Since 2003, AGL’s ‘Energy for Life’ program has provided avenues for our people to support causes that they are passionate about.
For nearly 15 years, we have operated what’s known as a ‘closed’ workplace giving program, where our people could donate to a defined list of charities. This list of charities (typically ~12 charities) was reviewed periodically by surveying our people about their preferred charities and causes.
While this approach held us in good stead for many years, the limited number of charities that we could support through this model, and the diverse interests of our people, meant that many people gave to their preferred charities outside of the AGL program (missing the opportunity for matched funding payments). This also made it harder for our people to make meaningful connections with local charities in the areas where we operate.
Bolstering our support to charities
In April 2018, we launched AGL ‘Power to Give’, an open workplace giving program, which offers our people the opportunity to give to over 400 charities directly from their pay.
Our people can choose to set up regular contributions to one or more charities each pay or make one-off donations, and they can change their preferences through an easy-to-navigate web portal as often as they like.
Regular and one-off charity donations are matched by AGL, up to $5,000 per employee per annum, effectively doubling the impact for the charity.
AGL’s ‘Power to Give’ platform also allows our people to set up fundraising pages so they can raise valuable funds for their favourite charities. AGL matches all fundraising pages up to $1,000 per page – whether the funds have been donated by employees or their family and friends.
Quick ‘Power to Give’ stats
- Since the launch of AGL ‘Power to Give’, our people have donated to over 132 different charities.
- AGL employees have created over 30 fundraising pages
- AGL has matched over $19,000 on fundraising pages since April 2018.
What else does the program offer?
AGL also gives its people one day of paid volunteering leave each year. AGL ‘Power to Give’ also connects our people to volunteering opportunities from over 1,500 charities, creating a one-stop shop for all types of giving.
We’re strong advocates of the importance and benefits of volunteering
Volunteering delivers positive social outcomes for the community, and benefits employees by engaging our people, promoting teamwork and building morale in their selected volunteering opportunities, which are often completed as team activities.
The ‘Power to Give’ platform is operated by Goodcompany. In July this year, Goodcompany announced its ‘Top 40 Best Workplaces to Give Back in 2018’. AGL was ranked 9 out of 40 in overall top workplaces to give back and 2 out of 12 of similarly sized organisations.
The people that work at AGL are passionate and generous, and we’re proud to be able to support them to donate and volunteer in ways that really matter to them.
The people that work at AGL are passionate and generous, and we’re proud to be able to support them to donate and volunteer in ways that really matter to them.
Read more in our Sustainability Report
You can find out more about AGL ‘Power to Give’ and our broader community investment program, Energy for Life, in our FY18 Sustainability Report.
As reported in our Sustainability Report, in FY18 AGL (though matching) and our people, donated over $250,000 to charities through workplace giving and fundraising.
And we’re confident that with our new ‘Power to Give’ platform we’ll be able to make an even bigger difference to the communities where we live and work.