The Corporate Philanthropist: Pro Bono Service - Page 10
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Pro Bono Institute: The Business Benefits
The Case for Corporate Pro Bono
Numerous studies in recent years have demonstrated that volunteerism and community service have real value and meaning for a company’s employees and customers. An exciting new development in corporate volunteerism is the concept of pro bono service — corporate efforts applying the business skills of companies’ professional staff to resource-starved nonprofit groups with vitally important missions but limited business skills and infrastructure. The legal community has been a long-time leader in this movement. Large law firms and in-house legal departments contribute their lawyers’ human capital to provide legal counsel and assistance to community groups and low-income families, using the same skills they provide to their corporate clients. Their level of commitment is extraordinary: nearly 150 law firms have committed 3-5% of their lawyers’ total billable hours to pro bono service. At some firms, that translates into 100,000 hours or more of free legal services annually.
These legal institutions do not make a commitment to pro bono service for business reasons; they do so because the unmet need for that assistance is so great and because providing such service is a core element of their professional identity. However, when properly aligned with the institutions’ business goals, pro bono service attracts business value. If the experience of the legal market is replicable, corporate pro bono service can generate the following benefits for companies and their professional staff:
- Recruitment. For potential recruits, a commitment to pro bono is an important differentiator. According to the 2007 Deloitte Volunteer Impact Study, nearly two-thirds of Gen Y employees prefer companies that let them volunteer their skills — and 62% of this age bracket prefer to work for a company that affords them opportunities to apply their skills to benefit nonprofits.
- Retention, morale, and teambuilding. Professional staff members may sometimes operate in isolation from one another or feel detached from the larger operations of the business. Making pro bono opportunities available demonstrates a company’s appreciation of its employees’ skills and enables professionals to work together across departments and areas of expertise. This investment builds loyalty both to the company and among teams.
- Marketing and reputation. At a time when the news seems focused on corporate malfeasance, pro bono service is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate visibly a company’s commitment to its community. Positive public interest stories about lawyers’ pro bono services appear regularly in publications as diverse as The Wall Street Journal and People.
- Professional development. Law firms and legal departments have found that pro bono service is among the most effective and least expensive means of providing professional development opportunities for their staff. For younger employees, properly structured and supervised pro bono opportunities offer accelerated professional development, including greater autonomy and responsibility than that which they experience in their “day jobs.”
- Creativity. Using their company skills in a different context promotes creativity. For example, when HR professionals help a diverse community group overcome management challenges, they may be required to come up with new and promising approaches that can be implemented in the corporate context. In addition, as professionals provide pro bono services, the quality of their judgment and performance with community partners can add insight into their leadership and growth potential within the company.
- Networking. Pro bono service creates a vehicle for participation in wider professional networks. In addition, nonprofit boards are typically composed of powerful community and corporate leaders. The pro bono nonprofit client of today may offer a pathway to a major commercial client in the future.
- Stronger communities. Nonprofit groups play an increasingly vital role in promoting the quality of life and economic health of their communities. When communities thrive, businesses thrive. Therefore, strengthening the capacity and infrastructure of these important institutions ultimately improves the business climate as well.
About Pro Bono Institute
The Pro Bono Institute is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that offers training, support, research, and consulting services designed to increase and enhance pro bono legal services provided by law firms, in-house corporate legal departments, and legal public interest organizations around the world. For more information, visit www.probonoinst.org and www.cpbo.org.
