Dell announced that its global team members volunteered more than 700,000 hours in their communities during the fiscal year 2013 — significantly beating its 500,000 hours goal. The total represented an almost 70 percent increase in volunteer hours from the year prior, when team members volunteered 418,000 hours. More than half of Dell’s global workforce, 56 percent, participated in community service activities with more than 15,000 charities in 60 countries.
Recording an all-time high in FY13, Dell India team members clocked in 114,360 volunteer hours, a 117 percent increase from the 52,500 hours in FY12. Employee participation levels in Dell India also witnessed a surge with 74 percent of Dell India employees engaging in volunteering activities, compared to 57 percent in FY12. The average volunteer hours per employee went up to six in FY13 compared to the four hours in FY12.
For FY14, Dell has set a global goal of working 750,000 hours or more with charitable causes. The company again seeks to engage at least half its global team members in volunteer activities. In particular, Dell will focus on skills-based volunteering, encouraging its team members to use their particular talents to have even more impact in the community.
Dell uses an internal, online portal — its Powering the Possible community — to help team members find charities to support, organize and track volunteer time, financial giving activities, and more. The company launched a skills-tracking function this year, which team members can use to list their expertise and connect with charities in need of those specific services. The community currently comprises more than 59,000 Dell team members around the world.
To promote volunteerism among its team members, Dell rewards activity with philanthropic dollars. Team members who volunteer 10 or more hours in a quarter receive $150 to donate to the charity of their choice through the Powering the Possible community. “Our greatest, fastest-growing giving resource is our worldwide team member base. When Dell team members volunteer their time, talents and financial resources to support charitable causes, they make a huge contribution toward powering new possibilities in our communities.
We are so proud to support their efforts and recognize their passion for community service,” said, Trisa Thompson, vice president of corporate responsibility, Dell“Dell team member volunteer programs lend enhanced purpose and meaning to our giving initiatives, and we are delighted that Dell India team members have emerged as one of the strongest resources, globally. Dell’s focus this year on skill-based volunteering will help to streamline our efforts and amplify our social and economic impact,” said, Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, President, Dell India and Executive Sponsor, India Powering the Possible Initiatives
