Benevity report finds corporate giving up, volunteering hits record high
Corporate giving rose almost eight points as 1.87 million employees logged nearly 24 million volunteer hours. For A Simple Gesture, the pressure now is on measurable, repeatable partnerships.
Corporate giving rose almost eight points in 2025, while 1.87 million employees volunteered nearly 24 million hours. Benevity’s sixth annual State of Corporate Purpose report, released July 9, covers a year when corporate purpose held up under pressure, even as companies faced political scrutiny and tougher internal checks.
The test was not evenly distributed. Nearly three-quarters of corporate impact leaders said the political and regulatory climate directly shaped strategy, and scrutiny came from executives and boards at 47 percent, employees at 41 percent and legal and compliance teams at 39 percent. Even so, 78 percent of companies kept all of their purpose work the same as in prior years, and 94 percent of CEOs privately supported their company’s purpose programs. The report found 87 percent of leaders expect AI to reduce the burden on nonprofits.
A Simple Gesture has operated since 2015 as a 501(c)(3), built around door-to-door pickups, corporate pickups and timely food recovery runs. As of December 2025, it had helped provide more than 8,000,000 child-size meals, delivered $13 million in donated food value, worked with 75-plus pantry partners, kept 3,900-plus recurring food donors engaged and relied on 200 monthly volunteers. Its food recovery program rescues edible food from businesses and delivers it to vetted local nonprofits, while the Green Bag donor program and SHARE refrigerators in Guilford County Schools organize the work.
Benevity’s report shows the number of unique corporate volunteers has more than tripled since 2019, and the 2026 findings show companies want cleaner reporting, clearer narratives and proof that a volunteer day or donation program fits into a larger system. For A Simple Gesture, corporate volunteers can be folded into bag sorting, driver support and food recovery without slowing route coordination or straining pantry handoffs. In Guilford County, A Simple Gesture already links businesses, schools, pantries and volunteers.
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