Looking for a gold star example of proving the business value of your skills-based volunteerism investment? Fidelity Investments provides a shining example.
The Business Case
96 percent of employees reported, after participating in skills-based volunteerism programs co-led by Common Impact, which works hand-in-hand with Pyxera Global as a unified organization, that the experience was a useful professional development opportunity. 83 percent gained specific experience connected to their interests, career goals or business needs. 85 percent improved their collaboration and teamwork skills. And if that’s not impressive enough, 76 percent strengthened their strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
This data is hot off the press, from employees who participated in a series of programs during the first half of 2026. And it’s impressive, especially as CSR professionals everywhere are being pushed to “make the business case” for their investments, a major headline in both the State of Corporate Purpose 2026 from Benevity and the 7th Annual CSR Insights Report from ACCP and Blackbaud YourCause.
Fidelity not only understands but also brings to life one of the Benevity report’s recommendations. “Position volunteering as a learning and development tool.” Pyxera Global and Common Impact see this in action every day, working side-by-side corporate partners, delivering impact and helping them prove the case for a key business priority – retaining and developing talent.
Insight from Teresa Pelletier, Vice President of Community Relations explains Fidelity’s approach. “At Fidelity, we offer associates skills-based volunteerism opportunities that align with their personal interests, support targeted skill development, and address real nonprofit needs. By applying their professional expertise, associates help strengthen nonprofit capacity while supporting organizations’ ability to serve more communities. Through our collaboration with Common Impact, we have also worked to help nonprofits better leverage skills-based volunteerism to advance their missions and expand their impact.”
The key word here is “align.” Fidelity, in work driven both by its Community Relations team and key business unit teams, seeks to understand what its associates are interested in personally and how they can develop targeted professional skills while addressing real nonprofit needs.
Learning and Development: Strengthening Soft Skills
Those skills, whether they are critical thinking, agility, collaboration, customer focus, storytelling, or dealing with ambiguity, for example, are vital to employees’ ability at any organization to grow as professionals, particularly if they have leadership roles in their sights. Collaborating on projects with nonprofits provides opportunities to try new things or strengthen existing skills in a different environment. Skills-based volunteerism is a proving ground that also builds connection with others and pride in the company that made the opportunity possible.
In one project conducted collaboratively with Common Impact, Fidelity launched a digital workshop series to help community organizations leverage skills-based volunteerism. The goal was to expand the reach of this type of work, going beyond the consultative support Fidelity associates have provided nonprofits, which is estimated to have a fair market value of more than $100,000. The impact is significant, for the recipient nonprofits and the people giving their time. As is often true, you gain more than you give when you volunteer, and when professional skills are involved, this truism is amplified exponentially.
As social impact leaders seek to prove the business case, they’d be wise to share key takeaways from the industry reports linked above with HR, learning and development professionals, and business unit leaders across their organizations. Companies are made up of people who seek to do good work and advance in their careers. As Fidelity knows, skills-based volunteerism, aligned with personal interests, is a smart way to invest. These reports add more data to the conversation and, we hope, lead to more good work for the world.
Tune in to part 2 of this blog post to learn how we at Pyxera Global approach impact measurement, equipping leaders with the data to go along with their social impact narratives.
