Employee volunteering in India has evolved into a strategic driver of large-scale social impact, skills, and employee engagement. According to Goodera’s VQ Report 2025, 31 per cent of the workforce in Indian companies have participated in a volunteering activity in the last year, surpassing the global benchmark of 22 per cent.
Smaller firms, with fewer than 5,000 employees, are leading this trend, with 44 per cent workforce participation rate. Sector leaders include technology (35%), and financial services (31%). This is also underscored by 3.5 hours per volunteer on average, reflecting both depth of engagement and consistency across programmes.
This phenomenon is being fuelled by demographic and cultural shifts, worsening mental health at workplaces, and organisational enablers such as volunteering platforms, policies and flagship volunteering campaigns.
India’s workforce is one of the youngest in the world, with Gen Z and millennials together accounting for nearly 75 per cent of employees. This younger workforce values purpose at work as much as paychecks, seeking opportunities to grow skills, connect with peers, and contribute to meaningful causes. For them, volunteering is a pathway to personal growth, purpose-driven leadership, and community connection.
Mental health challenges and workplace loneliness are now global concerns, and India is no exception. More than 50 per cent of Indian employees report operating in survival mode, driven by excessive workloads and a diminished sense of belonging. A landmark Oxford study by William Fleming underscores this trend, highlighting how volunteering improves mental health, combats loneliness, and builds stronger workplace culture. With more employees reporting stress and disconnection at work, volunteering is emerging as a proven lever to foster belonging and wellbeing while allowing people to give back to society.
The VQ Report also shows that access drives action. Companies offering formal enablers see significantly higher participation:
● Volunteering Time-Off (VTO): raises workforce participation by 2x
● Matching grants: increase participation from 21 per cent to 60 per cent (2.9x).
● Giving platforms: lifts participation from 30 per cent to 43 per cent.
● Flagship volunteering campaigns: drives participation from 27 per cent to 40 per cent.
Overall, workforce participation is 2x higher in companies with these enablers compared to peers without them, proving that structured support is key to scaling employee volunteering.
“Organizations with a substantial young, Indian workforce are showing the world that volunteering is more than charity. It’s a catalyst for development, a bridge to social progress, and the glue that connects people at work,” said Abhishek Humbad, Founder & CEO, Goodera.
City-Level Trends
Volunteering in India is also taking on a distinctly local flavor, with different cities shaping the movement in unique ways. According to the VQ Report 2025, Bengaluru records the highest volunteer turnout per event with an average of 65 volunteers, followed closely by Pune (61) and Chennai (60). These tech-driven hubs have emerged as the strongest centers of employee mobilisation, reflecting their younger, innovation-focused workforces.
Driving Societal Priorities Cause areas reflect India’s development priorities and SDG focus:
● Education (~47%) anchors volunteering throughout the year (foundational literacy, STEM, career-readiness).
● Environment (~21%) is the clear runner-up, with spikes in Q2 (Earth Day, pre-monsoon tree-planting).
● Health & Wellbeing rises in Q2–Q3 around World Health Day and wellness campaigns.
● Community welfare and elderly care surge in Q3–Q4, aligning with Daan Utsav, Diwali, and festival relief.
● Women-focused and Diversity and Inclusion programmes cluster in Q1–Q2 with International Women’s Day and new-year diversity drives.
Each organisation has their own needs aligned to their values, CSR strategy, geographical presence, and workforce mix. Goodera partners with 500+ companies globally and 150+ companies in India to curate the volunteering programs as per these needs. Over the past 1 year in India, Goodera supported:
– A Fortune 500 technology company reach over 10,000 students through STEM outreach programmes.
– One of the world’s largest software enterprises mobilise 50,000+ employees to plant a million trees.
– A global consumer goods giant improve living conditions for 20,000+ people through hygiene initiatives.
Together, these examples highlight how multinational corporations are designing volunteering programmes with measurable, large-scale impact at their core.
Future Outlook
Corporate volunteering is entering a new era defined by technological innovation, networked leadership, and unyielding commitment to sustainability—reshaping how organizations mobilize employees, measure impact, and drive long-term social value.
– Sustainability-aligned volunteering will integrate seamlessly with ESG frameworks and UN Sustainable Development Goals, allowing companies to quantify social and environmental returns and enhance stakeholder trust through transparent reporting
– Skills-based volunteering will transition from pilot to mainstream, leveraging employee expertise in digital, financial, and strategic consulting to deliver high-impact pro bono projects that generate measurable community outcomes.
– Champion Networks are becoming a cornerstone of program success, with peer-led squads driving deeper ownership and more consistent engagement across business units
– AI-powered matching and automation tools will streamline program administration, personalize opportunity recommendations, and deliver real-time impact tracking, enabling volunteer managers to focus on strategic growth rather than logistics
Source – https://www.bwpeople.in/article/india-beats-global-benchmark-in-employee-volunteering-report-577880