What Is Social Impact, Really? Breaking Down the Buzzword

Part 5 of Deed’s Making it Measurable: Proving the ROI of Impact Series 

Corporate philanthropy is undergoing a transformation. What once centered on annual check-writing and top-down giving strategies is evolving into something more participatory, more personal, and more powerful. Companies are rethinking the role of CSR—not as a side initiative, but as a core lever for culture, brand, and business strategy.

Deed’s series - Purpose Led Giving: A New Era of Corporate Generosity - explores what stakeholders want from corporate giving today—and why those expectations are reshaping the future of CSR. It’s about moving from legacy CSR to employee-led impact: integrating purpose into everyday work, scaling global programs with local relevance, and making it easy for employees to take action in ways that feel authentic, engaging, and meaningful.

The next era of corporate generosity won’t be measured by dollars donated alone, but by how well companies empower their people to drive change from within.

The Buzz Around Social Impact

"Social impact" has become one of the most-used phrases in business and philanthropy over the past decade. It's splashed across mission statements, embedded in ESG reports, and thrown around in boardroom discussions. But despite its ubiquity, the term often lacks clarity. What is social impact, really? Why should organizations—from startups to Fortune 500s—care about it? And how do you create it in a meaningful, measurable way?

At Deed, we define social impact as the positive change an organization or individual creates in their community, society, or environment through deliberate actions. These actions can be philanthropic, operational, or cultural. Let’s unpack this further.

What Social Impact Is (and Isn’t)

Social impact is:

• The outcome of initiatives that improve lives, empower communities, and promote sustainability.
• A combination of internal (employee engagement, ethical operations) and external (community programs, partnerships) practices.
• Measurable, though not always easy to quantify.

It’s not:

• Just giving money to charity.
• A marketing tool with no substance.
• Something that lives solely in your CSR or HR department.

The Business Case for Social Impact

Social impact isn’t just a moral obligation—it’s a strategic advantage. When companies embed purpose into their operations and empower employees to take action, they unlock tangible business value across:

• Brand trust and customer loyalty
• Employee retention and engagement
• Investor and stakeholder confidence
• Regulatory and ESG compliance readiness
  

It’s not about adding more to your plate—it’s about aligning what you do with why you do it.

Real-World Examples of Social Impact

Companies like Patagonia, Salesforce, and Microsoft are consistently ranked among the best places to work—and they all have strong social impact initiatives at their core.

1. Patagonia: Donates 1% of sales ($140 million and counting) to environmental nonprofits, provides paid time off for activism, and has built a brand entirely around sustainability. The company even transferred ownership to a trust that ensures all profits are used to combat climate change.
2. Salesforce: Pioneered the 1-1-1 model (1% equity, 1% product, 1% time) for philanthropy and encourages employees to give back with VTO (Volunteer Time Off). In 2022, Salesforce employees logged over 7 million volunteer hours globally.
3. Microsoft: Through its employee giving program, Microsoft employees—past and present—have donated over $3 billion since the first Give campaign, and contributed the equivalent of 1,277 years of volunteering to 36,000 organizations globally (Microsoft). In 2024 alone, Microsoft employees donated $255 million and logged over 1.2 million volunteer hours worldwide (Microsoft).
4. Zuora: Zuora, a cloud-based business for recurring revenues, partnered with Deed to launch a regionally personalized giving campaign. With targeted messaging and cause-matching features, Zuora achieved 70% employee participation.  

Measuring Social Impact

Impact isn’t always easy to measure, but it’s essential to try. Here are a few key metrics:

• Employee Engagement: Participation rates in giving/volunteering programs, employee satisfaction scores, internal NPS.
• Community Impact: Number of hours volunteered, dollars donated, number of lives impacted, partnerships formed.
• ESG Benchmarks: Progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), diversity metrics, environmental impact reductions (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions and CO2 offsets).

Tools like the B Impact Assessment, ESG scorecards, and platforms like Deed make it easier to track and report on these outcomes.

How Deed Helps Companies Create Real Impact

Deed is a social impact platform designed for the modern workplace. We help companies:

• Curate meaningful volunteering and giving opportunities
• Match employees with causes they care about
• Track and report on impact data through dynamic dashboards
• Empower a culture of giving from the bottom up—not just from the C-suite

It’s Time to Go Beyond the Buzzword

If your organization is ready to turn good intentions into great outcomes, social impact is your roadmap. From engaging employees to strengthening community ties, impact isn't just the right thing to do—it's the smart thing.

At Deed, we’re here to help you make it measurable, actionable, and authentic.

Want to explore how your team can do well by doing good? Let’s talk.