Making Time for Good: How Fossil Connects Employees to Purpose Worldwide

At Fossil Group, impact starts with a simple idea: how we spend our time reflects who we are.

As a global lifestyle brand with 5,000 employees across more than 100 countries, Fossil has built its culture around “time well spent”— a philosophy that values creativity, authenticity, and intentionality not just in products, but in how the company shows up for its people and communities.

Through its global sustainability strategy, Make Time for Good, and the work of the Fossil Foundation, Fossil is focused on creating meaningful opportunities for employees to give back, especially in support of underserved and marginalized youth around the world.

Turning Employee Passion Into Global Impact

As employee expectations evolve, so does Fossil’s approach to corporate social responsibility.

Today, engagement isn’t just about offering programs. It’s about understanding what employees care about, responding to what’s happening in the world, and creating opportunities that meet people where they are.

“Employee engagement and philanthropy has evolved because our world is evolving and our employees are evolving as well,” said Michael Iyescas, Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Philanthropy at Fossil Group. “It’s really an opportunity for us to have conversations around what are employees passionate about, what’s going on in the world, and how can Fossil, as a global company, meet the needs of our community in only the way that we know how.”

Creating a Bridge Between Employees and Impact

To make that vision a reality on a global scale, Fossil relies on YourCause from Blackbaud.

“YourCause helps provide that bridge and connective tissue between the home office, the field teams, and the work in the community that needs to be done,” Iyescas explained.

With YourCause, Fossil employees can:

• Discover causes they care most about
• Participate in giving and volunteering programs
• See the collective impact of their efforts across regions

At the same time, Fossil gains the visibility it needs to understand engagement at a global level, from employee giving to volunteer hours across its workforce.

While data plays a critical role in measuring impact, Fossil believes it’s only part of the picture.

“Although impact and metrics are important, I think the human element is just as important to this work. YourCause has been a great partner and a great steward to help us think about how we can do some of those things.”

A Partnership Built on Trust and Innovation

Fossil’s relationship with YourCause spans more than a decade, evolving alongside its global CSR strategy.

Over time, that partnership has helped Fossil refine how it engages employees, scales programs globally, and adapts to a rapidly changing world.

“This work is more critical than ever,” Iyescas said. “This work is more critical than ever and it’s the partnership in the relationship with YourCause over many years has really sort of built this, this level of shared trust and confidence to say, are we meeting the moment not only for our employees, but our for our communities?”

Together, Fossil and YourCause continue to explore new ways to innovate, design better experiences, and deepen social impact around the world.