure exceeded R100 million and averaged close to R300 million in 2024.
Respondents
Companies
Between May and August 2024 professional researchers conducted interviews with CSI representatives from large South African companies. Companies also had the option of self-completing the online questionnaire, which was then verified by the researchers.
- There were 75 participating companies in 2024. Of these, 52 (69%) also participated in 2023.
- Since it was first measured in 2011, the financial sector has been the best-represented sector in the corporate respondent sample (29% in 2024). The consumer goods sector was the second largest in 2024 (16%), followed by consumer services (including retail, travel and leisure) at 13% and basic materials at 12%. Other sectors included education, legal services, logistics and manufacturing.
- The surveyed companies were large, with about two-thirds (65%) having an annual income of over R1 billion in their latest full financial year and 38% having an income of over R10 billion. Over a third of companies (39%) had an NPAT of over R1 billion.
- Two-fifths (40%) of companies employed more than 5 000 people, with 17% having more than 20 000 employees.
- Six in 10 companies (60%) had a Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) status of level 1 or level 2.
- Most companies (85%) scored the full five points for the socioeconomic development (SED) element of the BBBEE Scorecard.
- Twenty companies in the sample (27%) are included in the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index. Of these, 14 companies (70%) are in the top 30 companies in the index.
American data cited in this chapter is taken from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose’s (CECP) Giving in Numbers 2024 Edition. It is based on responses from 219 US-headquartered companies that took part in the Giving in Numbers 2024 survey on 2023 contributions.
Trialogue is the southern African partner of the CECP Global Exchange, a network of country-based, mission-driven corporate engagement organisations that aims to advance business as a force for good around the world.
Nonprofit organisations
Nonprofit organisations (NPOs) were surveyed between May and July 2024, using the online survey tool Qualtrics.
- A total of 149 NPOs participated in the 2024 research. Of these, only 14% or 21 organisations, also participated in 2023.
- The NPO sample was relatively evenly distributed in terms of organisation size, although weighted towards medium to large organisations with an annual income of between R2 million and R20 million (42%). Over one-fifth (22%) of the sample had annual incomes of more than R20 million.
- About three-quarters of NPOs (73%) employed 50 people or fewer, while 13% employed over 100 people.
CSI expenditure in 2024
Changes in CSI expenditure
- A slightly lower percentage (55%) of companies reported that their CSI expenditure had increased in 2024 than in 2023 (59%). Results remained positive and higher than 2022 (44%) and 2021 (36%), when notable decreases were associated with the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn.
- The proportion of companies reporting a decrease in CSI expenditure in 2024 dropped to 20% from 24% in 2023, 27% in 2022 and 51% in 2021. This is a more positive finding than in the US where over half of companies (53%) decreased their total community investment between 2021 and 2023.
- Changes in corporate profits remained the most frequently cited reason for both year-on-year increases and decreases in CSI expenditure, followed by project requirements/needs of recipients.
- Interestingly, three of the 15 companies (20%) that reported lower CSI expenditure in 2024, cited a change in definition of social investment as the reason, presumably with some previous CSI expenditure moving to a different budget line item.
Value of social investment of corporate sample
- Almost three-quarters of the 70 companies that indicated the range of their CSI expenditure (51 companies, 73%) spent more than R10 million on social investment in 2024. Twenty-one companies (30%) invested more than R50 million and 11 companies (16%) invested more than R100 million.
- Total social investment of the 61 companies that reported exact expenditure figures for 2024 was just over R4.1 billion. Total social investment is comprised of cash CSI expenditure by a CSI division, foundation or other department and non-cash expenditure in the form of donated goods and services, and volunteering time. It excludes expenditure through BBBEE community ownership trusts (four companies reported spending through such trusts, to the value of R89 million in 2024).
- 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 71% of total social investment in 2024.
- Cash CSI expenditure totalled over R2.9 billion and was mainly spent through a CSI department (33% of cash expenditure) or a separate legal entity such as a trust or a foundation (31%).
- Non-cash giving amounted to R1.2 billion for the sample – equivalent to 29% of total social investment – and was almost entirely (98%) comprised of donations of goods and services. This differs from the US where product donations comprised 61% of non-cash giving and pro bono services 20% in 2023. The high proportion of non-cash giving in the South African sample over the past three years is largely attributable to the high value of goods donated by one retail company, the value of which amounted to 69% of total non-cash giving by all companies in the 2024 sample.
- The 2024 median social investment of the 61 companies reporting exact expenditure figures was just over R29 million, consistent with 2023 results. The average total social investment by companies reporting values decreased to R68 million from R75 million in 2023, although still higher than the R59 million spent in 2022.
Categories of social investment
- In 2024, just over half of companies (56%) reported CSI expenditure through a CSI department, comparable to 53% in 2023. Average cash expenditure through a CSI department increased slightly to 40% of total expenditure in 2024 from 38% in 2023.
- Only 17% of companies reported cash expenditure through another company department or division other than CSI in 2024, compared with 31% in 2023. The average expenditure in this category also dropped considerably, from 31% in 2023 to only 9% in 2024.
- About a third of companies (37%) reported cash expenditure through a trust or foundation in 2024, a decline from 44% in 2023. However, the average cash expenditure through a trust or foundation almost doubled, from 18% in 2023 to 33% in 2024. This is still fewer companies than in the US where over three-quarters of companies (76%) reported cash expenditure through a foundation, which comprised 35% of total community investments on average in 2023.
- Over half of companies (41 companies, 55%) reported non-cash giving of products, services, volunteering time or a combination of these. This is also lower than in the US where 69% of companies reported non-cash giving.
- More companies reported giving goods and services in 2024 (47% compared to 38% in 2023) but the average CSI expenditure through this category remained almost the same at 14% in 2024.
- Although 19 companies (25%) reported contributing volunteering time in 2024, only six companies quantified its value, resulting in a low average value across the sample (4%).
CSI expenditure line items
- Almost all respondent companies (95%) included direct project expenditure in cash CSI expenditure, which comprised 88% of total cash CSI expenditure on average, slightly lower than in 2023 (90%).
- Costs related to CSI staff were included in the CSI budget by a fifth of companies (20%, slightly lower than 26% in 2023). However, the average expenditure on staff was just 3% of companies’ cash CSI expenditure.
- Just over a third of companies (35%) included employee volunteering and staff events costs in CSI expenditure, recording an average spent of 2% for this category.
- Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) costs were included by 33% of companies, a decrease from 41% in 2023. However, the average percentage of CSI expenditure on M&E was just 1%.
- Two percent of average CSI expenditure went to CSI governance costs, representing a marginal increase from zero in recent years.
Governance and management
Governance structure
- About half of participating companies (51%) use the term corporate social investment (CSI), an increase from 41% in 2020. The use of the term socioeconomic development (SED) – which is the term used in the BBBEE regulations – has become less common, declining from 28% to 20% over the same period. The same has happened for the term ‘shared value’ which has declined from 4% in 2020 to only 1% in 2024. Some of the ‘other’ terms used were social impact and community development/support/engagement.
- In 2024, around a fifth of participating companies (15 companies) reported having multiple structures for managing CSI. In most cases (11 companies), respondents reported a CSI department in the company as well as a trust and/or foundation. This is consistent with previous years with 16 companies reporting CSI expenditure through multiple structures in both 2022 and 2023.
- Fifty-six companies (75%) managed at least some of their CSI internally in 2024 – 33 companies through a dedicated department within the company, 21 companies through another internal department and two companies reporting the use of both.
- Of the 56 companies that managed their CSI within a division or department, 71% cited integration with the business and sustainability agendas as the main reason for doing so, followed by forming part of the broader company social impact (59%) and access to business staff and systems (34%).
- Almost half of the companies (34 companies, 45%) managed at least some of their CSI through a separate legal entity. Of these 34 companies, 18 (53%) managed their CSI through a registered trust, 13 companies (38%) through a registered nonprofit company (NPC) and three companies (9%) through both.
- The primary reason for managing CSI through a trust or NPC was the specific expertise of trustees and staff (mentioned by 53% of companies in 2024, in line with 55% in 2021), followed by the credibility of the structure (mentioned by 50% of companies in 2024, down from 71% in 2021).
Management of CSI functions
- Six in 10 companies (61%) had small teams of fewer than five full-time equivalent (FTE) employees managing and administering CSI in 2024 and 20% had fewer than two FTE employees. Only 16% employed 10 or more people in 2024 compared to 25% in 2023.
- In 2024, the median number of FTE CSI employees was three, unchanged from 2023 and 2022. In the US the median number of community investment employees was nine in 2023.
- Company CSI departments managed most CSI functions internally. The majority of CSI departments (96%) managed finances, up from 84% five years ago. CSI departments were slightly less likely to coordinate employee volunteering, which declined marginally to 86% in 2024 from 91% in 2019.
- The functions most commonly managed by another department in the company were data and systems management, and marketing and communications. Nearly half of companies (46%) have another department managing CSI marketing and communication, a significant increase from 19% in 2019.
- Development sector research and M&E were the functions most commonly outsourced to service providers, by 18% and 14% of companies respectively in 2024, down from 33% and 22% in 2019.
Strategy
CSI strategy
- Over three-quarters of companies (78%) have a CSI strategy that is very much aligned with the overall business strategy. Around a fifth (21%) described their CSI strategy as somewhat aligned with the company’s business strategy.
- Companies were most likely to conduct their own research (87%) to inform their CSI strategy and practice, followed by using government policy documents (77%), global codes and standards (75%) and research on other companies’ CSI practices (65%).
- There were increases in the use of academic resources (60%) and this Handbook (57%), up from 46% and 43% respectively in 2023.
- Overall, there has been an increase in the use of all listed resources in 2024.
Number and type of CSI projects
- Companies supported many projects, with 69% supporting more than 10 CSI projects. Thirteen percent of the sample, or 10 companies, supported over 100 projects.
- The percentage of companies supporting between 21 and 50 projects decreased to 16% in 2024 from 22% in 2023.
- In 2024, nearly three-quarters of companies (71%) identified projects through a combination of proactive (identify through CSI function) and reactive (select through applications) measures, while the remainder (29%) identified projects reactively through applications.
Flagship projects
- More than half of companies (56%) supported three or more flagship projects in 2024. Consistent with 2022 results, over a third of companies (35%) supported one or two flagship projects.
- In line with findings from 2022, on average companies spend 61% of their CSI budget on flagship projects. The median CSI budget allocation to flagship projects was 70% in 2024, with over 60% of companies spending more than half of their CSI budget on flagship projects.
- Most companies (63%) partnered with NPOs to implement their flagship projects. The remaining 37% designed and implemented projects themselves, consistent with a split of 62% and 38% respectively in 2022.
Project exit strategies
- Around four in 10 companies (39%) reported having exit strategies for all their CSI projects in 2024. In contrast, a third of companies (32%) do not have exit strategies for any of their CSI projects. This represents a slight decrease in the prevalence of exit strategies from 2018, when 44% of companies had exit strategies for all their CSI projects and 28% did not have any.
- Most companies determined the project exit point either at the start of a project (52%) or based on the results of structured monitoring processes and milestones (29%). Upfront determination of project exit increased from 35% in 2018 to 52% in 2024.
- Companies are providing longer exit notice periods. The highest percentage of companies (44%) provide between six and 12 months’ notice before exiting a project, a considerable increase from 25% in 2018. The percentage of companies providing one to six months’ notice declined from 34% in 2018 to 28% in 2024.
LEAVING A LASTING LEGACY
Sound exit strategies are crucial for ensuring that the NPOs and projects from which companies withdraw their support remain sustainable. They can help to reduce an NPO’s dependency and strengthen its resilience; facilitate the capacity building of NPO staff and communities; clarify expectations and the extent of responsibilities; and encourage community ownership of projects. Some considerations for companies regarding project exits:
| Plan your exit from a project or NPO at the outset of your involvement. If not planned from the outset, consider phasing your exit and giving sufficient time for affected NPOs and communities to prepare and build up alternative sources of funding. |
| Engage project stakeholders to promote a shared approach to responsible exiting. |
| Consider the language used – a sustainability strategy, rather than an exit strategy, provides a more positive framing and describes the process from the partner’s perspective. |
| Communicate the exit strategy clearly and consistently. |
| Include time-bound targets and criteria for exiting and assigned responsibilities for exit activities and monitoring. |
| Develop an exit budget that accounts for the transition costs – such as the upskilling of NPO staff or community members. |
| Incorporate aspects of capacity building and knowledge-sharing with the NPO and broader community. |
| Consider non-financial support – leveraging the skills of employees to provide the NPO with specialised services or connecting the NPO with alternative potential funders, possibly from other parts of the business or business partners, such as suppliers or customers. |
| Build a reasonable degree of flexibility into the exit process. |
| Plan and set aside financial and other resources for an evaluation after exit to determine whether programme or project impact has been sustained, expanded or improved; whether the relevant activities have continued in the same or a modified format; and whether the systems that were developed continue to function effectively. |
Development sector funding
Companies
- Similar to 2023, companies supported an average of five development focus areas in 2024, with 30 companies (40%) supporting more than five areas.
- Education remains the most supported development sector among companies. While 92% of companies invested in education – a significant increase from 78% in 2023 – average CSI spend in this area decreased slightly to 45% in 2024 from 48% in 2023.
- Social and community development remains the second most supported development area, mentioned by three-quarters of companies (75%) in 2024. Average CSI spend on social and community development increased slightly to 15% in 2024.
- Food security, the third most popular development focus area (supported by 67% of companies), attracted 11% of average CSI spend in 2024, up from 9% in 2023.
- The percentage of companies supporting the health sector decreased marginally from 38% in 2023 to 36% in 2024, continuing to decline from 43% in 2022. However, at 9% the average CSI spend on health was higher in 2024 than in 2023 (6%).
- The percentage of companies supporting disaster relief declined from 62% in 2023 to 57% in 2024, with average CSI spend on the sector also decreasing from 6% to 4%.
- Support for environmental causes increased from 37% of companies in 2023 to 44% in 2024, with the sector receiving 5% of average CSI spend.
- Although 16% of companies reported support for housing and living conditions, consistent with 2023 results, the average CSI spend fell to 1% in 2024 (from 4% in 2023).
- In line with results from 2022 and 2023, a fifth of companies (20%) supported arts and culture, but the sector still received just 1% of CSI spend on average.
- More companies supported the social justice and advocacy, and safety and security sectors in 2024 than in 2023. However, average CSI spend in these sectors remains at 2% or less.
- In the US, health and social services recipient organisations and programmes received the largest average allocation of total community investment at 26% in 2023. The next most funded programme areas were education at 22% of average spend and community and economic development, which received an average of 17%.
Nonprofit organisations
- NPOs supported an average of three sectors in 2024, in line with previous years and lower than companies, reflecting the role of NPOs as implementers.
- Consistent with previous years and the corporate sample, NPOs were most likely to support the education, and social and community development sectors. More than 60% of NPOs supported each of these sectors, accounting for an average of 32% and 27% of NPO spend respectively.
- Food security was the third most supported sector (27% of NPOs), with an average expenditure of 9% in 2024.
- The percentage of NPOs supporting the health sector decreased from 28% in 2023 to 20% in 2024, and average spend declined from 12% in 2023 to 7% in 2024.
Geographic distribution of funding
Companies
- Companies supported projects in an average of four South African provinces in 2024, excluding international and national projects (those operating in two or more provinces). This was slightly lower than 2023, when companies supported projects in an average of five provinces.
- Over half of companies (59%) supported national projects, which accounted for 56% of average CSI expenditure in 2024. This is slightly down from last year, when national projects received 64% of average CSI expenditure.
- Gauteng was again the most supported province, receiving an average of 17% of CSI expenditure from 39% of companies. As in 2023, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were the second and third most supported provinces, receiving support from just under a third of companies.
- Projects in all provinces except for Gauteng received less than 10% of average CSI expenditure, with Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West province each receiving only 1% of average CSI spend in 2024.
- Only two companies (3%) supported international projects. This is significantly lower than in the US, where 73% of companies reported making community investments to international end-recipient organisations in 2023, and international giving accounted for 20% of total community investments on average.
Nonprofit organisations
- NPOs operated projects in an average of two provinces, excluding those operating nationally and/or internationally. This is consistent with 2023 findings and lower than the company average, reflecting the community focus of many NPOs.
- The percentage of NPOs operating projects nationally remained the same at 18% in 2023 and 2024. Average expenditure on national projects decreased slightly from 15% to 12% over this period. Notably, average NPO expenditure on national projects is significantly lower than corporate expenditure on national projects (56%), reflecting NPOs’ role as on-the-ground implementers in specific communities.
- Consistent with 2023 findings, the highest percentages of NPOs reported operating in South Africa’s two economic hubs, Gauteng (42%) and the Western Cape (40%). Average NPO spend increased slightly in Gauteng, from 24% in 2023 to 29% in 2024, and decreased slightly in the Western Cape.
Funding recipients
Types of organisations supported
- NPOs remained the most commonly supported recipient type, with 93% of companies spending an average of 71% of their CSI budget on NPOs in 2024. The results show increases in both the percentage of companies supporting NPOs and the average CSI spend on NPOs.
- Schools, universities, hospitals and other government institutions remained the second most supported recipient group, mentioned by 65% of companies, with the latter receiving 18% of CSI expenditure, almost unchanged from 2023.
- Support for social enterprises is growing. About a third of companies (32%) supported social enterprises with an average of 4% of CSI expenditure in 2024, up from 15% of companies and 3% of expenditure in 2019.
- Despite 2024 being an election year, no companies mentioned supporting political parties – in line with 2023 survey results.
Capacity building
- In 2024, companies offered an average of two types of capacity building to NPOs, and NPOs received an average of two types of capacity building from companies.
- More companies did not offer any capacity-building support to NPOs in 2024 (39%) than in 2022 (29%). The percentage of NPO respondents not receiving any such support stayed almost the same at over a third.
- Among companies that did offer capacity-building support, this was most often through workshops and training (41%), mentorship (28%) and academic programmes (21%) in 2024. These were also the three most common forms of capacity-building support provided in 2022, but were all mentioned by a higher percentage of companies in this year’s survey. Workshops and training were the most desired type of support for 36% of NPOs in 2024.
- Nine percent of companies offered flexible or unrestricted funding for internal capacity building to NPOs in 2024, an increase from 3% in 2022. Flexible or unrestricted funding was the most desired type of capacity-building support for 41% of NPOs but was only received by 10% of surveyed organisations in 2024.
- Thirty-six percent of NPOs reported receiving pro bono support, the most desired type of capacity building for 11% of NPOs. However, only 11% of companies offered pro bono support.
- Staff secondment (18%) and academic programmes (18%) were the least desired forms of capacity-building support for NPOs. Secondment was offered by only 2% of companies, while 9% offered academic programmes.
- One in five NPOs (18%) did not select any type of support as least desired, implying that any support would be welcomed.
BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR
Ensuring the stability and sustainability of NPOs can help them to better support disadvantaged communities and achieve a thriving society. Some considerations for companies regarding capacity building:
| Do not apply a one-size fits all approach. | Consult with NPO partners to analyse what support is needed. | View capacity building from the perspective of building on an organisation’s core strengths, rather than fixing its weaknesses. | Where possible, provide continuous support as once-off workshops are unlikely to bring about meaningful change within an organisation or help it to become self-sustaining. | Provide long-term general support alongside capacity-building grants. | Work together with other companies to increase impact and promote greater knowledge-sharing. |
“It may seem counter-intuitive, but the best way to build an organisation’s capacity is to stop giving grants for capacity building and instead provide unrestricted funds over several years, especially to organisations led by and serving marginalised communities; trust that organisation to know what’s best for its operations and programmes; and convince other funders to do the same.”
Vu Le, Nonprofit AF
Sources: Trialogue, GEO
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
M&E policies and budgets
- Half of the surveyed companies (50%) had a stated policy on M&E in 2024, a surprisingly lower percentage than in the three previous years.
- Thirty-five companies (47%) confirmed that they allocated a portion of the CSI budget to M&E. Of the 27 companies that provided a detailed breakdown of expenditure, most (81%) allocated 5% or less of their CSI budget to M&E. Allocations ranged from less than 1% to 15% with a median of 4% and an average of 4%. This average 4% M&E allocation was higher than the 1% indicated in the analysis of costs included in CSI expenditure (see page 37) due to the smaller number of companies that reported on detailed M&E expenditure.
- A third of NPO respondents (34%) had an M&E budget, slightly down from 37% in 2023. Of the 29 NPOs that reported M&E expenditure, two-thirds (66%) allocated 5% or less of their organisational budget to M&E.
M&E staffing
- The percentage of companies with internal staff managing M&E appears to be gradually increasing, from 50% in 2020, to 56% in 2023 and 72% in 2024. Cumulatively, two-thirds of companies (64%) had one or more full-time people in 2024, up from 50% in 2023. In line with this, fewer companies (8%) did not have any internal or external resources dedicated to managing M&E in 2024 compared to 2023 (20%).
- The proportion of NPOs with internal staff for M&E (either part time or full time) has remained fairly consistent at close to 70%, higher than for companies. A quarter of NPOs (26%) had no dedicated internal or external M&E resources, significantly higher than the proportion of companies with no such resources (8%).
- More companies (17% in 2024, down from 24% in 2023) than NPOs (7%) used external consultants for M&E.
Use of M&E data
- Companies most frequently used M&E data in reporting to their boards (93%), planning and revising projects (80%) and strategies (76%), and making decisions about whether to exit a project or continue with support (75%).
- The highest percentages of NPOs used M&E data in reporting to their boards (66%), sharing with funders and stakeholders (61%), and planning and revising projects (59%) and strategies (59%).
- Only half of companies (51%) and a third of NPOs (31%) shared the data with recipients or beneficiaries.
Employee volunteering
EVP policies and budgets
- Over three-quarters of companies (78%) had employee volunteering programmes (EVPs) in 2024. Of the 58 companies that reported having an EVP, 59% had a stated EVP policy and 63% had a separate budget for EVP.
- Twenty-six companies provided budget information on employee volunteering in 2024. Most of these (61%) allocated between 1% and 5% of their CSI budget to EVPs. One-third (31%, or eight companies) allocated between 6% and 10%, and two companies allocated more than 10% of their CSI budget to EVPs. The average CSI budget allocation to EVPs was 6%, while the median was 5%. The lowest allocation was 1% and the highest was 20%.
- The proportion of NPOs with a budget for managing volunteers and volunteering programmes remains low (16% in 2024 and 12% in 2022). Of the 18 NPOs that provided budget data, a high 61% allocated more than 5% to volunteer management.
EVP staffing
- In 2024, 80% of companies with EVPs had one or more internal staff members appointed to manage volunteering in a full-time or part-time capacity, higher than in 2023 (65%). Seventeen percent of companies had no one dedicated to managing employee volunteering, a notable decline from 35% in 2023.
- More than half of NPOs (59%) have one or more people appointed in a full-time or part-time capacity for managing employee volunteering, despite only 16% of NPOs having a budget for volunteering.
Types of EVP
- In 2024, companies offered four types of employee involvement initiatives on average.
- Most corporate respondents with EVPs offered company-organised volunteering initiatives (95%), fundraising/collection drives (71%) and time off for individuals during work hours (63%). In the US in 2023, 94% of all companies offered matching-gift programmes to their employees, compared to 49% of South African companies in 2024.
- Whereas the majority of surveyed companies organise staff volunteering initiatives, far fewer NPOs (40%) were recipients of these. They also remain among the top three least-liked type of initiative for NPOs (13% of NPOs selected this as their least desirable), with only 7% selecting it as most desirable.
- NPOs most liked initiatives that involve funding – give as you earn, collection drives and matched funding. Give as you earn remained the most liked EVP in 2024, selected by 20% of NPOs as their preferred EVP type.
- NPOs least liked family volunteering, individual volunteering in work hours and company-organised volunteering initiatives.
- The most received type of initiative was fundraising/collection drives (47% of NPOs), which was also the second most liked (17% of NPOs selected it as their most desired type of EVP).
CSI communication
Communication rationale and budgets
- The most common reasons companies communicated their CSI work in 2024 were to encourage partnerships and collaboration (79%) and for brand enhancement (77%).
- NPOs communicated their work most frequently to attract donor funding (81%) and encourage partnerships and collaboration (73%).
- A quarter of companies (26%) allocated a portion of their CSI budget to communication. For the eight companies that provided budget data, most (74%) allocated 5% or less to communication, with a range from 1% to 30% of CSI budget and a median of 4%.
- More NPOs (59%) than companies allocated a portion of their budget to communication in 2024. Of the 60 NPOs that provided communication budget information, two-thirds (65%) allocated 5% or less. Communication allocations among NPOs ranged from 1% to 30%, with a median of 5%.
Communication staffing
- More than three-quarters of companies (78%) employed staff internally to manage CSI communications in 2024 – 12% one part time, 26% one full time and 40% more than one person. This is slightly more than those employing M&E staff internally, although much fewer companies used external consultants for communication (1%) compared to M&E (17%). Around one-fifth (21%) did not employ anyone to manage communication.
- Forty-five percent of companies manage CSI communications within the CSI department. Most companies used the corporate communications (64%) or marketing (48%) departments to manage CSI communication.
- The majority of NPOs surveyed (77%) have one or more people appointed to manage communication internally, either in a full-time or part-time capacity. Only one-fifth of NPOs (20%) did not have any staff managing the communication function.
Communication channels and reporting
- For the first time social media was the most common channel for reporting on CSI, used by 99% of companies in 2024. The next most used channels were company annual reports (85%) and websites (84%).
- LinkedIn (used by 88% of companies and 61% of NPOs) and Facebook (63% of companies and 90% of NPOs) were the most popular social media platforms for both companies and NPOs.
- Use of staff newsletters/magazines increased from 45% in 2023 to 58% in 2024.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2024 (27th edition).
