Good2Give’s workplace giving figures have come in revealing Professional Services firms as the most generous industry in 2016.

Consistent with earlier findings, Professional Services has close to 20 per cent of employees donating to charity through online workplace giving programs across Australia.

Good2Give CEO Lisa Grinham commented that this level of giving is not only invaluable to charitable work in the community but remains significantly higher than all other industries.

“Professional Services are reaching 15 per cent higher than average employee participation levels reported by the ATO for the 2014/15 financial year. This is something we should not only celebrate but seek to replicate across industries.”

Some 70 per cent of Professional Services firms also choose to double their employees’ generosity, which places them in the top five performing industries for matching employee donations.

Grinham commented that this contribution wasn’t nothing. “Company matching programs are incredibly valuable to boosting employee morale, but they’re also a fundamental reason why workplace giving is such a valuable fundraising avenue for charities going forward.”

In 2016 corporate matching brought the average employee donation up to $87 per month per donor. This was some $40 higher than the amount achieved without matching, and $52 higher than the average donation in Australia.

“With the vast majority of employees making ongoing donations, this compounds quickly for Australian charities and is currently a very low cost, high value source of income for approximately 1,200 charities who now receive funds through our online Workplace Giving Platform each month,” Grinham said.

Energy, Water and Healthcare also offered employees 100 per cent corporate matching of their donations. Encouragingly, close to 20 per cent of Government and Charity organisations in turn matched donations as part of their staff engagement and as an extension of corporate values.

Property and Construction industries increased employee participation in workplace giving by six per cent over the past 12-month period. Meanwhile, small to medium sized companies achieved over triple the participation levels of large companies, reaching levels over 20 per cent.

Grinham emphasised that corporate matching wasn’t the only contributing factor to boost staff engagement. “Internal leadership is critical to integrate charitable giving throughout the workplace. It’s a key component of any organisation’s community investment strategy,” she said.

“Fundamentally, we’re seeing corporate giving thrive among businesses and government bodies as they start to quantify its impact on staff morale, partners, and in there core business outcomes.”

“When giving is ‘beyond a bolt on’ and is seen as an extension of corporate values, we see significant uplifts in participation, in funds, and wider workplace morale. Developments we look to optimise in 2017.”

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