The Uncomfortable Truth About Corporate Volunteering: It’s Time to Talk About Power

Non-Profits, Transformative Volunteering

Let’s be honest: most of us got into corporate social impact because we wanted to make the world better. We believed in the power of business to drive positive change. And in many ways, we’ve succeeded. But there’s an elephant in the room we need to address – one that’s been quietly undermining our best intentions.

Here’s the thing about corporate volunteering: despite our aspirations to create transformative change, we often end up reinforcing the very power imbalances we’re trying to dismantle. It’s not because we’re failing at execution. It’s because we haven’t questioned the fundamental assumptions baked into how we design these programs.

The Architecture of Power

Think about your last volunteer program design session. Who was in the room? Probably corporate stakeholders, program managers, maybe some nonprofit partners. But where were the community members who would be impacted by these decisions? If they weren’t there from the start, we’ve already created our first power imbalance.

This isn’t about feeling guilty – it’s about getting real about how we might be accidentally perpetuating systems that keep communities dependent rather than building their capacity for self-determination. Here’s what this looks like in practice:

The Expert Trap

Picture this: A tech company sends their best engineers to “fix” a nonprofit’s systems. Sounds great, right? Except nobody asked the nonprofit staff about their actual needs, their existing workflows, or their capacity to maintain whatever solution gets implemented. The result? A sophisticated system that creates more problems than it solves, and a nonprofit that now depends on corporate volunteers for basic operations.

The Story Struggle

We love sharing impact stories. But whose stories are we telling, and who gets to tell them? Too often, we frame narratives around corporate heroes swooping in to save the day, inadvertently diminishing the agency and expertise of community leaders who have been doing this work long before we showed up.

The Resource Riddle

Ever notice how our funding cycles rarely align with community needs? We push for quick wins and measurable outcomes while community partners quietly reshape their priorities to match our timelines. It’s philanthropy’s version of the tail wagging the dog.

Flipping the Script

So what does it look like when we intentionally design for shared power? Here’s where it gets interesting:

Start With Questions, Not Solutions

Before jumping into program design, try this: Host community listening sessions where corporate representatives aren’t allowed to propose solutions. Their only job is to listen and learn. It’s uncomfortable. It’s meant to be. That discomfort is the feeling of real transformation beginning.

Reimagine Expertise

What if we valued community wisdom as much as corporate credentials? This means paying community experts for their knowledge, citing their expertise in our reports, and letting them lead program design sessions. It means acknowledging that someone with 20 years of lived experience might know more about effective solutions than someone with an MBA.

Share the Stage

Instead of corporate communications crafting the narrative, create platforms for community partners to tell their own stories, in their own words. Better yet, provide resources for them to develop their own communications channels and reach their own audiences.

Making It Real: A Practical Framework

Here’s a starter kit for examining power dynamics in your programs:

  1. Map the Money
  • Who controls the budget?
  • Who sets spending priorities?
  • How much flexibility do community partners have?
  • What strings are attached to resources?
  1. Track the Decisions
  • Who’s in the room when strategies are set?
  • Whose approval is needed for changes?
  • How are conflicts resolved?
  • Where does community input enter the process?
  1. Follow the Story
  • Who shapes the narrative?
  • Whose perspective gets centered?
  • How is impact defined and measured?
  • Who has editorial control?

The Path Forward

This isn’t about dismantling corporate volunteering – it’s about evolving it into something more equitable and effective. Here’s what that might look like:

Immediate Actions

  • Audit your current programs using the framework above
  • Create paid positions for community advisors
  • Redistribute decision-making power
  • Redesign measurement systems with community input

Longer-term Shifts

  • Build new governance models that share power
  • Develop flexible funding approaches
  • Create platforms for community-led initiatives
  • Invest in long-term capacity building

Inspire, Train and Educate your employees with the Transformative Approach

Engage Chris Jarvis, Realized Worth Co-Founder & CSO, to inspire and educate your employees, employee volunteers or social impact teams on the Transformative Approach. With 15+ years of experience working with some of the world’s most notable brands, Chris Jarvis and other RW Speakers bring rich expertise, engaging stories and compelling research in social impact to your audience.

A Personal Challenge

Here’s what I’m proposing: Pick one program. Just one. And commit to examining its power dynamics with radical honesty. Bring your community partners into the conversation – not as consultants, but as equal architects of change. Be prepared for uncomfortable truths. Be ready to make real changes.

The future of corporate volunteering isn’t about doing more – it’s about doing differently. It’s about creating spaces where true partnership can flourish, where community wisdom leads the way, and where corporate resources serve rather than direct.

Are you ready to have these conversations? To rebuild your programs from the ground up if that’s what authentic partnership requires? The next chapter of corporate social impact is waiting to be written. Let’s make sure it’s a story of shared power, genuine transformation, and lasting change.

What conversation will you start tomorrow?

Chris Jarvis

CSO & Co-Founder

Recent Blogs:


Realized Worth helps you take a transformative approach to volunteering. We work with companies to create scalable and measurable volunteering programs that empower and engage employees, focus on empathy and inclusivity, and align with your most important business objectives. Talk to us today to learn more!


Non-ProfitsTransformative Volunteering

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