Working for Women Turns Volunteering Into Leadership Development

Forbes

27-04-2025

Volunteering creates a ripple effect of impact—strengthening communities, building connections and ... More inspiring leadership through service.
April is National Volunteer Month. It's a time dedicated to honoring the power of service and the profound impact that giving back has on communities, women and individuals alike. Whether it's mentoring someone to take the next step in their career or helping an organization expand its reach, every act of service fuels a ripple effect of positive change. Especially today, when challenges are complex and resources are stretched thin, volunteering reminds us that real leadership starts with showing up, sharing our skills and lifting others as we climb.
When Beth Bengtson launched Working for Women, she wasn't just starting another nonprofit but reimagining an organization's role in uplifting marginalized communities. W4W connects women already in the workforce—many of whom struggle to cover basic expenses—with better job opportunities, mentorship and skills training. However, what sets W4W apart is a leadership philosophy that sees social good and business success not as competing goals but as two sides of the same coin.
'Before W4W, I lived in the for-profit world and always believed business could be a force for social good,' Bengtson explains. 'I saw firsthand how important community engagement was to employees and how much businesses could accomplish when they brought their values into their operations.'
This belief became the foundation for W4W's pioneering 'skillunteering' model, in which corporate employees—from companies like Paramount—volunteer their expertise to help grassroots nonprofits and the women they serve. Through skillunteering, W4W isn't just meeting immediate needs; they're building a leadership pipeline, strengthening businesses and reshaping communities.
Beth Bengtson, founder and CEO of Working for Women
Bengtson's career included a role as VP of positive impact—a title that perfectly encapsulates her lifelong commitment to weaving purpose into profit. She saw that while traditional volunteering (like packing bags at a soup kitchen) made people feel good, it rarely didn't tap into the deeper business needs nonprofits faced.
'We don't often think of nonprofits as businesses, but they have the same strategic challenges,' she shares. 'They need marketing plans, revenue models, strategic roadmaps—all the things companies have.'
By encouraging businesses to treat their volunteer work as a strategic partnership, W4W makes corporate social responsibility a powerful leadership move, not just a philanthropic checkbox. It's a vision that amplifies business impact far beyond a single event.
Bengtson says one of the most powerful outcomes of skillunteering is how it naturally cultivates leadership skills among corporate volunteers.
'Skillunteering creates deeper connections between employees and the companies they work for,' the founder explains. 'It enhances their skills, gives them real leadership and reach opportunities, and often puts them on the promotion track.'
Employees engage in projects that stretch their capabilities, whether leading workshops on negotiation skills, developing new marketing strategies or crafting business plans for nonprofit partners.
Bengtson notes, 'During Covid, I worried corporate giving would dry up. But what we saw instead was a realization: experiential learning through social good wasn't just altruistic; it was one of the most powerful development tools companies had.'
Leadership isn't just built in boardrooms. It's built when employees step outside their comfort zones to solve real-world problems and find their voice.
Another leadership lesson W4W emphasizes is a strategic focus. Every project starts by asking nonprofits what they truly need to execute their strategic goals, which can be anything from marketing support to program development to operational improvements.
'We sit down with executive directors and ask, 'What's on your roadmap? What could you do if you had the right team behind you?'' she states. 'Our [corporate] volunteers then become an extension of their team bringing professional skills nonprofits otherwise couldn't afford.'
W4W moves beyond charity and into capacity-building by rooting projects in tangible needs. It's a leadership model that values long-term impact over feel-good moments, aligning corporate resources with nonprofit visions for maximum change.
Working for Women Negotiation Workshop led by volunteers from ZS and program participants from New ... More Women New Yorkers.
For Kimaya Padgaonkar, Strategy Insights and Planning Manager at ZS, volunteering with W4W has been transformational professionally and personally.
'I was visiting another ZS office where they were having a W4W workshop,' Padgaonkar explains. 'It was so moving that I went back to Philly and asked them to bring it there.' Even after relocating to London after her experience, Padgaonkar stayed connected to W4W, explaining, 'I love that my professional skills can be used to give back in a more impactful, sustainable way.'
Through seven years of skillunteering, she has strengthened key leadership skills, from presenting to executive directors to navigating unstructured business problems. 'At that point in my career, I didn't have opportunities to present to senior leaders. Skillunteering gave me the space to grow,' she says.
The experience also expanded her network and deepened her sense of purpose at work. These projects helped her meet colleagues she wouldn't have otherwise. 'Having my company support a program like this has definitely been a factor in my retention at ZS,' she emphasizes. 'For the past 1.5 years, I've been leading the partnership with W4W from the ZS side. It's cool to see people who are juniors now, where I was when I started volunteering with W4W, moving up and benefitting from the program.'
Through W4W, Bengtson shows that leadership today isn't just about profit margins or titles. It's about making tangible investments in people, purpose and community. Combining skill, strategy and heart, her company's model creates a ripple effect: building stronger nonprofits, leaders and businesses simultaneously.
As Beth puts it, 'Go out and do social good—and actually improve your bottom line. It's a hidden secret, but it's the future of leadership.'