50 Best Workplaces for Giving Back

More and more, the instant gratification of volunteering and its “do good, feel good” mentality is inspiring workers who seek a higher purpose in their day-to-day jobs. So we asked the culture experts at Great Place to Work to determine which companies offer flexible scheduling and paid time off for volunteering as part of their workplace benefits. They surveyed thousands of employees to discover how they’re making a difference, and they also asked about employee donations and corporate matching. Here are 50 great employers whose dedicated workers are making the world a better place, one volunteer project at a time.

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The Top Ten

Zumasys

NEW

The Irvine, Calif.-based cloud computing company gives workers 20 hours of paid time off annually to volunteer. Employees within its tech support division have used that time to cook meals for youth who’ve aged out of the foster care system. “It makes me proud to work at a place willing to help those in need,” says Jacob Vargas, a systems engineer. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

American Global Logistics

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Other

One week last August, Stephanie Zoretic spent humid mornings in an Ecuadorian village, building the exterior of a health clinic with cement she’d mixed by hand. She was among four American Global Logistics employees who participated in the service trip, one of a number of ways the shipping services and transportation company tries to give back. “Everyone needs to have an experience like this just to see what life is like for other people,” says Zoretic, an agent who also manages the corporate foundation. “It was life changing.” Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Salesforce

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Jay Thayer never volunteered much before joining Salesforce nearly 12 years ago, he says, but now “it’s the number one thing that keeps me going.” A decade ago, he participated with a dozen colleagues in a bike ride for multiple sclerosis research; now, the Salesforce cycling team (which includes relatives and customers as well as employees) numbers roughly 300 and has a goal of raising $500,000. Policies such as paid time off to volunteer and matching grants programs give Salesforce employees a large “platform” for doing good, says Thayer, senior director of executive programs. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Disher Design and Development

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Engineering

The design firm gives workers up to two weeks off per year to take mission trips and helps cover their travel expenses. Charles Beasley, a product design engineer, has been to the Dominican Republic twice, South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation twice, Appalachia, and Detroit. “Seeing how you can make a positive difference in the world by helping others puts perspective back into my life and career,” he says. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

BrainStorm

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Education & Training

“Giving at BrainStorm isn’t just an activity—it’s engrained in the culture,” says Todd Kirk, manager of product development at this education software company. He serves on a committee that organizes volunteer trips, oversees a budget for corporate donations, and encourages coworkers to take advantage of a payroll deduction that supports five designated nonprofits. Kirk says he expects employees will raise more than $10,000 this year for the five groups, which include Homeboy Industries, a job-training program for former gang members, and World Reader, which provides e-books to people in developing countries. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Roth Staffing Companies

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Professional Services

Workers get 24 hours of paid time off a year to volunteer at this staffing firm. Karen Siebert, a branch manager, and other employees in the Cerritos, Calif. office use those hours to pack meals for the charity Giving Children Hope. The staffing firm also gave $50,000 last year in donations that employees could designate for nonprofits of their choice. Siebert, a busy working mother, says “it’s been awesome to have this time granted to us during work hours.” Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Seventh Generation

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Other

To generate awareness for youth homelessness, workers at this producer of environmentally-friendly household cleaning products spend one night a year sleeping outside in downtown Burlington. The event has helped raise $40,000 over the last four years for the nonprofit Spectrum Youth and Family Services. “They’ve done a really good job of trying to help us volunteer on our own time as well as during work hours,” says Bob Wannop, finance manager. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Square Root

NEW

The Austin-based software company encourages employees to use their technology skills for good. Workers partner with GirlStart, a group dedicated to STEM education for girls. But not all service work has a business tie-in. Emily Worthington, operations manager, uses paid time off to volunteer at the Austin Humane Society. “I love that as a company we’re giving back to our local community as well as the causes that matter to our team,” she says. Read the Great Place to Work review here. Also read: A Goat-Loving Startup in Austin is Shepherding Talent with Great Culture

NuStar Energy

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Transportation

“It’s a tone set from the top down,” says DJ Rodriguez, a lead compliance auditor, of NuStar’s culture of giving back. Roughly 200 employees at this oil and gas company spent a day helping to transform the campus of Roy Maas Youth Alternatives, a nonprofit that serves children in crisis. Among them were the company’s CEO, who moved mulch with a tractor, and its chairman, who helped to paint a school building. Read the Great Place to Work review here.

Tactical Electronics

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Manufacturing & Production

The Oklahoma-based defense contractor provides workers with 40 hours of annual community service leave and organizes several volunteer events each year. For example, eleven workers from the Broken Arrow office spent a recent day cutting and installing siding on a house for Habitat for Humanity. The programs have “brought our tightknit group closer together, which I didn’t know was possible,” says Micheala Dorrough, the office administrator who also serves on the company’s community service committee. Read the Great Place to Work review here.