This summer, the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School (CBOBS) was excited to be a part of Deloitte’s 25th annual Impact Day. Deloitte volunteers joined staff and students, working together to prepare gear for upcoming expeditions. As an organization, Deloitte U.S provides audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to a range of public and private companies. Most importantly, they have committed to embedding purpose and DEI into every aspect of their culture, with efforts that include a $1.5 billion dollar/10 year investment into advancing social mobility and economic prosperity, especially for those facing the greatest barriers to equity. 1
Jamari Green serves as the Greater Washington Social Impact Activation Lead, under the auspices of Deloitte’s U.S Purpose and DEI Office. She’s also an Advisory Board member here at the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School and took the time to share with us her personal social impact philosophy, how it connects to the missions of Deloitte and of Outward Bound, Deloitte’s history of working with local nonprofits, and the benefits that a corporate-nonprofit partnership can bring to both organizations.
Deloitte has a 25 year long tradition of working with nonprofits. Across the country, their professionals come together to volunteer and make a positive impact in their communities. Jamari says: “it’s not only a way to encourage companies to maintain commitments to corporate social responsibility, but also an opportunity to showcase our own commitment to making an impact that matters.”
“When organizations come together like this, not only does it lead to greater opportunities for impact, but it also leads to efforts and programing that are really sustainable.”
Between our courses, there’s a lot of work to be done at the CBOBS base camp. All of the incoming gear needs to be cleaned, washed, and dried for the next outgoing crew – and the turnaround time is often only 1-2 days. The volunteers from Deloitte spent their day here cleaning and packing clothes, equipment, and prepping vehicles for our expedition team. This time spent working directly with staff and students helps instill a very deep and real sense of community connection, and reinforces the importance of the work we do at Outward Bound.
The volunteers at our base camp weren’t the only volunteers out that day – Jamari oversees over 100 volunteer opportunities in the Baltimore-DC region each year, supporting the efforts of the volunteers and ensuring that Deloitte is providing value to the nonprofit that they are partnering with.
Across the county, that number is even larger. On a national scale, Deloitte partners with over a thousand nonprofits each year. We asked Jamari how they are able to narrow down from the almost 2 million nonprofits that exist in the U.S. “What compels Deloitte to work with a given organization is strong alignment to their values of education and workforce development, health equity, financial inclusion, and sustainability. They look at these priorities and find ways to enhance them in regions where Deloitte employees live and work.”
We know that Deloitte has pledged 1.5 billion dollars to help increase social mobility and economic prosperity. One of the key areas focused on due to that pledge is Social Impact, including Impact Day. We asked Jamari about the value of corporate-nonprofit partnerships and how they justify such a significant investment.
“Honestly, they’re countless. One of the things I can focus on is the opportunities that it fosters for shared vision and a shared sense of purpose, and a shared sense of collaboration. When organizations come together like this, not only does it lead to greater opportunities for impact, but it also leads to efforts and programing that are really sustainable. These opportunities provide valuable resources, expertise and even visibility to a lot of the nonprofits and programs that they are spearheading.”
On the other side of the spectrum, nonprofits offer unique insight, position, and opportunities for corporate employees to engage in meaningful work in the community. That work not only contributes to our employees’ sense of personal purpose, but then also highlights the challenges that we face in our respective communities. The synergy that we see in these relationships helps promote employee satisfaction, retention, and really allows corporations and community organizations to strengthen our community ties.”
Lastly, providing employees with transformative volunteering experiences helps them build their own professional networks outside of their day job. It allows them to explore passions and discover new interests.
Jamari says that she’s found a parallel passion in fostering leadership and personal growth through experiential learning. We asked her to comment specifically on the importance of corporate calendars including a space specifically for youth development focused service opportunities.
“Deloitte prioritizes commitment to education and workforce development, and opportunities to invest in the development of youth. These are the events that really shape young people, especially those from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, and provide them with a chance to enhance their own personal and professional growth. Corporations engaging youth with experiences like development initiatives, mentoring programs, and job shadowing really helps build stronger community relations. It helps create a culture of empathy and strong leadership not just among employees but also in the next generation”
The effects of commitment to youth development ring especially true at CBOBS, where 94% of students report growth in one or more social emotional skills after completing an expedition. 2
Jamari offered up some advice for anyone who is new to, or on the fence about, incorporating nonprofit engagement opportunities into their team’s workflow.
“Consider the impact that nonprofit volunteer opportunities can have on their organization and the community. Assess the challenges you see in your role and the challenges you see in the community. What nonprofits are in the right space to solve these issues? Is there any overlap between these challenges and corporate priorities?
Initiatives contribute both to societal betterment and enhance employee engagement. Integrating volunteer opportunities into the culture of a company helps create purpose among employees. It nurtures a sense of giving and a sense of increased productivity. It promotes a stronger and more cohesive team because people feel that they’re now working for an organization that values not only their own well-being, but it also values their communities’ well-being.
Employees seek out opportunities with organizations that have really made commitments to being socially responsible in their community. Although the challenges in some communities may be large, the benefits of having programs like this really help close the gap on and outweigh the volume of those challenges. It could cause a positive ripple effect that can truly be felt across the entirety of the organization and beyond.”
We ask that you to take some time today to examine the nonprofits in your area, think about the challenges they’re pushing back against, and how you or your organization can help tackle those issues. If you or your team are seeking a nonprofit to partner or engage with, we encourage you consider the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School.