The Positive Impact of Charity Team Building

Charity team building is a way for companies to bring their team together to engage in activities that support a worthy cause. Unlike fundraising through traditional office events like charity bake sales, charity team building activities offer participants a chance to actively and directly contribute towards making a difference in someone’s life, while also taking part in a fun activity with their team.

Research suggests that giving time towards a charitable cause is perceived as more virtuous than giving money as people become more emotionally invested. Therefore, charity team building events where employees directly contribute towards tangible outcomes can be significantly more impactful and meaningful than when organisations donate money without active employee involvement.

Here at GOTO Events, we’ve designed our charity team building events to ensure participants engage in hands-on activities that directly contribute to causes that align with your organisational values. These events generate a positive atmosphere where compassion, empathy, teamwork and proactive problem-solving thrive.

See our top 7 charity team building activities.

At the heart of all our charity team building events is the mission to create tangible impact. Our activities are designed to actively involve participants in contributing to the efforts of a charity chosen by you. We’ve partnered with charities in both the UK and internationally and identified their most pressing needs to transform them into fun and engaging team building activities. Here’s how you can make a difference with our corporate charity events:

Organisations, managers and team leaders can set examples, bringing the ethical organisational values into the everyday workplace. It begins with establishing a transparent Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy and actively engaging employees in both decision-making and implementation.

Charity team building is just one example of how you can integrate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into your work culture. This not only makes a difference for important causes but also spreads awareness about societal issues and ways to support them. Awareness is equally as important because it brings broader support to causes and inspires employees to extend their impact beyond the workplace.

Research has shown that charitable giving stimulates the area of the brain that registers pleasure, proving that dedicating time and effort to charity activities makes us feel good. Helping people in need is empowering, boosting our self-esteem and providing a deep sense of fulfillment. As previously mentioned, hands-on participation in charitable efforts, such as charity team building, amplifies this emotional impact even further.

Team building activities are an optional perk that employers can offer, reflecting a commitment to employees beyond their work roles. Hosting team building events shows you are investing in the personal growth of your team, which in turn boosts engagement, trust and retention.

Insight from the British Council suggests that employees are more inclined to work for organisations that act as agents for change and strive to make a meaningful social impact. What’s more, the millennials and Gen Z workforce place an even higher value on the social and environmental impact of their work and the organisations they work for. Embracing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aligns with these values and will deeply resonate with these employees.

Charity team building can contribute to your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts in two ways:

Charity brings people together by encouraging collaborative efforts towards a common goal, which strengthens team cohesion and creates a shared sense of purpose.

Team building is an excellent tool for building stronger relationships within your team, uniting individuals under a shared challenge or task. Incorporating a charitable aspect into team building amplifies these benefits, creating a lasting connection between people, knowing they achieved something meaningful together.

In the Putt for a Purpose charity team building event, participants are divided into teams to construct mini-golf holes using food bank items like cereal boxes, canned goods and sauce jars. After completing their holes, teams compete in a friendly mini-golf game. This event uses elements of competition to inspire creativity while fostering teamwork, resulting in a collaborative effort to bring the unique golf course to life. At the end of the event, all items are packaged and delivered to charity by our staff.

Charity team building develops deep connections among employees, an essential element in the workplace. According to the Harvard Business Review, strong work relationships directly influence performance. When individuals feel connected to their colleagues, they’re more motivated to excel to avoid disappointing them.

What’s more, charity team building is a way of showing employees that you care about the environment and the community in which you operate. It also shows you care about your employees, inviting them to be part of something meaningful and fun. This builds trust between you and your team; and employees who trust their employer perform better at work than employees who don’t trust their employer.

As an organisation who operates for profit, the bottom line is always a factor to consider. Though profit is not the primary aim of charity team building, boosting your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts indirectly enhances your reputation among clients, potential candidates and other stakeholders. According to a survey by YouGov, the public are willing to pay more for brands that appear ethical and sustainable.

Thus, by fulfilling your Corporate Social Responsibility, you simultaneously achieve other objectives that untimely contribute to your bottom line: improving retention rates, boosting productivity, fostering innovation and problem-solving, making you more attractive to potential talent, obtaining competitive advantage and driving sales.