Author: sHq_LoGiNz

CALGARY, Alberta, March 2, 2026 /3BL/ – Benevity, Inc., the leading provider of global corporate purpose software, today released a new report that reveals a growing tension between corporate volunteering and nonprofit needs as employee volunteering reaches record levels. Benevity Impact Labs’ State of Corporate Volunteering 2026 report highlights continued and significant growth in employee volunteer participation. However, amidst a government funding crisis, a volatile economy and a rapidly changing AI landscape, nonprofit needs are shifting. While volunteering remains a top priority for corporate impact programs, nonprofits list funding as their top strategic priority, which demands that corporate impact leaders re-consider whether their current programs are designed to meet the needs of the future.

As 2026 marks the United Nations’ International Volunteer Year and a global spotlight is placed on volunteering as a driver of social cohesion, the Benevity report surfaces another growing disconnect. While corporate volunteering remains a key driver of employee retention and culture-building, the data reveals a transition toward more episodic employee engagement. This calls for companies to move beyond the optics of high participation and toward a sustainable model that prioritizes more consistent, specialized – including AI-centric – support that nonprofits require to thrive.

“On paper, corporate volunteering has never looked better with record rates of employee volunteerism,” said Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity. “Since the pandemic, we’ve successfully embedded employee volunteering across the corporate landscape, and companies have increased their investment, but we haven’t yet optimized it for the world we live in today. We cannot continue to allow hours to imply impact. When you look closely, you see more volunteers giving less time, nonprofits asking for different forms of support, and very little measurement of actual outcomes. That’s a clear signal the system needs to evolve.”

The State of Corporate Volunteering 2026: A System Ripe for Reimagining analyzes anonymized, aggregated data from the Benevity platform between 2019 and 2025, as well as nonprofit surveys and third‑party research.

Key findings from the State of Corporate Volunteering 2026

The report offers current data and major trends shaping the future of corporate volunteering:

• Companies are driving record rates of employee volunteering. Corporate volunteers logged 23.7 million approved hours in 2025, a 175% increase since 2019, while the number of unique volunteers more than tripled to 1.87 million. Average program participation rates rose 30%, from 10.4% to 13.6%.
• The depth of employee volunteering is declining. Average hours per volunteer fell from 16.4 to 12.7 per year over the six‑year period.
• The phenomenon of “micro‑volunteers” is increasing. Employees contributing fewer than five hours per year now account for roughly 60% of all volunteers, signaling a shift toward short, flexible activities over long‑term commitments.
• The gap between corporate priorities and nonprofit needs is widening. Most companies are planning to increase budgets for employee, team and skills‑based volunteering, yet only about 20% of nonprofit leaders say corporate volunteers contribute meaningfully to long‑term capacity. Many nonprofits report difficulty finding volunteers with the right skills or availability during the workday, even as opportunities for service projects are growing.
• AI literacy is a critical, unmet need for nonprofits. Data from Benevity partner, Goodera, shows 71% of nonprofits identified the ability to leverage AI for operational efficiency as an urgent priority, from communications and fundraising to impact measurement. Yet Benevity data finds that only 3% of nonprofits are using AI extensively today, with many still experimenting or not considering it at all — creating a major opportunity for skills‑based volunteering.
• A measurement gap is obscuring business value and nonprofit impact. The research confirms that employee volunteering drives business value, but most companies are not measuring business outcomes as a result of corporate investments in volunteering.

“The UN’s International Volunteer Year (IVY) comes as corporate volunteering is at an inflection point,” Khosla added. “The next chapter will belong to companies that work deeply with nonprofits to re-imagine volunteering programs with a focus on mutualism for nonprofits and employees, and a move beyond counting hours to achieving higher-level business objectives.”

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About Benevity

Benevity, a certified B Corporation, is the global leader in enterprise social impact software. Benevity’s all-in-one platform empowers the world’s most purpose-driven companies to seamlessly integrate corporate social responsibility into their core business strategy – driving measurable, scalable, and lasting impact. Benevity has supported more than $44 billion to more than 560,000 nonprofit organizations and enabled over 7.7 million changemakers worldwide since 2008, empowering organizations to build trust, engage employees, boost retention, and drive innovation. Its unified platform supports giving, volunteering, granting, and employee mobilization – backed by intelligent insights and a secure, global infrastructure. For more information, visit www.benevity.com

About Benevity Impact Labs

Benevity Impact Labs is a social innovation lab that brings new data, research and insights to help companies, nonprofits and individuals accelerate their social impact and inclusion efforts. With unparalleled access to the world’s most iconic brands, Benevity Impact Labs combines Benevity’s robust data and insights with third-party research to report on the top trends shaping corporate purpose and to provide measurable proof of the value of social impact. For more insights, visit benevity.com/research.

Two weeks ago we wrote that the U.S. sustainability agenda is decentralizing — moving from Washington to courtrooms, statehouses, and corporate boardrooms. This issue’s Top Stories make the case even harder to ignore. The federal government took what may be its most sweeping climate rollback yet, and within days the response came from every direction: a major state legislature, a coalition of health and environmental organizations, and Republican attorneys general staking out their own ground on corporate sustainability. The common thread isn’t partisan — it’s jurisdictional. The question is no longer whether climate policy moves forward, but who gets to set the terms.

On February 12, the Trump administration repealed the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding — the legal determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. For 17 years this finding was the foundation for virtually every federal climate regulation under the Clean Air Act. 

As reported by Sustainability Online, less than a week later a broad coalition — including the American Lung Association, Sierra Club, NRDC, Environmental Defense Fund, and Physicians for Social Responsibility — filed suit in the D.C. Circuit, arguing the repeal violates the Clean Air Act and ignores nearly two decades of strengthening scientific evidence. This case will almost certainly define the boundaries of federal climate authority for years to come — and some observers believe the administration may be deliberately seeking a Supreme Court showdown.

Meanwhile, ESG Today reported that the New York State Senate passed the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act on a 40-22 vote. The Act, modeled closely on California’s SB 253 bill, will requires companies with more than $1 billion in revenue to report Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions annually. The bill now moves to the Assembly and Governor Hochul’s desk. The timing matters: the EPA proposed ending its own federal Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program just months ago, and New York is stepping directly into that gap. If signed, it would make New York the second state to mandate comprehensive corporate emissions disclosure, reinforcing a pattern we flagged last issue — when federal action retreats, state-level action accelerates.

Not all state-level action is pushing in the same direction. ESG Today reports that a coalition of ten Republican attorneys general, led by Florida’s James Uthmeier, sent letters to nearly 80 companies warning that participation in sustainable packaging groups — including the U.S. Plastics Pact and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition — could expose them to antitrust liability. Legal scholars dispute this, and the targeted organizations say their activities, which include developing standards for sustainable packaging, are lawful.

Regardless of the political crosswinds, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging compliance is already the law in multiple states — and the operational demands are real. Also in our Top Stories, G&A Institute’s latest blog walks companies through the practical steps of preparing packaging data for EPR reporting, building on our recent resource paper examining the rapid expansion of EPR legislation nationwide. For companies placing packaged goods on the U.S. market, this is no longer a future risk — it’s a current obligation.

The short-term story this week is messy and more complex than a simple rollback narrative. Federal climate authority is being challenged in court, some states are writing their own climate disclosure rules, and other states are trying to penalize companies for voluntarily pursuing sustainability goals. The G&A team continues to closely track these developments, along with international news from ISO’s new global climate adaptation standard to the EU’s evolving CSRD framework. We are available to work with you to develop and implement sustainability reporting programs that will stand the test of time. Reach out to us at info@ga-institute.com.

This is just the introduction of G&A’s Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue

Bob Herr| Director of Corporate Governance

What you need to know

The agenda is being reset for US shareholder meetings in 2026. Regulatory shifts have led to a steep decline in overall shareholder proposals while governance issues are becoming the biggest battleground. As companies gain new power to block shareholder proposals, investors may turn to other routes to make their voices heard. Research-driven independence and a focus on governance fundamentals can guide investors through a changing environment.

• –36% decline in total shareholder proposals for S&P 1500 companies in 2025
• 41% rate of support for shareholder proposals on governance issues in 2025
• 14% rate of support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues in 2025

Change is in the air as the 2026 US proxy voting season begins. Regulatory shifts and new voting dynamics will challenge investment firms to remain principled in their approach to stewardship.

The proxy pendulum is swinging. After several years in which environmental and social issues gained prominence, governance matters such as director elections and executive compensation have reentered the spotlight.

This year, ballots will be cast amid significant regulatory and legal moves. Proxy advisory firms are under intense scrutiny while state and federal laws and enforcement actions have added layers of complexity to governance decision making. We believe investment firms should enter proxy season with eyes wide open: aware of what’s changing yet guided by a materiality-based framework to vote independently with conviction.

Regulatory and Legal Landscape Is Evolving

From 2020 to 2024, the number of shareholder proposals increased steadily, fueled by growing interest in the ‘E’ and ‘S’ issues of the environment, social and governance (ESG) mix. This year’s proxy season begins after a whirlwind 2025, driven by a series of moves impacting shareholder proposals.

Perhaps the most significant regulatory move will empower companies to have more control of the agenda. During 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidance and decisions that alter the dynamics of the proxy voting process. First, the SEC said it would allow issuers to more easily exclude shareholder proposals—including those in the “ordinary business” bucket. In other words, if a company says a certain shareholder proposal is really a matter of day-to-day business, it will have much more latitude to exclude it from the agenda.
oward year end, the SEC expanded that guidance, and now it may decline to express a view on certain no-action requests. As a result, it has effectively left it to companies to determine whether to exclude a proposal.

Shareholder proponents may be further constrained by another recent regulatory shift. In January, the SEC narrowed the use of exempt solicitation filings, saying it will no longer accept voluntary filings from shareholders with less than $5 million ownership. This will make it harder for smaller proponents to post supporting materials on EDGAR, limiting a channel often used to amplify arguments behind shareholder proposals or to organize vote‑no campaigns. We expect this change to reduce the volume of publicly filed support materials in proxy season and to dampen vote‑no campaign activity. Proponents may increasingly turn to press outreach and direct engagement with investors, raising cost and coordination hurdles required to be heard.

Companies may also benefit from technical adjustments designed to boost retail voting participation. For example, the SEC allowed ExxonMobil to implement a voluntary program enabling retail investors to opt into automatic proxy voting aligned with management recommendations, which has the potential to bolster management support.

Advisory Firms Under Pressure

Meanwhile, enhanced scrutiny on proxy advisory firms is in full swing. Regulators and lawmakers are investigating firms like Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis over potential conflicts of interest, particularly regarding ESG issues. Attorneys general in Florida, Mississippi and Missouri have led the charge, while Texas has introduced new disclosure requirements for advisory firms and is stepping up oversight and enforcement. President Trump, too, issued an executive order to federal agencies, including the SEC and the Federal Trade Commission, to reevaluate regulatory treatment of proxy advisory firms and market practices.

In response, some large firms have stopped using third-party advisors for US proxy research, opting for alternatives including AI-based solutions. Proxy advisory firms are adapting by offering more customized research options, while new entrants are challenging the dominance of established players.

Shareholder Proposals Go Back to Governance Basics

These dynamics have already prompted shifts in voting trends, which are likely to continue in 2026.

Fewer shareholder proposals reached ballots in 2025, and average support levels declined across major categories. The number of proposals dropped by 36% to 295 across topics, with governance accounting for nearly half of all issues (Display). Governance proposals received 41% support on average—eclipsing support for environmental and social proposals.

It’s true that support for environmental and social proposals has been declining for several years. Now, lower expectations for these initiatives to succeed—along with lower barriers for management to exclude proposals—may discourage proponents from raising them in the first place. In cases where companies face significant environmental and social controversies, we expect shareholders to start exploring other avenues to affect change, for example, through director election votes.

Governance Fundamentals in Focus

Corporate governance doesn’t typically grab headlines. Yet these issues—from board composition and independence to responsiveness to shareholders—are at the heart of how businesses run and can have a material impact on companies’ financial performance.

Director elections, for example, are a powerful tool for investors to weigh in on ineffective boards. In our experience, shares of US companies with boards that we’ve supported have outperformed firms that didn’t meet our governance expectations.

On the governance menu, executive compensation will remain a hot topic. Median total compensation for S&P 500 CEOs reached $17 million in 2024, representing a 5% increase over the prior year, according to Pay Governance. This growth was primarily driven by larger long-term equity grants, which were buoyed by strong equity performance during the period.

The tech titans have been in the compensation spotlight since Tesla awarded unprecedented pay packages to Elon Musk in 2018 and 2025; both were large long-term equity grants with ambitious performance hurdles. We anticipate an increase in these types of CEO packages, which may appear on proxy ballots more frequently in the future.

Beyond the high-profile compensation stories, we expect an increased focused on core governance issues such as board accountability and risk oversight. For example, “common sense” governance proposals are rising, including simple majority vote requirements, the right to call special meetings and board declassification. Proposals like these passed most often in 2025, signaling continued investor support for improved shareholder accountability despite elevated scrutiny of ESG practices.

AB’s Proxy Voting Principles: Materiality and Independence

While the industry grapples with multiple transitions, we believe that our longstanding proxy voting framework continues to provide a strategic path forward. Our approach focuses on issues that are material to business and investors, backed by a willingness to vote independently.

Maximizing shareholder value is the primary goal of our votes. That’s why our positions are rooted in thorough research and engagement, designed to fully understand the material impact of any proposal on a company’s business—and our clients.*

Translating those positions into effective votes demands independence.

In 2025, we voted against management at least once in 57% of shareholder meetings in which we participated (Display). We also voted contrary to ISS recommendations in 45% of meetings.

We stood against management proposals on director elections and compensation 20% and 17% of the time, respectively (Display). And we voted in support of approximately 36% of all shareholder proposals.

AB’s investment stewardship approach is rooted in a partnership with our sector analysts and portfolio managers, which enables us to take industry—and company specific considerations into account to make more informed voting decisions. For example, in the healthcare sector, we’ve found that sound compensation practices can make a meaningful difference to long-term investor outcomes.

Shaping the Norms of Responsible Stewardship

As the 2026 proxy season unfolds, investment firms have a responsibility to lead with clarity and a disciplined focus on what drives long‑term value. While the regulatory environment may generate headlines and can be confusing for investors, we think the renewed focus on governance will provide shareholders with ample opportunities to weigh in on an array of issues that can materially affect business success and shareholder outcomes.

Entering the season with well‑defined principles, rigorous research and a readiness to vote independently of management or proxy advisors will be essential—especially as governance issues become the primary arena for impact.

Landon Shea, Investment Stewardship Associate and Research Lead, and Cole Moore, Investment Stewardship Analyst and Engagement Lead, were instrumental in the research supporting this blog.

*AllianceBernstein (AB) engages issuers where it believes the engagement is in the best financial interest of its clients.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations, do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams and are subject to change over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.  

On February 5th, we proudly celebrated the Grand Opening of Alta Vista at St. Joseph’s Park in Rochester, NY, alongside our dedicated colleagues, development partners, local officials, and community leaders. This milestone reflects CVS Health’s commitment to expanding access to safe, affordable housing and strengthening the long-term health and stability of the communities we serve.

Alta Vista delivers 76 affordable units serving households earning 30%, 50%, 60%, and 70% of AMI, including 14 ESSHI units reserved under New York’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative for individuals experiencing homelessness with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, or survivors of domestic violence. Many of you joined the groundbreaking in April 2024, and it was inspiring to reunite at this next step in this community’s journey.

Developed in partnership with Ibero-American Development Corp. and Edgemere Development, Inc., Alta Vista is a thoughtfully designed, energy‑efficient, six‑story building that features modern apartments with luxury vinyl flooring, air conditioning, dishwashers, and generous storage space. The community includes a business center, community room, fitness center, on-site laundry, playground, on‑site parking, and free Wi‑Fi in common areas to support work, education, and family needs.

As part of Rochester’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Alta Vista transforms an underutilized urban area into a thriving, equitable neighborhood. Its location adjacent to St. Joseph’s Park, a cherished landmark known for its preserved church façade, reflects the spirit of new beginnings, stability, and upward mobility for Rochester families.

Supportive services for the ESSHI units will be provided by the YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County, an organization with over 130 years of experience serving women and families through housing stabilization, employment support, case management, and programming designed to help residents achieve long‑term independence.

Thank you to Tom Allen, Vice President, Sales and Client Management, Aetna, a CVS Health company, for representing our organization at the event. We are truly grateful for your leadership and support. And to our colleagues, Marta Corts, Maritsa Santana Ruiz, John White, and Doug Robertson, your help and participation made a meaningful difference.

Thank you as well to everyone who joined us in this celebration. We truly value moments like this and are grateful for all who played a role in bringing the Grand Opening to life. This milestone is a testament to the steadfast dedication and teamwork of colleagues across CVS Health and Aetna.

Learn more about how CVS Health improves the health of the communities it serves.

Read about the Grand Opening here:

• Spectrum News Rochester: New downtown Rochester affordable housing project completed
• WHAM 13 News: New Alta Vista development brings 76 energy-efficient apartments and new amenities
• News10: New all-electric affordable housing complex opens in Rochester, aiming to reduce carbon footprint – WHEC.com
• Rochester Business Journal: IADC’s Alta Vista project adds housing in downtown Rochester
• Yahoo News: Rochester gathers for Alta Vista affordable housing ribbon-cutting ceremony
• Governor’s Press Release: Governor Hochul Announces Completion of $35M Affordable and Supportive Housing Development in Downtown Rochester | Homes and Community Renewal

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2026 /3BL/ – Women feed the world, yet discrimination against women in farming is still a stark reality. They typically earn less, have limited access to financing and miss out on education and training.

Despite producing an estimated 60-80% of the world’s food, women in agricultural communities face power imbalances that hold them back. This is especially true for those living in tropical growing zones around the equator where economies rely on small-scale, or smallholder, commodity production. They often:

• Don’t have control of the money they earn
• Don’t own land or crops
• Have less access to education, training, or supplies
• Are discriminated against when applying for credit

When we invest in women, everyone wins. That’s why Fairtrade America is joining the U.N. Food and Agriculture’s global campaign, the International Year of the Woman Farmer, to help spotlight the essential roles women play in food systems – from production to trade – that often go unrecognized.

Fairtrade is celebrating 15 woman farmers who are key agents of change in their communities and calling on American businesses to partner with Fairtrade America so that more woman farmers can benefit from fairer international trade partnerships.

Meet the Farmers

• Agnes Senesie grows cocoa in Sierra Leone
• Assata Doumbia grows cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire
• Eugénie Lago grows cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire
• Sarah Larweh grows cocoa in Ghana
• Carlixta Contreras Martínez grows cocoa in the Dominican Republic
• Ibu Rahmah grows coffee in Indonesia
• Natividad Vallejos grows coffee in Peru
• Salamatu Katta grows cocoa in Sierra Leone
• Joselinda Manueles grows coffee in Honduras
• Rajana Maurya grows organic Tulsi (Holy Basil) in India
• Rosine Bekoin grows cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire
• Mariana Cobos grows bananas in Ecuador
• Aminata Sannoh grows cocoa in Sierra Leone
• Marie Ronette Botramisy grows organic vanilla in Madagascar
• Carmen Mueses grows cocoa in the Dominican Republic

These inspiring women care for their land, run their businesses, are mothers or matriarchs, and take on many other responsibilities in service of their communities. About half of them currently serve—or have served—in leadership roles within their cooperatives. They sit on boards, lead women’s associations, and some have even founded cooperatives or served as presidents. Their stories show the strength and resilience of women farmers around the world.

International trade partnerships must be rooted in mutual respect, instead of extraction and exploitation. Fairtrade brings together businesses, shoppers, farmers, and workers to bring fairer partnerships to reality and build supply chains that work for everyone. Fairtrade addresses exploitation and gender inequities in supply chains through:

Fairtrade Standards

Our standards actively prevent gender-based discrimination and promote women’s participation in leadership and decision-making. When women have a voice, they help shape their own futures.

Women’s School of Leadership

Through our Women’s School of Leadership, we support female leaders in producer organizations to strengthen skills in business, negotiation, and finance, building confidence and economic independence.

Fairtrade Premium

Many Fairtrade Premium projects directly benefit women, improving economic opportunities and influencing decision-making structures within producer organizations.

If you represent a U.S.-based business that is interested in joining the global movement towards fairer, more equitable trade by sourcing from Fairtrade farmers, including the admirable women farmers listed above, please reach out to questions@fairtradeamerica.org or fill out our “Get Started” form.

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Editors Notes

• The woman farmers listed above were also recognized as part of Fairtrade America’s annual Fairtrade Month campaign, which has been implemented every October since 2020.
• Photos and videos are available upon request.

About Fairtrade America

Fairtrade America works to rebalance trade, making it a system rooted in partnership and mutual respect rather than exploitation. It’s about businesses, shoppers, farmers and workers all working together so we can all experience the benefits of trade. Fairtrade America is the U.S. branch of Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification with more than 30 years of experience working for fair trading practices in more than 60 countries across the globe. A non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Fairtrade America is part of the world’s largest and most recognized fair trade certification program —part of a global movement for change. Learn more at fairtrade.net, and by connecting with Fairtrade America on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Liz Davis, ldavis@fairtradeamerica.org | +1 202-930-4349