A product of sustained effort and coordination, we hosted the Corporate Volunteering Conclave 2024 on the 6th of March, 2024 (Wednesday). The conclave, hosted at the RNS Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, was a day-long event that inspired multiple insightful discussions on corporate community engagement.

We had over 250 participants including leading minds in CSR and Volunteering. We were extremely heartened by the response we got from our participants and the engagement we received throughout the lead-up to the conclave.

Book Launch

We also had a book launch! We combined our 15+ years of experience in volunteering and corporate-community engagement to create a booklet about how corporate volunteers can be engaged effectively. The book, “Doing Good, Feeling Great, Impactful Ideas for Corporate Volunteering”, is a guide with a host of ideas for better engagement of corporate volunteers.

Introducing the book, Sri Venkatesh Murthy, Chief Mentor at Youth for Seva noted that corporates should look to engage employees better in terms of volunteering. The booklet was launched amidst the presence of all the dignitaries.

Speaking to the audience, the Chief Guest Deepak Prabhu reflected on the inception of Cognizant Outreach in 2007. He emphasized the company's commitment to incorporating Technology, Inclusion, and Collaboration across all of Cognizant's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, explaining the reasons and importance behind this focus.

Session 2

Panel Discussion

A captivating panel discussion titled "Building an Effective Ecosystem for Corporate Volunteering" took center stage, featuring a lineup of distinguished speakers. Ramesh Balasundaram ably steered the conversation as the moderator.

Session 3

Corporate Volunteering Course

We have also developed a dedicated course on Corporate Volunteering which was also launched at the conclave. Vishwanath Sharma, Program Head, Youth for Seva highlighted the need for resources around corporate volunteering, for both the corporates and their employees. The course was launched by Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, Chairman of, Academy for Creative Teaching.

Speaking to the attendees, Dr. Karajagi remarked, "Volunteering isn't merely a task; it's a mindset." He underscored this point with a live science experiment on stage, illustrating the critical role that 'Attitude,' along with 'Knowledge' and 'Skills,' plays in our quest for excellence.

Corporate Changemaker Awards
(Corporate Volunteers)

In this category, awards were presented to individuals whose volunteer work significantly impacted the recipients. With over 50 nominations to consider, our jury went the extra mile to determine the winners. This rigorous selection process led to a tie, resulting in the second and third prizes being jointly awarded to two individuals within this category.

Corporate Changemaker Awards
(Corporate Entities)

Awards were bestowed upon corporations for the efficacy of their volunteer programs. From a multitude of nominations in this category, three corporations emerged as awardees

Corporate Changemaker Awards
(NGOs)

Changemaker NGOs were awarded based on the effective deployment of volunteers and the volunteering projects. Among the many NGOs that were nominated, three NGOs were awarded prizes.

Posts