Volunteering for various causes is a ₹7,500 crore opportunity for India Inc

Mumbai: India Inc's employees volunteering for various causes is a ₹7,500 crore opportunity, according to a study by India Welfare Trust. 

Among the top 100 firms in India that were surveyed, 78% reported employee participation in volunteering programmes, while only 26% reported the number of volunteers, and 39% reported the number of volunteering hours, as per the report ‘Volunteering in 100 Top Companies in India’.

"In aggregate, the 100 Top companies in India employed 5 million+ employees in India, reported 400,000 plus annual volunteers and 5 million plus annual volunteering hours. At these levels, we estimate there is a 5x-10x potential to scale volunteering in corporate India," the study by the Trust, which seed funds and advises voluntary groups, said.

The study highlights that volunteering work could lead to more engaged employees. "Studies have shown that volunteering can improve employee well-being and skills, while corporates can also benefit from increased employee productivity, engagement and retention," said the report.

However, only 16% of the 100 top companies have a formal volunteering policy. The report highlighted that Tata Group, Mahindra Group are some of the conglomerates that have dedicated corporate volunteering days, weeks or even months.

Some of the companies with the most generous volunteering time-off policies in India include Cisco with 10 days, salesforce with 7 days, and Titan with 6 days.

The report found the difference in volunteering hours between countries like US and India. It noted that about 22% of the top 100 companies provided volunteering time off in India compared with 66% of companies in the U.S.