Take a Journey with Us

Three Unique Perspectives

In this MOOC, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the topic of corporate volunteering. To this end, the MOOC approaches the issue from three different perspectives: 1) the company that offers the corporate volunteering program, 2) the individual employee volunteer, and 3) the nonprofit organization which is the partner in the volunteering activity.

Numerous Practice Insights

Further, the MOOC clearly goes beyond the academic perspective on the topic. While it looks at the state of the art in academic research from these three perspectives, the MOOC includes various practitioner voices, including managers designing these programs (e.g., from SAP, BASF, or Zalando), individual employees reporting their experiences in such programs, and representatives of nonprofit organizations which have collaborated with corporate volunteers.The practice insights include, for example:

Alexandra van der Ploeg
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, SAP

Dr. Hartmut Unger
Social Projects and Sport, BASF

Stephanie Frost
Co-Founder, Vostel Volunteering UG

Salah Said
Corporate Citizenship Manager, Zalando

Christian Hell
Partner - Sustainability Services, KPMG

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Academic Excellence

In the MOOC, four academic researchers will introduce you to the three above named perspectives:

Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Schons, professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Mannheim will cover the corporate level, including the following topics:

• Current developments in corporate volunteering
• Benefits of corporate volunteering programs for companies
• Varying designs of corporate volunteering programs
• Capturing the impact of corporate volunteering programs

Dr. Irmela Koch-Bayram, assistant professor at the Chair of Human Resources Management at the University of Mannheim will introduce you to the individual employees’ level, including the following topics:

• Characteristics of volunteering employees
• Motives of employees to participate in a corporate volunteering program
• Benefits for employees from participating in a corporate volunteering program

Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig, professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Mannheim and Dr. Benedikt Englert, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim, will look at corporate volunteering from the perspective of the partnering nonprofit organization, including the following topics:

• Benefits of corporate volunteering programs for NPOs
• Necessary preconditions for an effective partnership

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Success Factors

Finally, we will conclude the MOOC with a list of recommendations for a successful corporate volunteering program. These recommendations serve as a guideline for the design of corporate volunteering programs, drawing from both academic insights as well as practitioner experiences.

Target Audience

• Practitioners who are interested in the topic of corporate volunteering, especially if they are involved in planning, implementing, managing or evaluating such programs
• Employees that are interested in getting involved in corporate volunteering
• Non-profit organizations that are working with or intend to work with corporate volunteers
• Academic students and researchers who are working on the topic of corporate volunteering
• Everyone else who is interested in the topic of corporate volunteering and wants to learn about recent developments, trends, and inspiring examples.

Travel at your own pace

The complete content of this MOOC will be available from March 13th. There is no specific closing date, only a limited time of staff support. This means that you can take your time, watch the videos at your own pace and in the order that suits you most. You may also get in touch with other participants through the discussion forum and share your opinions on the various topics. Let's get connected!

What You Will Gain

After having taken part in this MOOC, participants will have gained a deep understanding of the topic of corporate volunteering from the perspectives of the company, the employee, and the nonprofit organization. Further, they will have developed the necessary skills to plan and design a successful corporate volunteering program.

Get Your Certificate

After having completed the MOOC, you will have the opportunity to purchase a certificate as a proof of your successfull participation in this course. Please note that this step is completely optional - you do not have to buy the certificate to take the course.