Deloitte named a top 50 community-minded company for third consecutive year
Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, named accounting and consulting firm Deloitte among its Civic 50 for the third year in a row. Points of Light’s Civic 50 recognizes the US firms at the forefront of corporate citizenship.
Points of Light is an international non-profit that engages and links volunteers with charities and other non-profits. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1990, it is the world’s largest organization dedicated to advancing volunteering. Partnered with thousands of non-profits and corporations, Points of Light engages 5 million people in 20 million hours of volunteering each year.
Unfortunately, volunteering rates are declining in the US. According to Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2005, the proportion of Americans that volunteered was 28.8%; ten years later, in 2015 it had declined to 24.9%. According to noted Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, since the 1970s Americans have been volunteering less, have become less-engaged in politics, are less likely to join fraternal organizations, and are ‘bowling alone’ instead of on a team. People trust their neighbors less, are less engaged in their communities, and are increasingly more isolated.
Reasons for the decline of social joining and civic community range from shifting demographics (the ‘greatest generation’ of World War II was more trusting and joined together by the experience of the war), changes in family structure (more singles living alone), two-career families with more time pressures, suburban sprawl spreading people out and leaving less time for group activities, and electronic entertainment (TV and internet) privatizing leisure time. To use a worn-down, terrible cliché: we have never been more ‘connected,’ we have never been more alone.
In such an environment, corporate citizenship and companies’ efforts to volunteer their time and resources to make their communities a better place becomes even more critical. Every year, Points of Light names its Civic 50, which denotes the US firms at the forefront of corporate citizenship. For the third consecutive year, Deloitte was one of the 50 firms honored as a Civic 50 company. The winners were announced this month at Services Unite 2018, Points of Light’s annual conference on volunteering and service in Atlanta. Other notable consulting industry honorees were KPMG and Tata Consultancy Services.
Civic 50 companies are made up of public and private firms with US operations that have annual revenues over $1 billion. Winners are selected based on evaluation of the four facets of their US community engagement programs: investment (the extent to which firms apply resources to community engagement, including employee times, cash, in-kind giving, and leadership); integration (how the firm combines community engagement programs with its key business functions); institutionalization (how the firm supports community engagement through its policies, systems, and incentives); and impact (the social and business impact of its community engagement program).
“We are honored to be recognized as part of the Civic 50 for the third consecutive year,” remarked Doug Marshall, corporate citizenship managing director, Deloitte LLP. “A common denominator among thriving nations, people, and economies is a broad sense of citizenship and civic responsibility. At Deloitte, we believe when our organization and our people are aligned to devote meaningful effort, time, and experience toward the greater good — everyone can benefit.”
Deloitte’s employees leverage their skills to help community efforts through multiple forms of volunteering, including non-profit board membership, traditional and skills-based volunteering, pro bono service, and workplace giving. In addition, Deloitte launches every year with its annual Impact Day of volunteer service. June 8th was the 19th annual Impact day, and saw Deloitte employees work on over 1,000 community projects across the country.
“The Civic 50 truly highlights the commitment of community and civic engagement of America’s leading brands,” commented Natalye Paquin, president and CEO, Points of Light. “Points of Light believes that people drive change in addressing society’s growing and most profound challenges. The business community plays an important role in creating and delivering innovative solutions that drive social good in the communities where they live and work.”
Deloitte is one of the world’s leading audit, tax, and consulting firms. The organization has 85,000 employees in the US, across 115 offices in 97 cities. The US operations of Deloitte accounted for $18.5 billion in revenues last year.
