Every summer for the past six years, employees from mortgage and equipment financing company MCAP have gathered at Habitat for Humanity build sites to help construct homes.

“Employees are allowed time off with pay for this,” says Ric McGratten, who is executive vice president of the Toronto-based company and who has participated in several of the Habitat builds.

McGratten says the company’s approximately 700 employees in its 16 offices across Canada chose to devote their efforts to Habitat because its purpose ties in nicely with MCAP’s business. MCAP employees, clients, industry association members and other business partners work together on each Habitat project, he says, adding that the work is enlightening. In addition, MCAP manages 214 mortgages for the charity, amounting to more than $16 million under service.

Canadian companies have a variety of programs that support and reward volunteer efforts. One of the more generous practices is allowing staff to do volunteer work on company time, a practice referred to as “release time.” Company programs vary, however, in terms of how much time off is permitted and what level of support is given to charities. Some, such as MCAP, have specific days set aside for employees to volunteer with chosen charities, while others leave the time commitment and choice of organization up to each staff member.

Royal Bank of Canada is fairly typical in the financial services industry in its approach to release time. It offers a “day of caring” to its employees during the annual United Way campaign. Employees can also spend a day volunteering for a charity selected by the bank.

Investors Group Inc. takes a similar approach, giving employees regular opportunities to be active in corporate-supported community projects, such as outreach dinners, days of caring and the United Way campaign. The company also permits employees to take time, at their managers’ discretion (or their own, if they work independently), for their own volunteering efforts.

TD Bank Financial Group began with a less formal approach toward release time, offering its employees — again, at the discretion of managers — time off during work hours to pursue charitable, community service, coaching or fundraising activities. But the process was formalized in January 2005, says Simon Townsend, manager of external communications, corporate and public affairs.

As a general rule, full-time employees are now eligible for 12 paid hours a year, while part-time employees can have six hours. Townsend points out that these are just guidelines.

Internal surveys showed TD employees were keen to have a formal framework for volunteering in place.

“People are proud to work here, and employees that feel supported in their charitable efforts will perform better,” he says. “We think that can play a role in helping us attract and retain the best people.”

Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal also leave release time decisions up to the discretion of management. IE

volunteering in teams

One weekday this past September, Chris Clark, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada, joined a team of his colleagues at the Furniture Bank, a charity-run warehouse in the city that provides used furniture to those in need.

“I spent a lot of my day polishing furniture, helping fix some of it and helping people choose [their furniture],” he says.

It’s all in a day’s work for Clark, who launched the PwC Canada Foundation slightly more than a year ago to support community volunteer efforts by employees.

The program has several components, culled from research into what sister organizations are doing around the world.

Team volunteering — that’s what brought Clark to the Furniture Bank — offers PwC employees the opportunity to contribute to the community on specific volunteer days arranged by foundation leaders in each office.

Volunteer grants, meanwhile, acknowledge after-hours volunteer efforts by providing $300 to any charity for which a PwC employee has volunteered at least 50 hours a year. In addition, the company distributes awards to peer-recommended outstanding volunteers.

So far, more than PwC 1,000 employees have participated in the volunteer program, with 730 signing up for a team volunteer day and 148 applying for the grant for the charity of their choice.

The team volunteer days are in line with what charity organizers are hoping will become a trend in the Canadian business community toward offering so-called “release time” — paid time off for charity work.

@page_break@What makes PwC’s program unique is that teams of six to 10 employees take on a task together for a day.

Venus Lee, tax advisor for PwC in Windsor, organizes the team outings for her office. She and six other staff members spent a volunteer day last September repainting the rooms in a local women’s shelter.

Just perusing the list of possible causes to support, supplied by head office, was a learning experience, according to Lee. “The need in our community is just surprising,” she says.

The work itself, although tough, was satisfying, says Lee, who also volunteers for her church: “They appreciated us. It means something to know that you’ve done something for somebody.” — WENDY CUTHBERT