From Nice to Necessary: Why Corporate Mentorship Is the Next Frontier of Skills-Based Volunteering

For years, corporate volunteering has centered on hands-on service and one-day events. But the workforce has shifted. Employee expectations have evolved. And according to Points of Light, volunteerism itself must double by 2035 to meet community needs. Mentorship is one of the only scalable, high-impact levers that can get us there.

During our recent webinar with Points of Light, Senior VP Lacey Gaitan captured it perfectly: "Mentorship is not just about giving advice. It's about transferring opportunity."

That framing marks a turning point. Mentorship is moving from "nice to have" to necessary infrastructure for how companies engage talent, advance equity, and meet their CSR goals.

The Problem: Traditional Volunteering Leaves Millions Behind

Traditional volunteering excludes a massive percentage of willing employees—especially busy professionals, caregivers, hybrid workers, and people without geographic flexibility. Meanwhile, 22% of young people seeking a mentor are already on waitlists. Career services teams are under-resourced. Nonprofits supporting mentorship are overextended.

And here's the equity gap: the majority of college students graduate without a single industry connection. For first-generation students and those from underrepresented backgrounds, that number rises to nearly 80%. This isn't a talent issue. It's an access issue.

The Hook: Mentorship Unlocks What Traditional CSR Cannot

Mentorship unlocks participation from the very people students most need access to: industry experts, mid-career professionals, and emerging leaders who might never join a traditional hands-on project. As Points of Light emphasized, these professionals can now contribute meaningfully from anywhere—and at scale.

This is the future of skills-based volunteering: accessible, flexible, virtual, and measurable. And it deepens—not replaces—existing community partnerships.

The Agitation: Why Current Methods Are Failing

We're facing a convergence of urgency that traditional CSR programs simply cannot address:

• Rising youth mental health challenges that require supportive relationships with caring adults
• Systemic under-representation across corporate America with no clear path to change
• Increasing pressure for companies to demonstrate real, measurable impact
• A generation of employees demanding purposeful work aligned with their expertise

As Lacey shared, supportive relationships directly build resilience, confidence, and lifelong skills. Yet our current systems leave the vast majority of students without access to those relationships. Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

The Solution: Structured Corporate Mentorship at Scale

Companies are uniquely positioned to close this gap—and mentorship is the most direct path. Through platforms built for scale, corporate mentorship delivers:

For companies:

• Scalable skills-based volunteering that can serve thousands of students
• Higher employee engagement—especially among Gen Z and emerging leaders
• Stronger employer brand with values-aligned talent
• Measurable community impact delivered directly into existing CSR systems (Benevity, YourCause by Blackbaud, etc.)

For employees:

• Professional development through "reps," as Dr. David Yeager describes it—practicing leadership, coaching, communication, and inclusion
• A sense of purpose deeply connected to their expertise

For communities:

• Cross-class connections, which research shows are the strongest predictor of economic mobility ever identified
• More students successfully transitioning from school to high-demand careers

The Proof: Mentorship Delivers High-ROI Impact

The data is clear. Cross-class connections are the strongest predictor of economic mobility ever identified. Corporate mentorship creates these connections at scale while simultaneously expanding your volunteer pipeline, meeting workforce-equity goals, and delivering measurable outcomes through the systems you already use.

This is not soft ROI. This is strategic infrastructure for the future of corporate social responsibility.

The Call to Action: Make Mentorship Your Next Move

Mentorship isn't an "extra." It's a strategic shift toward equitable access, measurable outcomes, and a wider volunteer pipeline that meets the moment we're in.

Corporate mentorship closes the access gap—and accelerates your ability to meet both volunteerism and workforce-equity goals.

Mentorship is no longer nice. It's necessary.

Watch the webinar replay here: https://mentorspaces.com/points-of-light-webinar