Costco is known to provide good values to its members and as a good place to work for its employees. Costco has also pledged to give back to the communities it serves—and not to build market share, but because it’s the right thing to do.

The entire corporation got behind the fund drive for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). Employees encouraged members to buy paper balloons and print their names on them—with all proceeds going to CMN. To promote more balloon purchases, a Seattle employee even wore them while working! And he alone was responsible for $10,000 in donations. Altogether, more than $11.5 million was raised this year through Costco’s employees and members.

Costco launched a company-wide Volunteer Reading Program in 1998. Interested staff are trained to tutor children who need extra help developing better reading skills. They meet weekly with their students, who range from grade school to high school age.

At Costco headquarters outside Seattle, WA, the employee-run Volunteer Center acts as a clearinghouse for identifying local needs, then promoting and tracking volunteer opportunities. The center has registered about 300 Costco employees. Each month, local charities can present their programs to the group, which finds ways to help. From soup kitchens to Toys for Tots; Outdoors for All to Gilda’s Club, volunteers from Costco are giving back in big ways.

The Costco Backpack Program is a nationwide program, started in 1993. Each warehouse identifies a local school to “adopt.” Employees then distribute new backpacks filled with supplies to each student in a chosen grade. Since 2005, more than 225,000 backpacks have been given away each year by Costco in the U.S.

Individual Costco employees also find their own ways to give back, from taking bakery items to the homeless to holding disc golf tournaments to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. In Alaska, the Anchorage Costco warehouse manager helped the Alaska Air National Guard as they delivered Christmas gifts to needy families in remote villages. And in Maryland a Costco employee helps knit items for infants, soldiers and nursing home residents.

These are just a few of they way Costco and its employees volunteer in their communities, making them better for everyone!

Tom’s of Maine is a natural care products company that was started back in 1970, by a couple who wanted to simplify their lives. Unable to find the unprocessed foods and pure personal care products they desired, the decided to make their own. Their simple philosophy was that their products would not harm the environment.

Now part of Colgate-Palmolive, Tom’s of Maine still practices the business acumen that made them successful—listening to customers’ needs and coming back with natural, sustainable solutions.

Tom’s of Maine also works with its customers to fund deserving nonprofit organizations (NPOs). This year, they are inviting NPOs to nominate their community programs for a chance to share in a $100,000 Community Action Fund award. To involve more of the community, nonprofits can rally their supporters to vote for them.

This year, Tom’s of Maine is taking the program a step further—and getting volunteers involved, too! Partnering with VolunteerMatch, the online volunteer recruiting and sign-up website, nonprofits can describe their volunteer needs when applying for the Community Action Fund awards.

Through July 2, any qualifying nonprofit with a budget under $2 million can apply online at www.50statesforgood.com. Nonprofits are encouraged to explain how they will use volunteers to benefit their communities. The 50 States For Good program is designed to make it easier for people to find out what charity organizations in their communities need help. Connecting with others and spreading the word about the chance for funding and volunteers is also part of the fun.

40 finalist organizations (in honor of Tom’s of Maine’s 40th anniversary) will have their project and volunteer request showcased on the company’s website. Then in August and early September, voting begins. Five programs will each receive $20,000, to be announced in October.

Tom’s of Maine has always donated 10% of its profits to its community and offers employees paid time off to volunteer in their local communities—up to 12 days per year!

For more information, visit www.50statesforgood.com.

FedEx strives to be “a great place to work, a thoughtful steward of the environment, and a caring citizen in the communities where we live and work.” The entire company’s passion for improving the quality of life around the world is evidenced in these programs:

For the Environment: FedEx incorporates responsible environmental practices into daily operations and always looks for ways to increase efficiency while reducing waste. They recently introduced the company’s first all-electric truck.

EarthSmart Outreach directs volunteer efforts in support of environmental challenges that cities face. FedEx is teaming up with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to help six non-profits recreate six urban spaces across the U.S. Almost 300 FedEx team members will help out, ensuring that a little more green space can be enjoyed by thousands of their fellow citizens. This month, they’re planting trees in Memphis and Pittsburgh, cleaning the Los Angeles River, helping young people plant a green roof in New York City, and developing an outdoor living classroom in Washington D.C.

For the Needy: Employees all over the world volunteer in their local communities, from teaching children to be safe pedestrians in Korea, to collecting food from restaurants and bakeries to donate to needy people in Germany .

Each fall, FedEx staff members help out the United Way in their local communities during FedEx Cares Week. Last year, days of service held all across the U.S. allowed more than 2,100 FedEx team members to volunteer in their communities. Some of the projects they participated in were organizing local food banks, painting child-care centers, and building playgrounds.

For Education: Trucker Buddies is a pen-pal program that pairs FedEx drivers with kids from grades 2 through 8. Kids love the special attention from these caring adults, which helps them learn while having fun writing back and forth to their buddy. Trucker Buddy International has helped more than 1 million school children.

For Cancer Research: Throughout the month of March, FedEx employees volunteer to help with the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days. They pack, sort and deliver millions of daffodils to help in the fight against cancer. Nearly $3 million was raised in 2008 in New England, as FedEx team members delivered more than 400,000 daffodils around Boston.

For Local Non-Profits: FedEx Special Delivery was launched in 2004 to help collect and transport food, clothing, and toys to needy kids and adults throughout the U.S. and Canada. FedEx partners with local non-profit organizations and donates transportation services and manpower to help them serve their clients.

FedEx team members busily volunteer their time throughout the year, helping the environment and their fellow citizens—and they’re supported by their employer, too, because “FedEx believes it is important to give back to the communities we serve.”

Chevron is a massive energy company, with operations in every corner of the globe, thousands of employees, and retail outlets from Canada, to China, to Colombia.

Residents of countries and communities where Chevron employees work benefit from the company’s commitment to sustainability and long-term socioeconomic benefits, like health care, water, sanitation, volunteers, and disaster response.

Chevron partners with North Star Foundation, which operates roadside health clinics at truck stops and border crossings in Africa and Asia. Their center for HIV/AIDS testing, education and wellness care is located in a “hotspot” area, where drivers and people from the surrounding communities can access services, leading to a 17% decline in sexually-transmitted infections in five years.

Chevron was the first Corporate Champion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, using its financial power, as well as its ability to leverage medical experts from around the world, to work on eradicating these devastating diseases. Chevron is giving $30 million to the fund.

In the Gulf Coast of the U.S., Chevron is a major employer and presence. After Hurricane Ike in Port Arthur, TX, volunteer employees of the local lubricants plant assisted the elderly and others who needed help with clearing debris and trees, removing flood-damaged flooring and installing temporary roofs.

In addition, Chevron launched a three-year effort to support public education in school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. From new whiteboards and computers to leadership training, the program was deemed a great success for the children, their teachers, families and communities.

Chevron Humankind is a community-based program that matches employee and retiree contributions to non profit organizations, funds grants for volunteer time and sponsors volunteer programs. In 2008, the program recorded more than 110,0900 hours of volunteering, and $20 million in contributions to NPOs.

Chevron’s efforts to improve lives both in the U.S. and around the globe are seeing real, measurable results.

All images courtesy of Chevron

Nonprofit volunteer managers are sometimes inundated with offers from corporations—especially around volunteer “holidays” like The National Day of Service and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While no NPOs we know would turn down volunteers who are willing and qualified to help, sometimes too much of a good thing can make for headaches.

Every volunteer manager has had unusual requests from corporations. From custom-designing a volunteer opportunity just for them, to dictating who will show up and when, and what their employees will and will not do, companies can be “overeager” with their requests.

Some companies want only group activities—are they working on their team-building? What if you have more tasks that require only one person or two-people teams to complete?

Other companies want opportunities that will teach their employees a skill, or enhance their existing skills. What if your needs do not match this desire?

NPO managers are not required to satisfy their corporate volunteer programs’ needs. NPOs do not have to invest tasks and projects to meet their requirements. If you have work that matches what a company wants for their employee volunteers, then great. Let them go get it done! If not, offer an alternative.

You’re in charge—there’s no need to fill someone’s made-to-order volunteer desires. Ask for their help in getting your goals met. Offer alternatives that might make both sides happy. Break up large projects into smaller ones that can work over a longer term. Alternatively, group smaller projects into a work day that a corporate team can attend together.

Finding ways to fulfill both sides’ needs is important when corporate volunteer programs come calling. NPOs can’t alienate supporters, but they also shouldn’t let them dictate the terms of engagement.

Honda’s commitment to its communities is reflected in the large numbers of employees (associates) who volunteer to serve their fellow citizens. The company says it “believes that volunteering shows the power of the human spirit and proves that by working together, we can build a better world.”

Honda’s Community Action Team (CAT) serves as the face of American Honda to the community. Every November, Southern California families in need receive a box with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal through Honda’s Corporate Community Relations Department and CAT’s Thanksgiving in a Box project. Honda associates personally collect the food and assemble the boxes, which are distributed to families from several youth and family services nonprofit organizations.

The Special Olympics of Southern California and the Madrona Marsh Preserve also benefit from CAT activities. Honda associates volunteer and assist at the Special Olympics gymnastics event—which has been sponsored by American Honda for years. And American Honda volunteers help with restoration work at the Preserve – home to rare plants and animals in Torrance, CA. Each year associates assist with planting, weeding, and picking up trash on Habitat Restoration Day.

Honda Heroes rewards associates, spouses and retirees who support nonprofits in their communities. Volunteer hours are rewarded with “Dollars for Doers” grants. More than 198,000 hours volunteered by Honda associates has resulted in grants totaling more than $400,000 since 1995!

National programs sponsored by Honda America include Nation Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM), Ride for Kids for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, and Little League Baseball. The NYPUM helps disadvantaged kids from 10 to 18 by engaging them in fun and challenging activities with positive adult role models. The Ride for Kids helps children with brain tumors by linking motorcycle enthusiasts with fundraising events—and more than $34 million has been raised since 1984.

Finally, kids all across America benefit from Honda’s dedication to Little League Baseball. Honda is the official sponsor of Little League Baseball and supplies the vehicles, creates an interactive display and gives out collectible pins at the LL World Series. Honda also contributes $100,000 annually to help create or renew baseball leagues in urban areas by helping find and build baseball diamonds and teaching parents how to run a league in their community.