There remains a knowledge gap regarding the factors that drive the development of business-nonprofit partnerships in the context of employer-supported volunteering—especially in small and medium enterprises. Furthermore, there is a need to consider how enterprises operate in their cultural contexts to better understand how they support volunteering trends in Canada. This study aimed to improve understanding of the multi-level factors that foster the development of business-nonprofit partnerships in the context of employer-supported volunteering. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with community and small business actors in a semi-rural setting in Francophone Québec. Results challenged the traditional view of volunteer support as a distinct activity, showing an integrated system of inter-dependence. Results suggest the relevance of conceptualizing small enterprises’ support of volunteering as part of an inclusive approach to community engagement. RÉSUMÉLes facteurs liés au développement de partenariats entre entreprises et OBNL dans le contexte du bénévolat appuyé par l’employeur sont méconnus – particulièrement au sein des petites et moyennes entreprises. Il est également pertinent de considérer le contexte culturel pour mieux comprendre les tendances canadiennes du bénévolat appuyé par l’employeur. Cette étude vise l’obtention d’une meilleure compréhension des facteurs multiniveaux associés au développement de partenariats entreprises-OBNL dans le contexte du soutien au bénévolat. Quinze entretiens semistructurés ont été effectués auprès d’acteurs du secteur communautaire et des petites entreprises dans un milieu semi-rural francophone-québécois. Les résultats repositionnent la notion d’activités distinctes et témoignent plutôt d’un système intégré d’interdépendances. Les résultats suggèrent de conceptualiser le soutien au bénévolat des petites entreprises au sein d’une approche inclusive d’engagement communautaire.

Research on employer-supported volunteering (ESV) practices has primarily focused on benefits for participating businesses, whereas literature on outcomes for non-profits and the local community is scarcer. Moreover, considering lower rates of formal volunteering reported by Francophone Quebec respondents in national surveys, there is a need to better understand the dynamics of community engagement by considering factors pertaining to the social and organizational environment. This study investigated whether employer support for volunteering predicted various forms of community engagement behaviors (informal volunteering, charitable donations, and in-kind donations), using data from a nationally representative survey. Analyses were conducted on a national sample of 5,263 full-time employees (979 Francophones from Quebec; 4,283 Anglophones outside Quebec, aged 25-64, 55% women), adjusting for representation (bootstrap weights) and controlling for sociodemographic variables. The presence of ESV was associated with a higher likelihood of participation in informal volunteering, financial donating, and in-kind donating in both Francophone and Anglophone employees. Findings highlight the need for further studies to explore the meaning and implementation of types of employer support for volunteering within Francophone Quebec, and suggest the relevance of aiming to disseminate information on the types of ESV supports available within the workplace. Public Significance StatementResearch on the relationship between employer support for volunteering and community-level outcomes is needed to strengthen the rationale for implementing this type of community involvement in the workplace. Results from this study showed that full-time employees who reported the presence of employer support for volunteering in their workplace were more likely to participate in other forms of local involvement (informal volunteering, financial donating, in-kind donating) among both Francophone Quebec and Anglophones outside Quebec respondents. Types of employer support that can be implemented informally, in a cost-effective way (e.g., time-based support) appear to be relevant organizational practices linked to local community involvement for both groups, though rates of implementation differ between groups.

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