ESG pressure is rising, CSRD reporting is becoming more demanding, and one awareness day a year no longer makes a CSR commitment credible. You are looking for a CSR employee engagement platform that brings your people along and avoids the hollow communications exercise that exposes you to accusations of purpose-washing. The market talks about "employee volunteering platforms", "CSR platforms" and "giving platforms", but the question is the ability to produce measurable impact and to keep the evidence. We compare four players here, based on their public information: United Heroes, Neighbourly, Doit and Benevity. Our reading grid: impact measurement, authenticity of engagement, support and content, data security, and the vendor's own CSR standards.
Contents
How to choose a CSR employee engagement platform
A one-off charity challenge added to a sports app does not make a CSR approach. Five criteria separate a one-shot operation from a programme that feeds your CSR report and how your teams see the company.
The five decisive criteria
Questions to ask before you buy
- Can the solution export figures (donations, CO2, participation) that you can use in a CSR report?
- Is the programme permanent, or limited to one campaign a year?
- Which CSR themes are covered natively: environment, inclusion, solidarity, or only physical activity?
- Is the vendor itself committed on verifiable CSR criteria, such as a B Corp certification?
- Which security certification protects your employees' data for the length of the programme?
- Can the programme extend to several causes over the year without starting from a blank page each time?
The players on CSR and employee engagement
Here is how the four players position themselves on CSR, volunteering and giving, based on public information.
United Heroes
United Heroes is a B2B mobile SaaS solution that covers four use cases: wellbeing, team cohesion, solidarity and CSR, and change management. On the solidarity side, it offers a Solidarity Challenge combined with a Donation mechanism, built-in CO2 measurement, a Community tab that highlights employee initiatives, and Streams, thematic expert content. Dataviz reporting returns these figures for internal use or reporting. United Heroes serves 1,000+ organisations and 3 million users in 150 countries, in 30+ languages. It is B Corp certified and ISO/IEC 27001 certified. Pricing is on quote. See the CSR use case.
Neighbourly
Neighbourly is a UK company that describes itself as connecting business and communities for social good [1]. Its offer covers employee volunteering with matching to more than 45,000 vetted charities, financial giving and matching, redistribution of surplus products, impact reporting and annual multi-company collaborative campaigns [1][2]. Its site shows ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, B Corp, Good Business Charter and a Queen's Award for Innovation (2022) [1]. Pricing is not displayed, and it is free for charities [1]. Neighbourly is a UK reference for employee volunteering and community partnerships.
Doit
Doit is a UK organisation that describes an all-in-one CSR platform with access to the UK's biggest employee volunteering database [3]. Its offer includes the Doit Day platform (volunteering database, engagement tracking, ESG reporting), bespoke CSR applications, a grant-giving platform and a marketplace of 34,000 charities [3]. It was the official app of the 2023 coronation volunteering initiative [3]. Pricing is on contact [3]. No security certification is shown on the page we read [3].
Benevity
Benevity is an international corporate impact platform that unifies giving, volunteering, grants, employee groups and reporting [4]. Its features include donations with matching, in-person, virtual and skills-based volunteering, grant management and a reporting suite. It also offers "Challenges", described as gamified behaviour-change experiences [4]. The site mentions SOC 2 and ISO 27001 on its trust page (not verified) [4]. Pricing and languages are not displayed on the page we read [4].
CSR platform comparison table
| Criterion | United Heroes | Neighbourly | Doit | Benevity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main positioning | Four use cases: wellbeing, team cohesion, CSR, change management | Business and community partnerships, volunteering | CSR platform, volunteering database | Unified corporate impact platform |
| Volunteering and giving | Solidarity Challenge, Donation | Volunteering with 45,000+ charities, giving and matching | Volunteering database, grant giving | Giving with matching, volunteering, grants |
| Impact measurement | Built-in CO2 measurement, dataviz reporting | Impact reporting | Engagement tracking, ESG reporting | Reporting suite |
| Thematic CSR content | Streams, thematic expert content | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data security | ISO/IEC 27001, B Corp | ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, B Corp | Not stated | Mentions SOC 2 and ISO 27001 on its trust page (not verified) |
| Vendor's own CSR standards | B Corp | B Corp, Good Business Charter | Not stated | Not stated |
| Pricing | On quote | Not displayed | On contact | Not displayed |
Which solution for which CSR context?
You want to connect employees with local charities and community partners. Neighbourly and Doit are built around volunteering and charity partnerships in the UK, and are strong references for that purpose. United Heroes does not offer a volunteering marketplace. It mobilises employees around a cause with its Solidarity Challenge and Donation mechanism, which raise donations for charities.
You run a large corporate giving, matching and grants programme. Benevity brings giving, volunteering and grants together on one international platform. United Heroes does not manage gift matching or grants. Its role is to mobilise employees around a cause, with the Solidarity Challenge and Donation, and to report the results through dataviz.
You want CSR to sit alongside wellbeing and team cohesion in a single solution. United Heroes puts the Solidarity Challenge, Donation and CO2 measurement in the same mobile solution as wellbeing, team cohesion and change management. CSR becomes part of everyday engagement. If team cohesion is your first priority, our team cohesion app comparison explains that choice.
You need figures for your CSR reporting. Check what each option measures natively (donations, CO2, participation) and what you can export. United Heroes offers CO2 measurement and dataviz reporting. Compare this with the reporting of other options.
Why United Heroes for employee engagement in CSR?
Concrete data for your CSR reporting. The Solidarity Challenge, combined with Donation and CO2 measurement, produces concrete data you can use in a CSR report or a conversation with stakeholders.
A permanent showcase, not a one-off. The Community tab and thematic Streams keep the approach visible all year, instead of a single annual campaign.
Standards applied to ourselves first. B Corp certification is the proof of United Heroes' own CSR commitment. ISO/IEC 27001 certification is the proof of information security.
Together in action. That is our brand signature, and it sums up the ambition of the solidarity use case: turning a CSR conviction into measurable mobilisation. Discover our approach to employee engagement in CSR, or see how it works.
FAQ
What is a CSR employee engagement platform?
It is a solution that helps an organisation mobilise its employees around its social, environmental and solidarity commitments, aiming for real buy-in, not only communication.
How do you choose an employee volunteering platform?
Assess its ability to measure impact in figures, how permanent the programme is across the year, the depth of its content, data security, and the vendor's own CSR standards.
Can a CSR platform produce indicators for my CSR reporting?
It depends on the solution. Those with native impact measurement, such as CO2 or donations collected, together with reporting, are best placed to feed non-financial reporting. Always check exports against what your reporting team needs.
What is the difference between a one-off charity challenge and a continuous CSR engagement programme?
A one-off charity challenge mobilises once, around one cause and one date. A continuous programme builds an ongoing approach, with several possible causes over the year and impact tracked over time.
Sources
Sources consulted in October 2026.
Information on other vendors comes from their public communications. It may change and does not replace a direct conversation with the vendor. Figures on United Heroes come from our internal data.
- [1] Neighbourly, official site. https://www.neighbourly.com
- [2] Neighbourly, volunteering solution. https://hub.neighbourly.com/solution/volunteering
- [3] Doit, corporate partnerships. https://doit.life/corporate-partnerships
- [4] Benevity, official site. https://benevity.com
