CSR Resilience Playbook

April 10, 2025

Introduction

As uncertainty around U.S. policy and federal funding continues, many nonprofits are feeling the pressure — and so are the companies that support them. A recent analysis from Candid and The Urban Institute shows that two-thirds of nonprofits receiving government grants would face deficits if this funding were lost, impacting their ability to deliver essential services to communities.

We’ve heard from our client community that meeting the moment requires thoughtful, strategic action. In response, we’ve developed this playbook to answer your questions and provide actionable steps you can take across giving and grantmaking, volunteering, risk management, communications and demonstrating program ROI. Our goal is to help you stay aligned with your mission, values and long-term impact goals amidst regulatory and funding uncertainty.

Giving and grantmaking

If you’re getting urgent requests for funding from your nonprofit partners, you’re not alone. New research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy shows that 66% of nonprofit leaders say the most pressing concerns they are facing right now are around decreases in and uncertainty around funding.

How can my company or corporate foundation help bridge these funding gaps?

Run a matching campaign. If you’ve recently launched an employee giving campaign, consider adding a corporate matching component to boost participation and amplify impact. It sends a clear message that your company stands behind your nonprofit partners and the causes your people care about. If your matching budget is exhausted, explore emergency relief or other discretionary funds that can be reallocated.

Matching campaign news article template

This template will help you create a news article to promote your matching campaign. Feel free to customize the content for your program. We suggest linking your giving opportunities within this communication to help drive engagement and track participation.

If you’re a Benevity client, you can access this ready-to-go news article through your admin dashboard to quickly set up your own matching campaign.

Title: Help nonprofits navigate funding uncertainty

Body: The past few weeks have been turbulent for nonprofits, and while the immediate threat of a U.S. federal funding freeze has passed, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. The best thing we can do right now is offer sustained support to the nonprofits we care about. Nearly one-third of nonprofits receive federal funding, amounting to over $300 billion annually. If policy changes or another funding freeze occurs, it would put incredible pressure on nonprofits – affecting both short and long-term planning to manage cash flow, budgets and ability to operate.

Let’s be proactive, band together and take action. We encourage you to donate what you can and we will be offering a [X:X] match. Please also consider making a recurring donation that offers ongoing support.

Together we can help sustain the vital work of nonprofits who are working to build safe, sustainable and just communities.

Give: Check out our giving opportunity for a list of nonprofits to support. {Add nonprofits and link to giving opportunities within your program’s platform}

Accelerate your granting. Embrace trust-based philanthropy by providing flexible, unrestricted funding that enables nonprofits to direct resources where they’re needed most. Some companies and foundations are also releasing bridge grants, continuation funds and emergency relief support – while actively assessing nonprofit needs to better support their partners as they adapt to changes.

Volunteering

In addition to funding, which is the most urgent need for nonprofits right now, volunteering is a good way to offer well-rounded support. And it’s a powerful lever for building more resilient companies and cultures in times of increasing change and unpredictability. A study in the Industrial Relations Journal found that among 90 interventions, volunteering was the only one linked to a positive impact on employee well-being, mental health and belonging.

How can my company lean into volunteering as a resilience strategy and provide support to nonprofits?

Give your employees choice in where and how they can volunteer. It may be tempting to focus only on “high-value volunteering” for specific nonprofit partners, pillars or regulatory reporting. But you may dilute the overall positive business impact that open-choice volunteering offers. A combination of focused opportunities, plus broad choice, can and should be fostered to achieve the greatest benefits. Our data shows that 97% of impact leaders say that volunteering helps strengthen communities, and 93% say it helps individual resilience.

Utilize or introduce volunteer rewards. Programs like Dollars for Doers recognize employees’ contributions by offering financial incentives they can direct to a nonprofit of their choice. Currently, 60% of our clients offer volunteer rewards – and companies with these programs see 50% higher average volunteer hours per employee. Rewards are an effective lever to drive participation and offer employees multiple avenues to support nonprofits during a period of inflation and rising costs of living.

Risk management and mitigation

The role of social impact professionals is evolving – becoming more complex as it now intersects with more areas of the business and requires more cross-functional collaboration with legal, risk, brand and HR teams. Heightened scrutiny has shifted the focus of CSR from purely values-driven to work that must carefully balance impact with risk and regulation.

How can my company manage reputational and compliance risk in our program while maintaining employee engagement?

Develop a risk assessment matrix. Some companies are approaching decision-making in the current context similarly to disaster and crisis relief response, collaborating with peers across legal, compliance and corporate communications to build risk assessment frameworks.

To help guide your response, we’ve put together a risk assessment matrix template you can adapt to meet your company’s needs and risk tolerance.

Criteria	Low (1)	Medium (2)	High (3)	Very High (4)
Proximity & Impact to Company	Minimal impact on operations, assets or employees	Minor impact on operations, assets or a small subset of employees	Moderate impact on operations, assets or a significant portion of employees	Major disruption to operations, severe asset damage or widespread employee impact
Geographical Scale & Scope	Local or regional impact	National impact	Regional or international impact with significant human and infrastructure damage	Global scale with widespread impact
Reputational Risk of Inaction	Minimal reputational risk	Some reputational risk, particularly if the organization has operations in the affected area	Significant reputational risk due to the scale of the event and public expectations	Severe reputational risk due to the organization's size, industry or past commitments
Media Response & Societal Impact	Limited media coverage, minimal societal impact	Moderate media attention, some societal impact	Widespread media coverage, significant societal impact	Intense media scrutiny, global societal impact
Impact to Individuals & Communities	Minimal impact to communities or individuals	Some impact (e.g., reduced access to services or programs)	Significant impact (e.g., loss of essential services or programs)	Catastrophic impact (e.g., severe, long-term risk to individuals if there’s no access to services or programs)
Relevance to ERGs	Not relevant to ERGs	One or two ERGs may have a connection	Several ERGs have a strong connection to the affected communities	Directly impacts multiple ERGs and their members
Leadership Interest	Minimal leadership interest	Moderate leadership interest	Significant leadership interest and support	High-level leadership prioritization and engagement
TOTAL SCORE

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Practice due diligence while managing open giving programs. While scrutiny has some leaders considering adding restrictions in their giving programs, inclusion is important in polarizing times. Restricting choice too much or strictly aligning to your corporate pillars can lead to decreases in employee engagement. Companies can strike the balance of inclusion and compliance that’s right for them by maintaining broad, open programs and in some cases introducing filtering based on National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) codes.

Stay ahead of emerging risks. Benevity offers proactive risk management services like Adverse Media Alerts which screen nonprofits who received donations within the last nine months for negative media coverage. This service provides real-time alerts on potential risks and early detection of organizations involved in legal, ethical or financial issues so you can take action as needed. If you’re interested in adding Adverse Media Alerts to your program, reach out to your Client Success Manager.

Communications

Effective communication is essential for building and maintaining trust. This year, corporate communications will become an even more critical investment for leaders – both in how companies share their social impact commitments externally and how they communicate internally about supporting inclusive programs with a risk-adjusted lens.

Many companies are striking a balance between supporting open programs and mitigating risk by reviewing their program guidelines, granting agreements and language, and overall marketing and communications strategies.

How can I communicate program updates to my employees?

Review your program guidelines. If your company is revisiting your giving or volunteering strategy this year, be clear and transparent about what you will and will not support in your program guidelines and internal communications.

Assess program language. Maintain a clear commitment to your corporate purpose and values while being mindful of using terms that may be under scrutiny. If necessary, consider reframing your goals using impact-based language that enables you to emphasize your program outcomes.

Create a centralized FAQ. Prepare a list of common questions with clear answers to address employee concerns around program eligibility updates or language changes. Hosting this on your intranet will help streamline communication and ensure everyone has access to the most up-to-date information.

Keep employees in the loop. If you’re revising your program guidelines, communicate proactively. Explain what’s changing, why and how it aligns to your company’s values.

Need help getting started? Here’s an internal communications template you can adapt.

Internal communications program update template

Title: Updates to our corporate giving and volunteering program guidelines

Body: Whether you’re giving to a nonprofit or volunteering in your community, we want your experience to be meaningful and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

As part of our commitment to making a positive social impact through [Company Name’s] giving and volunteering initiatives, we’ve updated our program guidelines to align with the changing regulatory landscape in the U.S. These updates ensure we remain compliant while upholding our corporate values, commitment to employee choice and the nonprofits that matter to you.

Here’s what’s new:

· Enhanced vetting of nonprofit partners to align with federal compliance requirements
· Increased transparency of [Company Name’s] program eligibility for nonprofit partners and employees, promoting more
inclusive access to participation
· Detailed program overview guidelines and instructions on how you can make an impact

We know these updates may raise questions. That’s why we’ve created an [FAQ] to explain what’s new and how it may impact your giving or volunteering.

Thank you for your continued passion, generosity and commitment to creating an impact.

[Signoff]

How can I communicate updates with my nonprofit partners?

CEP’s research snapshot shows nonprofit leaders are seeking more communication from their foundation funders, but most have not yet communicated about these issues. If you haven’t yet been in touch with your most valued nonprofit partners, now is the time. Reach out to them directly to understand what their needs are right now, share updates on your company’s approach to funding and reaffirm your commitment to helping them continue to create impact.

Demonstrating the value of CSR

Social impact programs aren’t just integral for creating societal change, they’re a strategic investment and proven lever to future-proof your business. 92% of leaders surveyed in the 2025 State of Corporate Purpose report say they are investing because it’s good for business and 88% say their impact strategy is future-proofing their business.

How can I prove the value of my social impact program?

Focus on the ROI. Identify the most critical metrics that demonstrate the ROI of your program. This may look different for every organization, but consider starting with these two categories:

Research from Benevity Impact Labs revealed a positive relationship between companies with higher levels of participation in purpose programs on the Benevity platform and employer brand perception measures on Glassdoor.

Companies in the highest quartile of participation showed:

· Higher CEO approval rating: companies with the highest purpose program participation had a nearly 10% higher average CEO approval score compared to those with the lowest participation.

· Greater likelihood to recommend the company: the top quartile of companies by participation had a ‘likelihood to recommend’ score 7% higher than the bottom quartile.

· Better rating on compensation and benefits: actively supporting purpose programs and increased participation levels are correlated with 7% higher perceptions of the total rewards and compensation package at a company.

Moving forward with purpose

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to navigate the current landscape, each company can chart the path that’s right for them by grounding decisions in their values, mission and risk tolerance level – and identifying where alignment exists.

As many nonprofits face growing uncertainty about their survivability, maintaining commitment to purpose is more important than ever. It’s with this focus that we can continue to meaningfully support our nonprofit partners and the communities they serve.

If you’re a Benevity client, connect with your Client Success Manager for more best practices for creating a risk-adjusted strategy.