5 program metrics every CSR leader should be tracking in 2025

At the end of a long workday, a social impact manager received an email that made all the weeks of planning and executing worth it: a message from Mateo, an employee who just participated in a volunteer event, sharing how the experience gave him a renewed sense of purpose. Moments like these are powerful, but how do you capture them in a way that resonates across the organization?

Effectively tracking program metrics enables corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams to refine strategies, demonstrate impact, and communicate the business value of social initiatives. These metrics help align social impact programs with business goals, enhance employee engagement, and ensure long-term sustainability. Additionally, the metrics allow CSR leaders to tell a compelling story of their work’s return on investment (ROI), both internally to executives and externally to stakeholders.

Yet, measuring corporate social impact is notoriously complex. Traditional business metrics often fail to capture the full depth of employee engagement, nonprofit partnerships, and the broader community influence of CSR initiatives. To bridge this gap, we’ve outlined key metrics, incorporating the latest data on corporate social responsibility trends and employee engagement.

1. Frequency and consistency of social impact experiences

Hosting a single volunteer event annually is a start, but sustained impact requires ongoing engagement throughout the year. A higher frequency of social impact experiences increases visibility and embeds social good into corporate culture.

• Why it matters: Embedding social impact into your company culture has a huge impact on your company’s human resources goals. Purpose-driven companies retain employees at a 40% higher rate than their counterparts. Employees who feel a sense of belonging in their workplace see a 50% reduction in turnover risk, underscoring the value of consistent engagement. Additionally, companies with engaged employees experience 22% higher productivity and 81% reduced absenteeism.
  

• How to measure: Track the number of social impact experiences by month or week to see where there are peaks or valleys in quantity of offerings. Consider filling out the calendar where there are valleys, or using a resources such as Visit.org’s Social Impact Calendar to generate ideas throughout the year.
  

• Best practices: Offer a range of engagement options (virtual, in-person, hybrid, or on-demand) to maximize participation across dispersed teams. 
  

2. Financial contributions to nonprofits

Tracking the dollars donated to nonprofit organizations provides a straightforward metric for evaluating a company’s financial commitment to social responsibility. Still, not every dollar travels the same distance. With trust-based philanthropy, such as contributing unearmarked dollars through Visit.org signature experiences, dollars go exactly where they are needed most, according to the nonprofit experts who know what their communities need.

• Why it matters: This is the KPI that impacts nonprofit partners most directly, both immediately and in the long term. Being a reliable donation stream for them, it allows them to grow the number of community members they serve up by up to 10 times. Especially in times like today when other major funding resources are at risk, such as the current great uncertainty around government funding, corporate contributions are more important than ever. Additionally, it impacts your company’s bottom line: companies with giving and volunteering programs have 2.3 times the employee retention rate of those without one.
  

• How to measure: Use a platform like Visit.org to receive impact reports that allow you to monitor donations through workplace giving and social impact initiatives.
  

• Best practices: Amplify your impact by embedding donation opportunities into volunteer experiences, making it easy for employees to contribute to the causes they engage with.
  

3. Employee sentiment

Qualitative data helps you get a better picture of how your programming is resonating with employees. Conduct post-event sentiment surveys that allow you to analyze what was meaningful to employees. 

• Why it matters: Knowing where your employees stand and how to get aligned with their passions and interests will improve your programming and impact your bottom line. Employees who feel connected to their company’s mission and colleagues are more likely to be engaged and productive at work in general. Corporate volunteering has been shown to increase employees’ sense of purpose at work by 33%. Additionally, workplace volunteers are significantly more likely to feel they have opportunities for professional growth (70%) and develop new skills at work (72%).
  

• How to measure: To gauge employees’ perception of impact, connection to colleagues, and desire to participate in future initiatives, include questions like:

  • Do you feel more connected to your company after this experience?

  • Did this experience help you build relationships with colleagues?

  • Do you want to participate in similar events in the future?

  • Which social impact areas matter most to you?
    

• Best practices: Send questions immediately following the experience in order to maintain accuracy. Ensure that answering the survey is quick and easy by offering multiple touch points such as before, during, and after the event.
  

4. Nonprofit partnerships

Depending on your goals, you may need to track the quality or quantity of partnerships you have. Whether the partnerships occur through a one-time volunteer event or a years-long collaboration. Ultimately, a well-matched nonprofit partnership benefits the community, strengthens employee engagement, and reinforces a company’s commitment to purpose-driven work. 

• Why it matters: The quality and longevity of nonprofit partnerships enhance the effectiveness of social impact programs. While supporting a variety of nonprofits through one-off experiences have an immediate and tangible effect on the community, companies that foster strong, long-term relationships with nonprofits are poised to drive more sustainable change.
  

• How to measure: Track the nonprofits supported by each social impact experience your team participates in, including the duration of partnerships and feedback from nonprofit partners about corporate involvement.
  

• Best practices: Use employee surveys to understand what nonprofits, impact areas, and communities, matter to your team. Often, employee volunteers will be the advocates for long-term partnerships.
  

5. Brand perception 

In this digital age, the most efficient way to communicate a commitment to impact to employees, customers, the community, and other stakeholders is through accessible storytelling. Robust social media and press coverage of your company's CSR initiatives can enhance your oqbrand's reputation, attract top talent, and deepen audience trust.

• Why it matters: Consumers and employees alike value companies that are visibly committed to social impact. In fact, a large swathe of adults believe that companies should be focused not solely on profit generation, but on community contribution as well. A well-communicated CSR strategy strengthens employer branding and corporate reputation.
  

• How to measure: Use a social listening tool to monitor engagement, sentiments, and press mentions related to CSR activities. 
  

• Best practices: Post your initiatives on social media. Partner with CSR partners like Visit.org to create content to share across multiple platforms and audiences.
  

Bonus metric: Employee participation

The number of employees participating in a given event or program, including the total number of volunteer hours contributed, can be a helpful indicator of reach and engagement, but it should be viewed in context. While participation numbers reflect resource investment and potential visibility, they are not always the most accurate reflection of depth or impact. 

• Why it matters: When paired with participation rate and impact outcomes, this metric can help CSR leaders evaluate how aligned employees feel with the company’s values. Research shows that employees who participate in social impact programs report significantly higher job satisfaction. According to Edge Research, 79% of employees who volunteer through workplace programs are satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 55% of those who do not. Furthermore, volunteers are twice as likely to recommend their company to others.
  

• How to measure: Tracking hours through a tech-driven platform like Visit.org eliminates the inaccuracies of self-reported data and ensures full transparency. 
  

• Best practices: Keep in mind that participation is a debated metric in the industry. A high headcount doesn’t always mean high impact. In some cases, a focus on participation alone can shift attention away from deeper, more meaningful experiences. Track participation rate alongside qualitative outcomes and use this data as part of a broader engagement story.
  

The bigger picture: Balancing quantitative and qualitative data

While tracking these program metrics are essential, CSR leaders should also incorporate qualitative data to tell a complete story. Understanding how social impact initiatives influence company culture, employee well-being, and nonprofit outcomes adds depth to reporting.

Indeed, the most successful CSR create meaningful, lasting experiences that enhance both employee fulfillment and community impact. However, metrics are key in understanding impact. By using data to refine programming and demonstrating the ROI of social impact, companies can build stronger, purpose-driven cultures that benefit employees, communities, and the bottom line.