Charitable team building is a great way to bring your employees together for a good cause! Create impact for your community as you bond.
Charitable team building exercises also help to promote a culture of empathy and compassion amongst workplaces. Plus, support your company DEI initiatives that support your local community and build your corporate social responsibility.
In this article, find different types of charitable team-building activities that will engage your team and make a positive impact. From volunteering, fundraising, and donations, there is a charitable team building activity perfect for every workplace!
Give Back as a Team With These Charitable Team Building Ideas
The Positive Impact of Charitable Team Building
Charitable team building is a great way for companies to make a positive impact in the community. Your team can contribute your time, skills, and donations towards worthy causes!
In addition, charitable team building can help build team cohesion, teamwork, and collaboration. Plus, supporting others in your community promotes a culture of empathy and compassion amongst employees. As a result, you can foster a sense of purpose and meaning for your team that expands beyond your office.
Read on to learn about types of charity team building activities your team can invest in!
Types of Charitable Team Building Activities
Types of charitable team building activities that your company can tap into include:
- Volunteering with a nonprofit
- Fundraising for an event or cause
- Hosting or participating in a donation drive
Each of these types of charitable team building offers benefits to your team and the community. At the same time, each comes with its own unique challenges. Projects may include logistics such as transportation, sourcing materials, determining and allocating budgets, and more. Yet, with proper planning, overcoming these challenges can be well worth it – for both your team, and the causes you support!
Read on to learn more on each activity type and advice on how to choose the best activity for your team!
Virtual Charity Team Building
Today, charitable work can be done and planned virtually, even if this eventually means coming together for the final event.
Many aspects of traditional charity ideas for work can be altered for remote and hybrid teams. For example, volunteering, fundraising challenges, and donation drives can all be planned, led, and completed virtually.
Check out examples of virtual team building charity ideas below!
Virtual Events
All types of events and activities can be led virtually. From conferences to dance parties, it’s easily possible to tailor charitable team building events for virtual teams. With video calls and chat features, your group can connect online for any event.
For example, consider dedicating proceeds of an online event to a charitable organization. Or, host a virtual volunteer opportunity for your team in partnership with a nonprofit.
Online Fundraising
The majority of fundraising today is completed by online donations. Use this to your advantage to collect donations through an online fundraiser.
Host a fundraising campaign or sell tickets to an online event. Then, donate the proceeds to a charitable cause. You can even engage in friendly competition to see who can raise the most money!
Plus, this option makes tracking progress far easier than having to manually count donated cash or mailed checks.
Virtual Donations
With platforms such as Amazon Wishlist, it can be easy to set up an online donation drive. Simply share a link with your employees and have items sent directly to a community charity.
Charity staff can help you to tailor a wishlist with the exact items they need. This could include clothing, toiletries, toys, books, or any number of other item, depending on the organization’s priorities. Best of all, anyone can share the link on social media to help spread the word!
Volunteering as a Team
Volunteering is a hands-on way to engage your team, in person or virtually. While giving back to your community, you’ll boost teamwork and company culture as employees bond.
When looking to volunteer, there are few things to keep in mind. First, determine what kind of volunteer event your group is interested in. This is important to ensure team engagement and morale.
Next, be sure to regularly communicate with the local charity. Staff can help you determine the best activity to support the organization based on your team size, location, and interests. Lastly, be sure to communicate with your employees what to expect.
Read on for examples of different types of charity team building events to consider!
Serve Meals at a Housing Shelter
Many organizations offer group volunteer activities to pass out food to those in need in the community. Consider serving meals at a local housing shelter in your area.
With guidance from the charity, your team can help to distribute food. Plus, ask the organization if there are any items your team can bring on the day of. This may include pre-packaged food or fresh home cooked meals.
Plant Trees in a Park
Better the environment by planting trees in your area! For this activity, partner with an environmental organization to provide and plant new trees to local parks.
Be sure to share with your team what to expect. This may include preparing to get dirty, being in the sun, and needing to bring water. By preparing your team, you can ensure a meaningful volunteer day in the fresh air.
Lead an Activity for Children
If your team is interested in supporting youth, consider leading an activity for a local children’s organization. Activities can include outdoor recreation games, story time, creating crafts together, and more.
Be sure to allow ample time to plan this type of event. Organizations may require volunteers to pass a background check and this can take time. Communicate with the organization of your choice regularly to complete needed steps before your volunteer day.
Fundraising as a Team
For teams looking to make a financial impact in their community, consider fundraising activities for a charitable organization. Together, raise money for a worthy cause and raise awareness for a social issue.
Fundraising encourages teamwork as you strive towards a collective goal. Plus, boost your team culture as you do good for your community. When considering fundraising for a charitable organization, keep the following in mind.
First, set a realistic goal for your team to strive toward. Then, provide ample communication and fundraising support to employees. This allows everyone to track progress and see tangible steps toward the goal.
Furthermore, organize a successful fundraising event by supplying employees with promotional materials for the event. This can include social media posts, sample text that they can copy and paste into an email, and external communications from your organization.
Read on for examples of different types of fundraising activities your team can host!
Charity Walk
Host a charity walk that raises money with each step. How it works: donors commit a certain dollar amount per mile walked during the event.
This activity is great for all teams. It can be completed together in person or remotely with employees walking on the same day! Charity walks allow employees to spend time together and foster conversations all while raising money!
Bake Sale
Host a bake sale fundraiser. For this activity, you will need access to a kitchen to create tasty treats. This can be done as a group or individual.
Sell your tasty treats in your community or at the office with all proceeds going towards a charity. This activity can bring your team together in person or virtually!
Be sure to check with local regulations for this type of fundraiser. If need be, you can partner with a local food purveyor to sell packaged food goods in support of the cause!
Comedy Night
Or, host a comedy night! Showcase your own funny employees through an open-mic stand up, or hire a favorite comedian.
Sell tickets to the event, whether in person or virtual, and donate all money raised to a charity. Consider inviting people outside of your team to make an even bigger impact.
Plus, be sure to promote the event as a fundraiser. That way, people will be even more excited to attend!
Donation Drives as a Team
Another way to give back as a team is hosting donation drives. Many charitable organizations rely on in-kind donation items to provide for their clients.
Donation drives are a great event option for teams small or large. Plus, drives are flexible and can be tailored to your team’s needs. Set up donation drop off spots at the office for your employees to engage when able.
To make the most of your donation drive, provide ample communication of the drive’s timeline and needed items. Plus, be sure to arrange transportation of collected items to the charity.
Check out the following types of donation drives for your virtual charity event!
Food Drive
Through a food drive, your team can collect food items for those overcoming food insecurity in the community. Collect items such as canned goods, dry goods, or even fresh and frozen items.
Encourage employees to bring in unopened items from the grocery or go shopping as a team. Then, create a drop off zone in your work space or share a collective drop-off location for remote employees.
Plus, be sure to connect with your local food bank to learn which items are most needed!
Clothing Drive
Host a clothing drive for a local organization that provides clothing to community members. Clothing can include shoes, jackets, shirts, pants, socks, and more.
Share the items you are looking to collect across company communications. Then, share where employees can drop off items.
For clothing drives, it’s important to note what type and sizes of clothing a charity will accept. Share with employees to ensure that all items collected can be properly donated.
School Supplies Drive
School supply drives are a great yearly charitable team building activity, especially for teams that have an interest in supporting education and youth. Look to collect and donate items such as pencils, notebooks, binders, backpacks, calculators, laptops, and more.
Provide company employees with a list of items to purchase and where to drop off items. Then, set a date for your team to package items together before donating to the organization.
For example, block off an afternoon of work to stuff backpacks with the collected school materials. Then, deliver your packed backpacks to an organization!
Charitable Team Building FAQs
What are team building activities for charity?
Corporate charity team building activities create an opportunity for your team to support your community and build team morale. Activities can include volunteering, fundraising, donation drives, and more. Get creative and make an impact as a team at any time of the year with charitable team building!
What are some benefits of charitable team building activities for my team?
Team building for charity provides many positive benefits for companies. For instance, this is a great way to foster team cohesion and collaboration.
In addition, your team will make a positive impact in your community, all while promoting a culture of empathy and compassion amongst employees.
How can I choose the best charitable team building activity for my team?
Consider factors such as team size, location, and interests. Determine your ability to manage project logistics such as transportation, sourcing materials, budget, and more. With these details in mind, you can choose the best charitable team building activity for your work team.
What are some challenges that can arise when organizing a charitable team building activity?
Challenges can arise through project logistics, budgets, and communications. It is important to ensure your team has the ability to cover each of these areas before diving into an event. With ample planning, all challenges can be overcome in organizing a charitable team building activity.
How can I measure the impact of my team’s charitable team building activity?
Measure impact through feedback, goal setting, and quantifying your support. Gain feedback post activity from team members and the organization you worked with. Reflect on what goals your event reached and whether or not you completed what you set out to do. Plus, learn how your donated money, items, or time made an influence to see your impact.
How can I involve remote team members in a charitable team building activity?
Involve remote team members with virtual options from meetings to day of activities. Utilize video calls for planning sessions or choose an all virtual volunteer opportunity. Remote employees can be involved in every step of a charitable team building activity fostering team development.
There’s no shortage of team bonding ideas for your crew! Browse our Unexpected Virtual Tours team building guides for more group-friendly events, and check out our virtual team building experiences!
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