For years, business generosity was synonymous with a company’s s community outreach, but new research from the 2025 Generosity by the Generations Report confirms that this definition has dramatically shifted. While community impact remains a crucial element of the generosity conversation, it is no longer the primary driver for most employees’ loyalty.

The data reveals a significant shift in how employees define business generosity. Most employees (83%) now define generosity as internal efforts, those focusing on employee care, company culture, or business operations. Only 17% see community outreach as the primary way a company can demonstrate generosity.

However, this does not mean a company’s community engagement efforts have lost their resonance. Instead, it suggests that the impact is most significant with specific demographics, particularly Millennials. 

Millennials are the generation most engaged by their employer’s community outreach. They are more likely than any other generation (by 10+ points) to identify a wide range of community-focused initiatives as very important.

Across generations, PTO for volunteering remains a top request in terms of how a company demonstrates generosity to the community, but there are some interesting differences:

• Baby Boomers are more likely to say that donations of products or services are the most important.

• Gen Z are twice as likely as any other generation to say that public statements on social issues are the most important.

While a company’s community outreach may not be the priority for most employees in terms of generosity, it is a critical motivator for Millennials. The 2025 Generosity by the Generations Report details how to maximize the impact of community outreach efforts by focusing on engaging this group through a diverse and visible range of initiatives.