For Black History Month 2024, here's how to engage employees in workplace giving and volunteering.  

Introduction

Why is it so difficult to create an effective social impact program around Black History Month? 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of vast social inequality. As your organization's social impact program leader, it’s up to you to find meaningful and doable opportunities for you, your employees, and your organization to make a difference. 

That’s hard work. But remember: Making good deeds a part of everyday life will have a tangible and direct effect on equality in the U.S. and around the world. 

Which is why Deed’s Black History Month employee engagement toolkit includes hand-crafted nonprofit recommendations, volunteer opportunities, ERG event ideas, and more. Our goal is to help you make it fun, easy, and rewarding for your employees to share their time, money, and skills with causes that matter to them. 

Deed’s Black History Month employee engagement toolkit includes hand-crafted nonprofit recommendations, volunteer opportunities, ERG event ideas, and more. 

What is Deed’s “Cause of the Month” initiative?

Deed launched our “Cause of the Month” initiative in response to the important moments we see happening in the world around us. With our toolkits, we aim to inspire our client-partners and rally employees to become volunteers, donors, and leaders by supporting causes they really care about. 

With “Cause of the Month,” we aim to bring greater context to periods of observance—from Pride Month to Women's History Month—such that anyone who reads our toolkit will have a clear plan of action for how to maintain their support today, tomorrow, for the rest of the month, and throughout the year. 

What will I get in every “Cause of the Month” toolkit? 

While every “Cause of the Month” toolkit has unique insights and engagement opportunities relevant to each particular cause, you can always expect us to cover certain areas.

For a better idea of what you’ll be getting, here’s what’s included in our Breast Cancer Awareness Month toolkit: 

• Volunteering and giving opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.
• A calendar of awareness days in October.
• Employee and employee resource group (ERG) engagement ideas, as well as a walkthrough of how to craft a social impact campaign around Breast Cancer Awareness.
• Recommendations of worthwhile books, podcasts, and films that explore the science of breast cancer and advocacy for better patient outcomes
  

Three things your organization should do this Black History Month to demonstrate your authentic commitment to uplifting Black communities 

1. Devote your workplace giving and volunteering programs to nonprofits you genuinely believe in. 

2. Give your employees flexible engagement options. Some may want to share their time and money, while others want to share the skills you have nurtured.

3. Support Black-owned restaurants with a team lunch/dinner outing. You could also invite a Black-owned food truck to your workspace. This is a great (and delicious) way to build lasting, local relationships. 

With Deed, your organization can do all of this and more. With our inclusive, user-friendly platform, your organization's Black History Month program can engage more employees in social impact than ever before.

Deed makes it fun and easy for millions of employees to share their time, money, and talent with causes they care about. We started as a viral volunteering app, and today our platform gives the world’s most inspiring brands—from Airbnb to lululemon—one exceptionally-designed home for all of their purpose-driven activities.

Corporate grantmaking, employee donations/matching, diversity & inclusion, and employee resource groups (ERGs) are only the beginning. Because over the past three to five years, everyone’s expectations for Fortune 500 corporate social responsibility have radically changed. But with our trusted integration partners like Workday and PayPal, hand-in-hand customer service, and a collaborative product team, Deed’s platform moves at the speed of work. 

To work with a true partner in social impact this February, reach out now and receive the full “Cause of the Month: Black History Month” toolkit.