Goals and progress
Community investment | Employees: Our strongest asset
Our employees bring a wealth of skills and passion to volunteering. We aim to connect them with a broad range of opportunities, from hands-on volunteering to skills-based opportunities to board service. Our programs include:
- Money for Time provides a $150 grant to nonprofits for every 15 hours of volunteering time.
- Take Five offers exempt corporate employees five hours of paid time off to volunteer each month, or 60 hours per year.
- Board Service grants are given to support leaders of our company who sit on a nonprofit board by providing that organization with an annual grant ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
- In Action Days are events organized by our family of Gap Inc. brands to provide local volunteer opportunities. Thousands of employees have participated, dedicating hundreds of hours to a wide variety of projects.
- Team Grants support employee team projects. When at least three store employees spend 25 hours volunteering with a nonprofit that supports underserved youth or women, Gap Inc. provides a $250 grant to that organization. Each store receives an annual grant budget based on store volume. Since the program began in 2006, it has grown significantly, increasing from 220 team projects in 2007 to 723 in 2008.
Nancy Brandes, a longtime Banana Republic employee in Chicago, has organized numerous volunteer projects for store employees. One project involved “adopting” women during the holidays through a leading mental health organization. Others have helped people gain entry into the workforce, with our employees teaching resume writing and conducting practice interviews.
“Employee volunteers always thank me for planning the events and ask what we’re gong to do next,” she says.
In addition to expanding programs that support volunteering, we encourage employees to make financial contributions. We offer both one-time and payroll deduction gift matches to further the impact of our employees’ donations to the community.
