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Points of Light Recognizes The Advisory Board Company and UnitedHealth Group for Employee Volunteer Programs

Points of Light Recognizes The Advisory Board Company and UnitedHealth Group for Employee Volunteer Programs

Published 06-17-14

Submitted by Points of Light

At the 2014 Conference on Volunteering and Service yesterday, Points of Light honored The Advisory Board Company, a Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting firm, and UnitedHealth Group, a global health care company, for their outstanding employee volunteer programs.

Both companies received the 2014 Corporate Engagement Award of Excellence for outstanding employee volunteer programs that engage workers and improve communities. The annual Award recognizes companies that apply their resources, expertise and insights to activities that benefit society, and create a culture that inspires and equips employees to volunteer. Both companies are also strong supporters of A Billion + Change, a national campaign that aims to transform business culture so that all companies in America will respond to the needs of their communities by unleashing the talent and expertise of employees in skills-based and pro bono service.

During the Conference, Points of Light is also recognizing the winners of the 2014 Corporate Volunteer Council Awards, for serving as a local resource for encouraging, educating and connecting businesses that support employee volunteerism.

“Outstanding employee volunteer programs like these are demonstrating the social impact possible when companies align their core business assets, their philanthropy, and their employee volunteerism to accelerate change,” said Tracy Hoover, president of Points of Light.

For the 2014 Corporate Engagement Award of Excellence, an independent panel of judges evaluated nominees on several criteria, including strong leadership, community collaboration, a clear method of measuring accomplishments and an openness to learn from past experience. Here’s more about this year’s winners:

The Advisory Board Company – The Advisory Board Company’s employee volunteer program, Community Impact, aligns its efforts with the firm’s mission to elevate the performance of health care and higher education institutions. Community Impact enables employees to apply their core competencies in technology, research and consulting to empower community partners, helping them to independently operate more effectively. The success of the Advisory Board’s approach demonstrates how the same business principles that make our nation’s leading health care and higher education institutions effective can drive improved performance from nonprofit organizations, ultimately moving the needle in improving public health and education. In 2013, 100 percent of the Advisory Board’s 2,700 employees participated in Community Impact, resulting in 32,000 hours of service and $1.7 million in monetized impact. Advisory Board employees recently ranked Community Impact as the No. 1 driver of engagement throughout the firm.

UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealth Group’s comprehensive approach to volunteering begins with an analysis of employee skills and volunteer needs, followed by the creation of strategic programs that offer rich and rewarding opportunities for employees. Programs utilize the skills of the health care company’s workforce of more than 160,000 people to “build healthier communities and help people live healthier lives.” A UnitedHealth Group-sponsored mobile volunteer app – which allows users to search and sign up for volunteer opportunities – and several research studies that link health and volunteering are examples of how the company innovates to encourage volunteering. UnitedHealth Group’s intricate measurement methods have resulted in increased employee participation, healthier attitudes and increased professional skills development. Employee participation overall is 81 percent and growing.

For the 2014 Corporate Volunteer Council Awards, candidates are local networks called Corporate Volunteer Councils (CVCs), which businesses join to share best practices and address community needs through workplace volunteering. The Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year Award recognizes CVCs that have a clear purpose, activities that relate to that purpose and measurements for success. The Fast Start Award goes to CVCs meeting those same criteria and that have been established within the past three years. All entries are reviewed and winners selected by an awards committee comprised of national Corporate Volunteer Council leaders and convened by Points of Light. This year’s winners are:

Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta

2014 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year Award Winner
Formed in 1992, the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta has a rich history of supporting its members’ commitment to employee volunteerism and civic engagement. Businesses of all sizes rely on the CVC of Atlanta to deliver programs, resources and professional development so they may best leverage their most important philanthropic asset – their people – in their community engagement initiatives. The CVC supports member companies at every stage of development – hosting quarterly meetings on local or global topics, informal networking and specialized training led by academia and renowned speakers. The CVC’s annual IMPACT Awards, celebrating excellence in corporate civic engagement, are highly regarded in the local business community.

United Way of Northwest Georgia’s Corporate Volunteer Council

2014 Fast Start Award Winner
The United Way of Northwest Georgia’s Corporate Volunteer Council was formed in 2012 and supports, encourages and provides numerous avenues for businesses to address the community’s needs through volunteering. Collectively, CVC members have mobilized more than 4,500 volunteers, who have completed 204 hands-on projects, providing significant value to local nonprofits. In addition, the council leads Project CONNECT, which has recruited hundreds of new readers, tutors and mentors, and organized more than 100 parent involvement events at area schools and education nonprofits. The CVC is encouraging businesses to help nonprofits work smarter by facilitating The Non-Profit Partnership, a training consortium that provides free training.

About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of volunteers where it’s needed most. For more information, go to www.pointsoflight.org.

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Points of Light

Points of Light

Points of Light is a global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. We envision a world in which every individual discovers the power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant, participatory societies. Through 145 affiliates across 39 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 3.7 million volunteers in 16.7 million hours of service each year, contributing $498.7 million of value in people power into communities around the world. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. To learn more about Points of Light visit pointsoflight.org

Partnering with Points of Light means you’ll have the expertise and support you need to mobilize your colleagues and create community impact using all aspects of civic engagement. We've helped companies with a variety of needs including implementing large-scale employee volunteer events, tackling your larger social impact vision, expanding how you engage communities and consumers, infusing new ideas to your annual employee engagement programs, connecting with peers to bring the latest and greatest ideas on impact measurement, and getting company leadership investment and buy-in. Learn more today.

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