Dive Brief:

• Fifty of the most community-minded companies in the U.S. were honored Monday for their commitment to "moving social impact, civic engagement and community to the center of their business," by Points of Light, an organization dedicated to volunteer service. The Civic 50 honorees, all public and private U.S. companies with revenues of $1 billion or more, were selected based on four criteria affecting the communities in which they operate: investment, integration, institutionalization and impact.
• Statistics on the honorees showed they on average donated $283,000 for every $10 million in revenue, or about twice that of other U.S. companies; about half the honorees made multi-faceted investments where their grants provided additional support via volunteerism, multi-year pledges and in-kind goods; and 86% of the honorees included "community involvement" on their board meetings' agenda once a year. Sixty-two percent of the companies included "community engagement" in performance reviews and 86% included it in department goals, Points of Light said.
• Hasbro, Inc., Altria Group, Inc., Valero Energy Corporation, KeyBank, Health Care Service Corporation, FedEx, Tata Consultancy Services, Freeport-McMoRan, AT&T Inc. and DTE Energy were selected as the most community-minded honorees in their sector, according to a press release.

Dive Insight:

Employers might not underestimate the importance of being good corporate citizens, as community investment can pay off when it comes to engaging employees and making their work meaningful. Workers in studies said they want their employers involved in solving societal problems. Some companies have incorporated corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their daily business operations; Starbucks partnered with Points of Light, the same organization that conducted this survey, to launch a pilot program that allows employees to split their time between work and charity.

Millennials, in particular, favor CSR; 81% expect companies to publicly vow to be good corporate citizens, according to a 2017 study. Employers can use their CSR initiatives as recruiting tools for millennials and younger job candidates, wrote Peggy Anderson in an HR Dive opinion piece. CSR initiatives boost company culture and, if documented and showcased correctly, can attract candidates who are committed to working for a socially responsible company.