Despite companies’ good intentions, sometimes their volunteering activities can cause more damage than good on charities’ restricted budgets. The results of a UK pilot study led by online resource raising platform whatCharity.com have shed a light on the misconception of company volunteering, providing insights into how companies can help charities make a bigger impact.

The report revealed that while volunteering may be welcomed and even encouraged by HR teams or senior executives, 40% of charities say that they do not profit from unqualified short-term placements. Furthermore, 60% of charities don’t agree with unqualified group volunteering and close to 30% don’t have the substructure to cope with it.

There are ways to improve the collaboration between charities and support a sector that is vital for the society’s welfare. According to the report, 70% of charities would benefit from skills-based volunteering. And, 60% of charities would value strategic development to elevate their efforts to the next level. Over 85% of charities would prefer fundraising commitments from companies.

Tiia Sammallahti, founder and CEO of whatCharity.com says, “Companies are looking for charitable activities to suit their schedule, their reputational and employee engagement requirements, which are not the charities’ expertise or focus. However, companies of all sizes are increasingly willing to donate their expertise, time, money, goods and services to the charity sector, but are not always able to find the perfect charity match.”

The whatCharity.com report also revealed that 50% of charities don’t receive money donations. In addition, 40% of charities don’t get approached by companies for any other reason than volunteering, with over 25% of charities reporting that they don’t have the right reporting tools and skills to attract businesses.

whatCharity.com offers a company profiling service that helps to better match up companies and charities, to improved mutual benefit.

On Thursday 31 May at 11:30 am whatCharity.com is hosting a roundtable to discuss these survey results and the future of business–charity partnerships. The round table will be livestreamed here.

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