THE POWER OF PRO BONO
January, 2013
SLIDE 1
1
ABOUT THE TAPROOT FOUNDATION
Our mission is to lead,
mobilize and engage
professionals in pro bono
service that drives social
change.
► 5 offices: San Francisco Bay Area,
Los Angeles, Chicago, New York,
and Washington DC
► 3,500+ professionals delivering 1+
million hours of pro bono
consulting valued at over $112
million since 2001
► Consulted to 20+ Fortune 500
companies to build and advance
employee pro bono programs
www.taprootfoundation.org
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TODAY’S AGENDA
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
Intro to pro bono
Case studies
The case for being Powered by Pro Bono
Getting started
Scoping pro bono
Resources
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PRO BONO 101
WHAT IS PRO BONO?
 Pro Bono, short for the Latin phrase Pro
Bono Publico, means, “for the public good”.
 Services donated by professionals to
organizations working for the public good.
 Strategy, marketing, HR, IT, legal, etc…
SLIDE 5
PRO
AND
VOLUNTEERISM
PROBONO
BONO
AND
VOLUNTEERING
NUMBER OF
VOLUNTEERS
Low
High
BOARD
SERVICE
PRO BONO
SERVICE
SKILLED
VOLUNTEERING
“HANDS-ON”
VOLUNTEERING
SLIDE 6
BUILDS INFRASTRUCTURE
AND LEADERSHIP
CAPABILITIES
PROVIDES
EXTRA
HANDS
High
Low
IMPACT
ON
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
STATE OF MARKETPLACE
1
ACCESS
Number of the top ten
organizational priorities
cited by nonprofit EDs
that ISN’T a direct fit
for pro bono
The number one
BARRIER of
nonprofits to
getting more pro
bono
1,000,000
29,983
LINKEDIN profiles
that include the term
“Pro Bono”
Hours donated by TAPROOT
FOUNDATION PBC’s since 2002
PRO BONO GOALS
25
Taproot
ADVISORY SERVICES
SLIDE 7
clients in first two years
5%
1%
for AIGA
members
by PUBLIC
ARCHITECTURE
3%
# of nonprofits that have
access to the pro bono
services they need
62%
Business and design
schools in our cities
with pro bono programs
20
Number of the top 25
BUSINESS SCHOOLS
that have pro bono
programs
CASE STUDIES
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DonorsChoose.org
20% OF BUDGET
PRO BONO
 American Express – pro bono
team provided a landscape
market analysis
FOUNDED 2003
 ClearChannel – donated hightraffic radio spots for celebrities
to endorse DonorsChoose.org,
then did the production work
pro bono.
50% OF U.S. PUBLIC
SCHOOLS HAVE RECEIVED
DONATIONS
 Agenda NYC – provided pro
bono collateral design
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$130 MILLION DONATED
“We love pro bono
contributions because
they encourage
involvement.”
Boundless Readers
FOUNDED 1989
ANNUAL BUDGET $838,000
BOUNDLESS READERS
 Annual Report Service Grant (2010)
 Pro bono SalesForce consultant who
customized SaleForce.com (received
SalesForce grant) to their needs
 Worked with a pro bono videographer
who assisted in developing training
videos
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WORKS TO DEVELOP
YOUNG PEOPLE INTO
LIFELONG READERS AND
ENABLES TEACHERS IN
SUPPORTING THEM
Year Up
10% OF BUDGET
PRO BONO
 Boston Consulting Group –
pro bono work developed basis
for organization
 Videographers – cover
events and create marketing
for corporate partners
 Monitor – 4 strategic planning
processes helped shape the
organization
 Goodwin Proctor – provided
4 loaned employees over three
years
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11
FOUNDED 2000
ANNUAL BUDGET: $40
MILLION
8TH FASTEST-GROWING
NONPROFIT IN THE
COUNTRY
6,000+ ALUMNI; 100% JOB
PLACEMENT
“Nonprofits that don’t
use pro bono suffer from
a severe lack of
imagination.”
Taproot Foundation
25% OF BUDGET PRO BONO
 Website design from Dragon Rouge and
People Ideas & Culture
FOUNDED 2001
 HR consulting from American Express
and Warner Brothers
ANNUAL BUDGET $4.7
MILLION
 Office space design from HOK
 Program design and development from
FTI Consulting
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OVER 2,100 NONPROFITS
SERVED; MORE THAN $100
MILLION IN PRO BONO
SERVICES DELIVERED
POWERED BY PRO BONO
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WHY BE POWERED BY PRO BONO?
1. Builds a strong voice
2. The best nonprofits are doing it
3. Develops leadership and talent
4. Generates significant (and additional) corporate
partnerships
5. Source of board members
6. Organizations are getting more complex and need
additional supports
7. Offers professional growth opportunities
8. Expands resources
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The number one reason cited by nonprofits for
not using more pro bono is “not knowing how
to find quality pro bono resources.”
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1 Taproot Foundation and Board Source, 2011 Nonprofit Leader Survey (unpublished data).
KEY BARRIERS
Surveyed nonprofits reported:
65%
Don’t know how to find high quality pro bono
resources
51%
Don’t have enough staff time to manage pro
bono resources
26%
Don’t have enough staff expertise to manage pro
bono resources
SLIDE 16
“Nonprofit Survey: Leveraging Pro Bono Resources”, FTI Consulting
and the Taproot Foundation, 2011.
PRO BONO IN BUSINESS AREAS
“Companies are
increasingly
developing pro bono
programs as a key
tool to increase their
positive community
impact.”
Margaret M. Coady,
Director, Committee
Encouraging Corporate
Philianthropy
FIELD
PRO BONO USE (%)
Legal counsel
60
Marketing
41
Human Resources
30
Financial and administrative support
29
Financial advisory or consulting
27
Information technology
27
Organizational design or coaching
26
Board member or executive search
20
Source: FTI Consulting and the Taproot Foundation, “Nonprofit Survey: Leveraging Pro Bono Resources”
(unpublished data, 2011).
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PRO BONO PIE
15
Billion
Dollar
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IT’S MORE THAN THE PROJECT
Increased
impact
Deeper
engagement
Organizational
development
► Increased capacity for administrative
and operational needs
► Increased resources to focus on
program delivery
► Stronger relationships with funders
► Extending network
► Innovative professional development
► Increased employee satisfaction
► Cross-sector collaboration and learning
It’s not about doing more with less—
it’s about doing more with more.
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GETTING STARTED
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20
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRO BONO
PRINCIPLE ONE
Know and define your needs
PRINCIPLE TWO
Get the right resource for the right job
PRINCIPLE THREE
Be realistic about pro bono deadlines
PRINCIPLE FOUR
Act like a paying client
PRINCIPLE FIVE
Learning goes both ways
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USING PRO BONO SUCCESSFULLY
SCOPE
SECURE
Identify possible
projects
Identify good
leads
Select one that is
good for pro bono
Make contact
Create a scope
document to
discuss with
potential
providers
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MANAGE
Create a project
scope together with
your provider
Be a good client
Create a solid
agreement
Learn from the
project so you can
get even better
results next time
FOUR TESTS FOR SCOPING PRO
BONO PROJECTS
1. SCOPE: Can you clearly define the work that needs to be done? Do you
feel confident that it won’t change over the course of the project?
2. URGENCY: When does the project need to be done? What are the
consequences of not hitting that deadline?
3. KNOWLEDGE NEEDED: What knowledge about the field and
about your organization will the pro bono consultants need? Is the outcome
worth providing that education?
4. STAFF AND BOARD READINESS: Would your team and
board be open to having this project done (and done pro bono)? Do they
have the time to be engaged on the project? Will they have time to
implement the project deliverables?
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SCOPING PRO BONO
1) Identify possible project
2) Select one that is good for pro bono
3) Create a scope document to discuss with
potential providers…
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RESOURCES
taprootfoundation.org
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PROJECT FINDER
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PROVIDER FINDER
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RESOURCES
LINKEDIN – Linked In
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“This book is a
critical resource for
any nonprofit board
serious about
resource generation.”
- Linda Crompton
CEO, BoardSource
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