CIVIC50 Orange County

Top 50 Community-Minded Companies in Orange County

Civic50 OC Awards Ceremony

2026 CIVIC50 Assessment

2026 Assessment Workbook

Assessment Due Date: June 30th, 2026

Get your CIVIC50 Award Ceremony Tickets

“It is a tremendous privilege to be recognized as a Civic50 OC honoree,” says Windes Managing Partner Sean McFerson. “Our dedication to philanthropy and community service reflects our belief in the power of corporate social responsibility to drive positive change. By contributing time and resources to a wide range of causes that promote the health, welfare, and enrichment of our communities, Windes is dedicated to making a meaningful and lasting impact.”

— Sean McFerson, Managing Partner, Windes Audit | Tax | Advisory

ASSESS, ANALYZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE

Be Recognized as a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility

The Civic50 Orange County, presented by OneOC, recognizes the 50 most community-minded small, medium, and large companies in Orange County each year.

Honorees are determined using True Impact’s adapted national Civic 50 online survey that is independently administered and scored. Benchmarking and celebrating best practices provide visibility and a framework for how local companies can use their employees’ time, skills, and other resources to improve the quality of life in our community.

Launched in 2017, OneOC proudly became the first local affiliate of The Civic50 program, established by the esteemed national Points of Light Foundation. In partnership with OneOC's Corporate Volunteer Council of OC (CVCOC), a premier membership organization for businesses with both established and emerging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, The Civic50 Orange County champions and elevates the impact of CSR in our region.

Through dynamic networking events and tailored programming, The Civic50 OC and CVCOC empower companies to harness their time, talent, and resources to not only enhance their employees' lives but also enrich communities and create lasting value for all stakeholders. Join us in leading the charge for positive change and inspire a future where businesses thrive while making a meaningful difference.

Assessment Due Date: June 30th, 2026

Two people at an event, one holding flowers; others in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

The program has served as a benchmarking tool and platform for sharing best practices in the corporate citizenship sector. The Civic50 honorees are selected based on the four dimensions: investment of resources, integration across business functions, institutionalization through policies and systems and impact measurement.
Companies that participate in The Civic 50 have a unique opportunity to gain national recognition for their community engagement programs, take a leadership position in corporate community involvement and share their best practices with the broader business community. Many companies have also said the process of taking the survey and receiving their individual scorecards with information on their rankings helped them understand how they could improve their programs and strategies in the future
The top 50 companies will be recognized at OneOC’s annual Civic 50 OC Celebration in the Fall and throughout the year through website, social media, and print recognition. Only the top 50 companies will be shared publicly with acknowledgment. Companies that participate but do not qualify for the top 50 are kept confidential.
There is no cost to take the survey, and all applicants receive a complimentary scorecard report from True Impact that list your company’s individual score and ranking in each dimension. Companies also have the option of purchasing more detailed benchmarking and analysis reports from True Impact after the completion of the survey.
We estimate it will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes of staff time to enter your responses in The Civic 50 Orange County online survey. Additional time, 5 to 6 hours will be required to pull together quantitative information about your company (not including internal approval process).
Companies with operations, employees and community engagement programs in the designated local survey region are eligible to participate. Not all companies have the same level of resources or engagement in all the activities measured by the survey. Therefore, scoring and awards will be based on the number of employees (small 5-99, mid-size 100-499 and large 500+), and similarly sized companies will be measured within their peer group and compared only on their community engagement programs inside the survey region. Small and medium-sized companies are encouraged to apply and not be intimidated by the depth of the questions asked. It is not expected that they will be engaged in all the activities included in the survey.
Important Note: The survey instrument consists of quantitative (listed above) and multiple-choice questions that inform The Civic 50 scoring process. Not all companies have the same level of resources or engagement in all the activities measured by the survey. Therefore, scoring and awards will be based on the number of employees (small 5-99, mid-size 100-499 and large 500+), and similarly sized companies will be measured within their peer group and compared only with their community engagement programs inside the local survey region. 
All data collected in this survey will contribute to a company being listed on The Civic 50, unless explicitly noted otherwise. Only the top 50 companies overall, sector leaders, and their case studies requested in optional questions, will be shared publicly, with attribution. Companies that participate but do not have qualifications for the top 50 or as a sector leader are kept confidential. All other information submitted on The Civic 50 application may be aggregated and shared for benchmarking and continuous improvement purposes but will be anonymous (not attributed to any specific company).
Your company must submit the survey data period from the company’s last full 12-month reporting period (fiscal or calendar year).
The employee who is most knowledgeable and responsible for community engagement programing and initiatives should submit the survey on behalf of your company. It is recommended that another staff member who is familiar with the work of the company should review the information to be submitted for accuracy and completeness.
Please submit assessment by June 30th, 2026. click here

For convenience, applicants can collect their data in the Word document provided and save their responses in the survey tool (view Survey Instructions for more details).
Yes, provided the responses are still accurate for the year the application covers. The methodologies you may have used to compile data will continue to be relevant. Please take the time to make sure the breadth and depth of your organization’s work is represented. Please also note that the qualitative examples you submit will form the basis of a best practices report, so we encourage you to share your best and latest work.
All definitions for terms used in The Civic 50 survey can be found in our glossary of terms. For discrepancies between The Civic 50 definition and your organization’s legal definitions, we require companies to use The Civic 50 definition in lieu of your organization’s definition to ensure accurate results.
Companies are permitted to use estimations for their responses if they have reasonable confidence in their accuracy. (For example, a reasonable estimate might be based on a proportional allocation of revenue for your locality.) Otherwise, they should indicate “N/A” in the response field.
If your company or office contributes to an organization outside of your survey region (e.g., a donation to a national nonprofit headquartered in another state), you are permitted to estimate the portion that would benefit your survey region. For example, if your company made a $10,000 donation to national organization with 100 chapters throughout the U.S., 10 of which are located in your survey region, you could count $1,000 of that contribution. If you cannot make this estimation with reasonable confidence, then the contribution should not be counted.
A personalized report of your organization’s score will be available from True Impact, following The Civic 50 announcement. These reports will be available for all companies that participate in the survey for the purposes of continuous improvement.
Yes. All eligible companies that submit a completed survey will receive a free individual scorecard, which lists the company’s individual score and ranking in each dimension. Additional reports to support more detailed corporate reporting and continuous improvement efforts are available for a fee. Please contact Civic50@TrueImpact.com for more information.
Points of Light reserves the right to exclude companies on The Civic 50 list that are not considered to be in good standing during the research year. Bases for not being “in good standing” include, but are not limited to: the company experiencing official, significant legal sanction; an adverse company event so significant that it deems The Civic 50 practices presented in its application as a misrepresentation of the company’s overall community involvement efforts; or any development that puts into question the company’s community involvement to the degree that most people would not consider it reasonable to find the company on a list of the most community-minded companies.

ASSESS

Participating companies complete an annual, confidential survey and are evaluated on the following four dimensions of community engagement.
Investment
How extensively and strategically the company applies its resources to community engagement in Orange County, including employee time and skills, cash, in-kind giving and public leadership
Integration
How a company’s Orange County community engagement program supports business interests and integrates into business functions, or how it “does well by doing good.”
Institutionalization
How the company supports community engagement in Orange County through its organizational policies, systems, and incentives.
Impact
How the company measures the social and business outputs and outcomes of its Orange County Community engagement program.
ANALYZE

All companies that complete a survey will receive a free scorecard and valuable bench-marking data to better understand and increase their community impact and to share their best practices with the broader business community.
ACKNOWLEDGE

Selected companies will be recognized and celebrated at the Civic 50 Happy Hour Celebration in September.
Benefits
Year-Round Recognition - In addition to announcements by OneOC, honorees are provided with marketing assets and resources to promote their designation internally and externally.
Align & Scale Your Programs – The Civic 50 OC framework provided companies with simple, yet effective tools for aligning and scaling their programs to drive greater community impact.
Peer Connections and Learning – Network with other peer companies to share insights and best practices.
Storytelling & Inspiration – The framework and assessment tool help companies understand and authentically tell their impact story to inspire others to act.
Standardized Language – Using the common language and framework accelerates learning and advances the sector.

CSR and Company Impact on Customers

Gain information to Meet and Exceed Customer and Employee Expectations*
64% of customers agree: “I believe brands can be a powerful force for change. I expect them to represent me and solve societal problems. My wallet is my vote.”
73% of employees expect prospective employers to shape the future of society.
41% of ALL ADULTS and 59% of GEN Z have made decisions on products based on a company’s CSR.
51% of Gen Z have considered applying for or taking a job with a company specifically because they believed it is committed to being socially responsible.

*Points of Light: Engaging Americans in Civic Life (May 2020)

2025 CIVIC50 Orange County Honorees