Corporate citizenship is experiencing its most significant evolution in more than ten years. Today, it’s no longer sufficient for organizations to simply operate social impact initiatives. Companies are now expected to prove that their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are purposeful, tightly aligned with business priorities, focused on measurable outcomes, and genuinely embedded into everyday operations.
Insights from the Benevity Impact Labs 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report—which analyzed proprietary data from the giving, volunteering, and grantmaking programs of over 1,000 global companies—show that nearly two-thirds of organizations meaningfully recalibrated their purpose strategies in the past year. Heightened stakeholder expectations, increasingly polarized social conversations, regulatory uncertainty, and intensifying competition for talent are all driving this shift. Together, these forces shape both the risks and opportunities organizations must address as they plan their CSR and ESG strategies for 2026.
The 2025 findings highlight several key takeaways for senior leaders and impact practitioners as they look ahead.
Navigating the new risk landscape: Finding balance between restraint and resolve
As purpose strategies become more sophisticated and regulatory scrutiny grows, companies are confronting a widening disconnect between executive caution and employee activism.
The data illustrates this tension clearly: 52% of leaders anticipate that CEOs will reduce public commentary on divisive social issues, while 76% expect employee-led advocacy to increase in the coming year. Although leadership silence may be intended to limit external risk, it can inadvertently create internal brand challenges. When organizations refrain from taking positions, employees often step in—launching grassroots initiatives without formal oversight, guidance, or compliance support.
As a result, the emphasis must move away from public statements and toward operational integrity—how impact work is executed internally and reflected externally. Benevity’s data shows CSR teams collaborating more closely than ever with other functions, particularly executive leadership, legal, HR, and communications, with the steepest growth occurring in communications partnerships.
Deep integration across these teams is now essential to ensure consistent, credible storytelling around impact results and organizational values—rather than reactive messaging tied to social or political flashpoints. This alignment is especially critical given how quickly both employees and consumers have responded to perceived inaction over the past year.
As Andrew Jones, Principal Researcher at The Conference Board’s Governance & Sustainability Center, noted on the Speaking of Purpose podcast, many leaders underestimate expectations: silence on contentious topics may be interpreted not as neutrality, but as avoidance—particularly by employees, younger consumers, and investors.
Employee-driven priorities: Building resilience through participation
According to SHRM’s 2025 Talent Trends report, hiring challenges remain acute, with 69% of organizations struggling to fill permanent roles. In this environment, purpose programs have become a vital lever for workforce stability and retention. Benevity’s data confirms a strong correlation between employee participation in purpose initiatives and improved retention—especially among newer employees.
Key insights include:
Retention: Employees in the early stages of their tenure who engage in purpose programs are 52% less likely to leave. Trust and belonging: 91% of employees and leaders consider Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) a key component of the employer value proposition, while 87% see ERGs as a trusted source of information amid heightened DEI debate. Insights from the Benevity Impact Labs 2025 State of Corporate Purpose Report—which analyzed proprietary data from the giving, volunteering, and grantmaking programs of over 1,000 global companies—show that nearly two-thirds of organizations meaningfully recalibrated their purpose strategies in the past year. Heightened stakeholder expectations, increasingly polarized social conversations, regulatory uncertainty, and intensifying competition for talent are all driving this shift. Together, these forces shape both the risks and opportunities organizations must address as they plan their CSR and ESG strategies for 2026.
The 2025 findings highlight several key takeaways for senior leaders and impact practitioners as they look ahead.
Navigating the new risk landscape: Finding balance between restraint and resolve
As purpose strategies become more sophisticated and regulatory scrutiny grows, companies are confronting a widening disconnect between executive caution and employee activism.
The data illustrates this tension clearly: 52% of leaders anticipate that CEOs will reduce public commentary on divisive social issues, while 76% expect employee-led advocacy to increase in the coming year. Although leadership silence may be intended to limit external risk, it can inadvertently create internal brand challenges. When organizations refrain from taking positions, employees often step in—launching grassroots initiatives without formal oversight, guidance, or compliance support.
As a result, the emphasis must move away from public statements and toward operational integrity—how impact work is executed internally and reflected externally. Benevity’s data shows CSR teams collaborating more closely than ever with other functions, particularly executive leadership, legal, HR, and communications, with the steepest growth occurring in communications partnerships.
Deep integration across these teams is now essential to ensure consistent, credible storytelling around impact results and organizational values—rather than reactive messaging tied to social or political flashpoints. This alignment is especially critical given how quickly both employees and consumers have responded to perceived inaction over the past year.
As Andrew Jones, Principal Researcher at The Conference Board’s Governance & Sustainability Center, noted on the Speaking of Purpose podcast, many leaders underestimate expectations: silence on contentious topics may be interpreted not as neutrality, but as avoidance—particularly by employees, younger consumers, and investors.
Employee-driven priorities: Building resilience through participation
According to SHRM’s 2025 Talent Trends report, hiring challenges remain acute, with 69% of organizations struggling to fill permanent roles. In this environment, purpose programs have become a vital lever for workforce stability and retention. Benevity’s data confirms a strong correlation between employee participation in purpose initiatives and improved retention—especially among newer employees.
Key insights include:
The resurgence of volunteering: Strengthening engagement and well-being
Volunteer programs are increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of organizational resilience, with 94% of companies affirming their positive impact. Notably, volunteering stands out as the only workplace initiative—among 90 evaluated—that demonstrated a positive effect on employee well-being and sense of belonging.
With the United Nations designating 2026 as the International Year of Volunteering, organizations have a timely opportunity to expand their efforts. Benevity data indicates that volunteering participation has grown steadily since post-pandemic reopening and is projected to rise by approximately 11% in 2025. Companies are shifting toward more intentional, high-impact formats, including skills-based, team-based, and virtual volunteering—approaches well-suited to hybrid and remote work environments.
Refining grantmaking strategies: Emphasizing trust and capacity
Grantmaking practices are also adapting to meet evolving needs. Across the ecosystem, companies are placing greater emphasis on flexibility, trust, and long-term capacity building.
Notable trends include:
Changing focus areas: While support for BIPOC-led organizations and climate justice remains important, growth in these areas has slowed as companies expand funding for broader priorities such as STEM education, disaster relief, and community-based initiatives. Strengthening infrastructure: Funding for nonprofit capacity building and community development surged, rising from ninth to fourth among top grantmaking priorities—reflecting a growing recognition that organizational infrastructure is essential to long-term impact. Addressing funding shortfalls: As government support fluctuates, unrestricted and flexible grants have become increasingly critical, enabling nonprofits to respond quickly to emerging needs while giving funders greater confidence in overall effectiveness. Volunteer programs are increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of organizational resilience, with 94% of companies affirming their positive impact. Notably, volunteering stands out as the only workplace initiative—among 90 evaluated—that demonstrated a positive effect on employee well-being and sense of belonging.
With the United Nations designating 2026 as the International Year of Volunteering, organizations have a timely opportunity to expand their efforts. Benevity data indicates that volunteering participation has grown steadily since post-pandemic reopening and is projected to rise by approximately 11% in 2025. Companies are shifting toward more intentional, high-impact formats, including skills-based, team-based, and virtual volunteering—approaches well-suited to hybrid and remote work environments.
Refining grantmaking strategies: Emphasizing trust and capacity
Grantmaking practices are also adapting to meet evolving needs. Across the ecosystem, companies are placing greater emphasis on flexibility, trust, and long-term capacity building.
Notable trends include:
Despite progress, the Benevity Grants Confidence Gap Report reveals a persistent disconnect: while 74% of grantmakers follow best practices, only 51% believe they are doing so effectively. Bridging this gap requires stronger trust-based approaches, clearer communication, and closer alignment with stakeholder expectations.
Preparing for 2026: A strategic roadmap
To successfully navigate this period of transformation, corporate citizenship leaders should prioritize data-driven decision-making anchored in accountability and engagement.
Key strategic actions include:
Integrating purpose into talent strategies: Embed participation data into HR metrics such as performance reviews and retention analysis, and provide ERGs with dedicated funding and influence over grant decisions. Expanding high-impact volunteering: Invest in structured skills-based and pro bono opportunities, leverage the UN Year of Volunteering for momentum, and ensure programs are accessible to hybrid and remote employees. Strengthening grant confidence: Adopt trust-based grantmaking practices, including multi-year and unrestricted funding, while improving tools to track and communicate outcomes. Using communications as a strategic asset: Collaborate early with corporate communications to clearly articulate why specific issues matter to the organization and how employees are driving impact—prioritizing outcomes over statements. Ensuring sustained support: Move beyond seasonal giving campaigns by promoting year-round payroll giving, recurring donations, and enhanced peer-matching to amplify employee contributions. Preparing for 2026: A strategic roadmap
To successfully navigate this period of transformation, corporate citizenship leaders should prioritize data-driven decision-making anchored in accountability and engagement.
Key strategic actions include:
The transformation of corporate citizenship into a fully integrated, enterprise-wide strategy is now complete. In 2026 and beyond, the organizations that lead will be those that harness real-time data to activate purpose at work—delivering authentic, employee-driven programs that align with core values, strengthen communities, engage stakeholders, and contribute meaningfully to business performance. These companies won’t just succeed in the near term; they will position themselves to thrive well beyond 2026.