B of Service: How B Corps Give Back to Their Communities

B Corps Build Community Impact with Volunteer Days, Pro Bono Services, and Partnerships

Community service takes many forms for Certified B Corporations. Partnerships with local nonprofits to provide pro-bono services, paid time off for volunteer days, and group volunteering activities are among the ways B Corps bolster their community impact. 

As they work to build an economy that works for all, B Corps lean into the interdependent nature of our world and the importance of strong communities. Their partnerships and practices can help create resilient connections between B Corps and the places where they operate. Dedicating time and resources to volunteering and community service are among the ways businesses incorporate impact improvement and stakeholder service as part of B Corp Certification.

Community service opportunities often reinforce a company’s mission to create positive impact. At Nous, a London-based household bill management service, Lydia Howland says the B Corp’s volunteer partnership with a community food support agency provides a tangible way to make a difference beyond the office. “It doesn’t have to be a big commitment, but your team will find it massively rewarding, and it shows that, as a business, you’re prepared to walk the walk — not just talk the talk,” says Howland, the company’s head of service design. “Collaborating with others who are already on their way to solving those challenges is only going to amplify their impact.” 

B Corp community efforts can harness company expertise or volunteer hours and support local literacy programs, domestic violence survivors, and food banks. Leaders with B Corps big and small share examples of how they support their communities both within and outside the walls of their organizations. Explore their ideas to drive community impact at your business and help build a more inclusive economy.

Partnering to Provide In-Kind Donations

South Carolina-based B Corp nextOPP Search is a women-owned recruiting agency built on a one-for-one model. For every candidate hired through its for-profit recruiting services, nextOPP donates career coaching to a survivor of domestic violence working toward financial independence. Individual coaching and group mentoring sessions, offered through partnerships with domestic violence nonprofits, cover topics like identifying job skills and opportunities, crafting a resume and application, interviewing, and negotiating. 

“Learning these essential career skills and getting one-on-one support can be a transformative experience for survivors, enabling them to find a secure job and become financially independent,” said nextOPP Co-Founder Rebecca Oppenheim. 

B Corp Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic) partners with fellow Georgia B Corp Creature Comforts Brewing Company to support the Books for Keeps literacy program. The nonprofit program aims to increase book access and literacy among third-graders in Athens, Georgia. 

AdVic, which provides Salesforce consulting and integration services, developed a system to track data related to the Books for Keeps program, such as the duration and frequency of sessions between mentors and mentees, how many books were read each session, and how engaging the sessions were. Measuring those elements of the program provided transparency and a means to improve outcomes. “Third-grade literacy is the moment when students either begin reading to learn or continue learning to read,” Ad Victoriam Solutions writes in a blog about the partnership. “And downstream, the latter group is statistically less likely to graduate high school or attend college — and more likely to require economic assistance and enter the criminal justice system.” 

B Corp Mad Fish Digital gives employees paid volunteer time off (VTO) and provides in-kind donations of its digital marketing services. An annual VTO challenge aims to involve the company’s whole team and increase collective impact. As part of its program Mad Fish Gives, the Portland, Oregon-based B Corp offers up to $36,000 annually in pro bono partnerships to nonprofits.

In addition to group volunteering, The Humphreys Group, a women-owned and operated wealth management firm based in San Francisco, provides pro bono financial planning to several Bay Area organizations, including Shalom Bayit, San Francisco Safe House, and La Casa de Las Madres. The Humphreys Group also makes an annual year-end holiday donation to a local nonprofit that reflects its vision, values, and commitment to women’s issues. 

Portland, Oregon-based B Corp Intuitive Digital picks one nonprofit partner annually to receive free digital marketing services. Intuitive Digital is currently accepting applications for its 2024 nonprofit pro bono partner. 

Through partnerships with nonprofits, employees at B Corp Tru Earth have volunteered at a food bank, contributed toward drives for hygiene products, and helped clean up litter along a shoreline.

Paid Volunteer Days and Donations

At B Corp Tru Earth, British Columbia-based makers of Earth-friendly laundry and cleaning products, full-time employees are allocated two days of paid volunteer time and part-time employees receive one day. Employees can volunteer with organizations of their choice or participate in company-wide volunteer initiatives. Through partnerships with nonprofits, employees have contributed toward drives for hygiene products, volunteered at a food bank, and helped clean up litter along the shoreline. 

Kate Huibers, Head of ESG at Tru Earth, said giving back to the community and supporting those in need are important parts of Tru Earth’s culture. “Here at Tru Earth we truly believe that by engaging employees in these initiatives with the same purpose, we can create a more motivated, productive, and dynamic workforce that understands the importance and value of good business ethics and corporate responsibility,” Huibers said. 

Workers at Wisconsin-based B Corp New Leaf Paper, which provides sustainable paper products, contributed 260 hours of service to local organizations in 2022. New Leaf Paper donated $75,000 in 2022 to environmental sustainability and other nonprofits. Last year, employees selected several nonprofit organizations to receive a portion of the company’s year-end profits, with the opportunity to deliver the donations personally. 

“One of the things we are most proud of is our accountability,” said New Leaf Paper President Shannon Bone. “We don’t just say we are sustainable; we live our mission every day. Our mission produces real-world results — and our support of deserving nonprofits is a tangible example of those results.”

Group Volunteering Activities at Community Organizations

As part of its volunteering efforts, London-based B Corp Nous partnered with The Felix Project, which works to fight both hunger and food waste. During volunteer days, Nous employees cut vegetables, crack eggs, and prep meals ready to be delivered to food charities and families across London. Nous Head of Service Design Lydia Howland, who set up the partnership, said Nous recognizes that saving people time and money on their bills, while hugely important, can only go so far.  

“That’s why it matters to us all to be able to do something beyond the remit of our day jobs,” Howland said. “We’re based in the heart of London and know that in a stone’s throw from our office there are households who are finding it hard to put food on the table. That doesn’t sit comfortably with any of us. We’re a part of this community and we want to be able to give something back to it, especially to the households who are struggling the most.” 

B Corp Every Man Jack, a California-based manufacturer of naturally derived and outdoor-inspired men’s care products, instituted a policy of 24 hours of paid volunteer time for workers in 2023. Volunteers have donated time at the local food bank, prepped camping gear for youth excursions with nonprofit Big City Mountaineers, and put in hours at a local cooperative preschool. Brad Handel, Marketing Manager at Every Man Jack, said the company hopes to double the number of hours volunteered in 2024. 

Other B Corps Using Community Service as a Force for Good

At IBSS, a Maryland-based environmental science, information technology/cybersecurity, and management/professional service provider, employees are compensated up to eight hours annually to volunteer for a corporate initiative or event of their choice. Group events have included preparing and distributing food baskets, collecting and distributing winter clothing for people experiencing homelessness, and beach and park cleanups. 

Employees of New York creative agency Trampoline Design have volunteered with many of the agency’s nonprofit clients, including its longtime client Serious Fun’s Double H Ranch, which provides experiences for children living with serious illnesses. 

The team at Global Brand and Export Development, an Illinois specialty food brokerage firm, gathers for about two to three volunteer events a year at its local food bank and with the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. The company recently added an environmental cleanup volunteer event. 

Taos Ski Valley, a ski resort in New Mexico, offers community weekends in the summer and winter to connect with county residents. First-time visitors can ski for free, and local residents can ice skate for free. The weekends include family movie nights, cultural art tours, live music from local artists, and meet-and-greets with avalanche dogs.