CSR Beyond the Check: Engaging the Modern Workforce

Host Cindy Koetzle speaks with Bonterra’s Chief Impact Officer Kenrick Fraser about how organizations are moving beyond legacy CSR models to create social impact programs that better serve employees and nonprofits alike. Their conversation explores why employee participation has plateaued, how the “glacial middle” of management can become an unintended barrier to engagement, and why data helps leaders connect CSR to productivity, skill development and retention. Kenrick shares how organizations can design programs for today’s distributed workforce by offering in-person, virtual and asynchronous opportunities that reach remote, frontline and deskless employees. They also discuss how technology, AI-powered personalization and unified impact data make participation easier while reducing administrative burdens for nonprofits. Kenrick explains how a more connected approach to CSR strengthens employee communities, expands nonprofit capacity and turns social impact into a more measurable part of the employee experience.