Pro Bono 101
Joel Bashevkin
Executive Director West Coast
Taproot Foundation Overview
The Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits
by engaging business professionals in service.
Traditional
Traditional
Foundation
Foundation
+
Volunteer
Volunteer
Matching
Matching Company
Company
+
Professional
Professional
Services
ServicesFirmx
Firm
Services
Firm
Founded in 2001 by entrepreneur Aaron Hurst
 Strong need in nonprofit community for capacity
building services
 Modeled after the Peace Corps
 “Pro Bono 2020”
Taproot Overview: Our Delivery
Demand:
>2,500 grant applications to date
855 pro bono consulting projects awarded
~220 projects under way at one time
Value:
> $34 million
Supply:
>15,000 professionals have applied to volunteer
>5,000 are currently Active
Each volunteer donates about $8,000 worth of time/project
Impact:
97% of grantees agree project will strengthen
infrastructure
Satisfaction:
92% of grantees are satisfied with final deliverables
3
The Pro Bono Action Tank
PBAT Mission:
Ensure organizations serving the public good have access to
the high-quality professional services they need to achieve
their missions in addressing the social, economic, and
environmental issues of society.
Goals for Today
By end of session, you will be able to…
1.
Understand the types of pro bono work happening across the
country
2.
Appreciate the challenges associated with using pro bono
consultants and common solutions to overcome those challenges
3.
Know more about how to access pro bono consulting services and
some best practices
Community Engagement Spectrum
Most common nonprofit needs:
Making
Budget
Extra Hands
Infrastructure and Capacity
Skills-Based Volunteering
Hands On
Volunteering
‘Non Core’ skills
• Cash grants
• Beach clean up
• Mentoring
• Collateral design
• Board placement
• Dollars for Doers
• Soup kitchen
• Junior Achievement
• IT assistance
• Matching gifts
• Habitat for
Humanity
• Science fair judge
• HR consulting
• Board member
training
Financial
Support
Pro Bono Work
Board Service
What is “pro bono” service?
Professional services made accessible to
organizations serving the public good.
Pro bono services can be rendered by a company, professional services firm,
intermediary, association or individual professional, but must leverage the
core competencies and expertise of the professional(s) engaged to meet the
client’s need. These services are typically provided without the expectation of
a fee or at such a nominal fee as to make them accessible to the client. The
client (the organization serving the public good) includes charitable, religious,
community, governmental, educational and civic organizations.
Common Types of Pro Bono Consulting
• Strategic and Business Planning
• Human Resources/Professional Development
• Marketing and Communications
• Finance and Accounting
• Information Technology
• Logistics / Operations
Target – Redesigning Libraries
Local school library
makeovers utilizing the
design and instruction
expertise of Target’s
property development
team
“The new library is beautiful. It makes me cry.”
Teacher at Washington Elementary School
“As a designer, it’s easy to take for granted what we do day in and day out.
All I did was a sketch not realizing the impact on the whole community. It
makes me proud to work at a company that values the community and my
contributions.”
--Reggie Reyes, Senior Design Lead, Target
Deloitte – College Summit
Data warehouse
developed by Deloitte’s
IT consultants tracks
college placement rates.
600% increase in staff productivity related
to improved reporting capabilities.
Wells Fargo – School District Branding
Positioning for entire
school district
completed by Wells
Fargo branding team
through a Taproot
Foundation Service
Grant
Enabled all stakeholders to participate
increasing citizens’ confidence in the
school district
Parents Leadership Institute
BEFORE
AFTER
• Launched new name and logo in 2006
• Within five months: 450 more people reached than ever before
• In 2007: org provided10,000+ hours of assistance to parents, or double
the number of hours of assistance provided before Taproot’s support
Breakout Session: Consulting Challenges
1.Identify 10 challenges you have
experienced working with paid
consultants?
2.How would using pro bono
consultants impact these
challenges?
Five Most Common Pro Bono Challenges
1. Projects aren’t completed in a timely manner.
2. Expectations aren’t met.
3. The project recommendations can’t be implemented, or
can’t be implemented without continual assistance.
4. The project doesn’t actually help the client.
5. Neither party is satisfied with the experience.
Breakout Session: Overcoming Challenges
How can you structure pro bono
work to address each of these
challenges?
Ten Solutions to Challenges
1.
Know what your needs are and be prepared to explain them
thoroughly. Have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish.
2.
Ensure project scope is based on an alignment of the needs and the
competencies of the pro bono team.
3.
Ensure the pro bono team has the skills needed to ensure a high
quality outcome.
4.
Ensure the project is a win-win before committing —
it’s okay to say “no”.
5.
Document the scope and expectations up front and receive a formal
commitment (i.e. signatures) from both the nonprofit and the pro bono
team.
Ten Solutions to Challenges
6.
Develop a communication plan for the project to ensure that both
parties are accessible and continued alignment is reinforced.
7.
Set regular milestones to formally check in on progress and solicit
feedback.
8.
Define clear metrics based on the above indicators to measure the
success of the engagement.
9.
Include an implementation and sustainability plan as the final
deliverable for all projects.
10. Formally close the project with the pro bono team and celebrate the
collective contribution.
Asking for support
• While pro bono services has been happening for
a long time on an ad hoc basis; it is nascent to
the corporate community engagement umbrella.
• Understand the core competencies of the
organizations you want to partner with and what
you need from them.
• Variations between:
– Intermediaries
– Consulting Firms
– Corporations
– Other
Sources of Pro Bono Support
NPO
Experience
Consulting
Experience
Management
Support
Staffing
Support
?
?
Intermediaries
(Taproot Foundation)
Consulting Firms
(Deloitte)
Corporations
(Target, Capital One)
Informal Network
(Craigslist, Board, friends)
?
?
?
?
?
Tips: Professional Service Firms
• Making contact
– Some firms have a community involvement manager
– Will need a Partner to sponsor your request
– Use your Board to find a Partner in your network
• Making the request
– Be clear about your challenge / opportunity
– Ask for their help to determine the scope and solution = core
competencies
– Come prepared to explain why it will increase their visibility in the
community and be a rewarding learning experience for their
consultants
Tips: Corporations
• Making contact
– Currently, few community involvement departments have the ability
to deliver a pro bono team
– You need a senior contact in the functional department to sponsor
the project (e.g. SVP Marketing) = core competencies
• Making the request
– Be as crisp as you can be about the exact work you need done
and why
– Come prepared to explain why it will be a rewarding learning
experience for their team
Checking In – Questions?
Do you now…
1.
Understand the types of pro bono work done across the country?
2.
Appreciate the challenges associated with using pro bono
consultants and common solutions to overcome those challenges?
3.
Know different ways to access pro bono and some best practices?
Potential Next Steps
• Access www.doitprobono.org or www.taprootfoundation.org
– Review the online Pro Bono Case Study Showcase
– Subscribe for latest trends and updates
– PBAT Activities:
• Definition
• Dollar valuation
• Key metrics
• Best practices
• Communications Toolkit
• Nonprofit Readiness tools
• Skills Map Toolkit 1.0
• Advocacy plan
• Conduct an internal audit of your own needs to understand
how you can best leverage pro bono services
• Contact a local intermediary (such as Taproot Foundation)