Corporate volunteer programs and opportunities

Our employees are passionate about improving the lives of individuals and families, offering their time, expertise and philanthropic giving to create more sustainable communities. We’re proud to support our employees’ volunteer and charitable efforts as global citizens.

We support our employees’ volunteer efforts through programs such as a robust volunteer platform, volunteer grants directed to nonprofit organizations where employees volunteer regularly, matching gifts which double the impact of employee giving and additional employee giving opportunities.

Benefits and policies

Bank of America employees gardening Bank of America employees gardening Bank of America employees gardening

Benefits and policies

We empower employees to pursue their passion through a robust volunteer program, resulting in nearly two million volunteer hours annually to help address community needs, from mentoring to building affordable housing to cleaning up coastlines, financial education and packaging food for those who are food insecure. Volunteering can also be a great career-enhancing opportunity to develop your leadership and communication skills outside your day-to-day role and to network with colleagues from across the company.


We understand some forms of volunteerism require ongoing, regular time commitments and that action in our communities doesn’t always take place after work hours. We offer paid time off — up to two hours per week during work hours, with manager approval — to encourage employees to contribute to community needs during business hours.

 

We also recognize our employees’ and retirees’ community service by providing volunteer grants directed to nonprofits where employees regularly volunteer. To honor those who give their time and service to causes important to them, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation awards volunteer grants, which are up to $500 per employee or retiree for each calendar year and are made in the name of the employee or retiree to eligible charitable organizations.

 

Through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation Matching Gifts program, we can double the impact of employee giving. In 2017, our employees donated $30 million, which was doubled in impact through our matching gifts program for a total of nearly $60 million in funding to help address pressing social issues.

Company and special events

Our events and partnerships give employees unique opportunities to volunteer their time and talent.

We have partnered with Special Olympics for more than 30 years, supporting athlete leadership on the field and empowering them off the field by connecting athletes to opportunities to achieve economic mobility and advancement. It’s part of our long-standing commitment to advancing a more diverse and inclusive society, which includes workforce inclusion within our company, engaging employees through advocacy and volunteerism, and ensuring our products and services are accessible to all. Through the power of sports, Special Olympics helps people with intellectual disabilities to discover new strengths, skills and successes, both on the playing field and in life. Our employees are passionate about supporting Special Olympics athletes and have donated nearly 50,000 volunteer hours to the organization since 2010.

In 2017, we announced a two-year partnership with nonprofit Magic Breakfast to raise funds to provide one-million healthy breakfasts to schools in disadvantaged areas of the UK. More than 500,000 children in the UK arrive at school each day too hungry or malnourished to learn. A free, nutritious breakfast before lessons can unlock critical learning, boost a child’s academic performance and increase the likelihood of economic and social mobility. Money raised throughout the partnership provided more than 2.6 million breakfasts for UK schoolchildren.

The 2018 Asia Pacific Food Drive helped raise more than 300,000 meals for underprivileged communities in the region. Asia Pacific employees rallied to bring holiday cheer and food supplies to those in need during the monthlong initiative. In addition to donating funds and food, employees also hosted various internal fundraising events and partnered with local NGOs to distribute meals. This food drive was in addition to the $250,000 grant provided to the Global FoodBanking Network to support regional food bank capacity-building efforts in Asia.

Community events

Each year, our employees across the company volunteer millions of hours with nonprofit organizations to help address pressing societal issues. From food sorting and packing at local food banks to collecting donations for children living in low-income and homeless situations, our employees partner locally to support the organizations that revitalize their communities — we applaud and support their dedication.

Our employees are also important partners in delivering on our commitment to make financial lives better, even outside of working hours. In the communities we serve, employee volunteers called Better Money Habits Champions work with their local nonprofits to help build financial know-how around topics like saving, budgeting and credit for individuals and families who need it most. Leveraging Better Money Habits® resources and existing nonprofit programs, employee volunteers help people in their communities understand their money and take steps to improve their personal finances.

Bank of America employees at a soup kitchen

Employee support and encouragement

During Global Service Month of April, we elevate awareness, drive participation and recognize our volunteer leaders and employee volunteers to build momentum and enthusiasm for volunteering year-round. We celebrate shared success through our annual Global Volunteer Awards, by which we highlight the significant achievements of outstanding employee volunteers across the globe. When an employee volunteer records at least 25 hours in a calendar year, they are recognized on the quarterly honor roll, and if you record at least 200 volunteer hours annually as an employee, you are recognized with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Volunteerism resonates with our employees. Their passion to get involved and improve lives is sustained even after retiring from Bank of America: in fact, in 2017, 492 retirees recorded 32,000 volunteer hours. In addition, we provide grants for eligible nonprofit organizations for which an employee or retiree has committed substantial volunteer hours within a calendar year.

Partnering for impact

The communities we serve across the globe must be successful in order for our company to grow in a sustainable manner. That’s why we develop strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving critical needs, bringing our collective networks and expertise to help communities grow and thrive.

Our partnerships include:

Girls who code

Employees across our organization — particularly those on our GT&O team — dedicate their time and expertise to teach young women computing and coding skills.

Habitat for Humanity

Our 30+ years of partnership include more than $85 million in philanthropic funding for Habitat’s work around the world plus employees leading home-building initiatives and providing financial literacy training for future homeowners.

(RED)

We partner with (RED) to make a critical difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS through the virtual elimination of HIV transmission from mother to child through raising funds to provide treatment, testing and prevention and care services.

Learn more about our other partnerships.