What does it take to turn employee enthusiasm for doing good into a sustainable, scalable movement? At Deed’s recent webinar “From Spark to Movement,” CSR leaders from Ford Motor Company and HMH pulled back the curtain on their evolving volunteer ambassador networks—what’s working, what they’re still figuring out, and how they’re fueling grassroots impact from the ground up.
Below are some of the biggest takeaways from the conversation with Stephanie Smith, Ford’s Global Volunteer Engagement Lead, and Katie Callahan, CSR Program Manager at HMH.
Both leaders emphasized the importance of piloting before scaling. Ford is currently in year one of a formal volunteer ambassador pilot, while HMH has spent over a decade building its grassroots CARES Councils.
Ford is starting with U.S. salaried employees, assessing engagement, and planning a global rollout over time. HMH, on the other hand, now has a robust structure of regional CARES Councils with defined roles (chair, awareness lead, treasurer, secretary, etc.)—a testament to what’s possible with sustained commitment.
Pro tip: Pilot for at least 6–12 months to gather meaningful feedback, build trust, and refine your approach before launching company-wide.
The structure of a volunteer network matters. At Ford, volunteer ambassadors host events and spread the word locally, while chairs lead regional coordination and communication. HMH assigns specific council roles, such as “awareness lead,” the position title for employees trained to send branded, uniform communications to support impact efforts.
Recognition is key: Both companies emphasized non-monetary forms of appreciation—storytelling in newsletters, thank-you emails CC’ing managers, leadership shoutouts, and donation credits through Deed.
“Sometimes the best recognition is free,” said Katie. “A manager CC’d on a thank-you email can go a long way.”
Especially in a post-pandemic, hybrid world, a one-size-fits-all model doesn’t cut it. Stephanie stressed the need to flex expectations—for example, setting a goal of 10+ volunteers per event, but adjusting for team size and location.
Katie echoed that geography isn’t always the best organizing principle anymore. As HMH grows more remote, it’s exploring non-geographic CARES Councils to keep engagement high among distributed teams.
Established processes support sustainable growth. Both leaders emphasized:
Stephanie noted that many teams at Ford were previously tracking hours in SharePoint or Excel, and that simply centralizing data in Deed is a big step forward.
“If your CEO is blocking their calendar to volunteer, the rest of the company will follow,” said Katie.
At HMH, the CEO personally sends the Volunteer Week calendar hold—and joins events himself!
Ford is still piloting ways to engage and excite deskless and union-represented workers, including visiting plants and exploring creative approaches, such as in-breakroom events and digital signage.
Reflecting on their journeys, both leaders shared advice for those just getting started:
The path from a few champions to a full-blown movement is different for every company, but some things hold true across the board: Start small, stay flexible, and recognize your people.
As Katie put it, “Your volunteer network isn’t just an event planning team. They’re building something bigger than themselves.”
Want to learn more about how Deed powers grassroots employee engagement through tools like volunteering, donating, and employee resource groups?