Pro Bono FAQ

Toward a New Definition of Pro Bono: Frequently Asked Questions

What is pro bono service? Isn’t pro bono service just in the legal community?
Pro bono is a term traditionally associated with the legal field’s practice of providing free legal services to persons or organizations in need. Pro bono service has taken on a wider definition as more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving their business practices.

Pro bono service includes, but is not limited to, business services and skills in the following areas:

  • Strategic and Business Planning
  • Fundraising and Development
  • Human Capital and Organizational Development
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Finance and Accounting
  • Information Technology
  • Logistics
  • Product Development

Examples of pro bono service include:

  • A web developer making a website for a nonprofit organization;
  • A marketing firm working with a nonprofit organization to design a marketing strategy around a new program;
  • A human resources specialist working with nonprofit organization to design a standardized system for performance review; or
  • A company with logistics expertise helping a food bank improve its delivery and inventory system.

A company may also have a unique competency or skill set not mentioned above that matches well with a nonprofit or community need.

What is the difference between skilled volunteering and pro bono service?
Skilled or skills-based volunteering is the practice of using work-related knowledge and expertise in a volunteer opportunity. In other words, skills normally used to generate income are provided free of charge to a nonprofit organization. Examples of skilled volunteering include:

  • Teachers volunteering as tutors;
  • Nurses volunteering at a free clinic; or
  • Tax specialists helping low income individuals review eligibility for the earned income credit.

Pro bono is the donation of professional services that are included in an employees’s job description and for which the recipient nonprofit would otherwise have to pay. It is a subset of skilled volunteering that gives nonprofits access to the business skills and experience they need to develop and implement sound business strategies, increase their capabilities, and improve their organizational infrastructure.

For some organizations, the terms pro bono service and skilled volunteering may be related. The goal of the Summit is to help companies identify a spectrum of ways to leverage their professional expertise to improve the scale, sustainability, and impact of nonprofits in communities across the nation and around the globe.

Pro bono service is a strategic choice among a myriad of options that corporations can select when building their corporate social responsibility portfolio. Corporations should identify their core competencies and consider how pro bono and skills-based volunteering can utilize those competencies most effectively.

What is the history of pro bono service? How did pro bono emerge in the legal profession?
Pro bono service is an evolution of the private sector’s participation in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The term “corporate social responsibility” rose of out of the environmental movement in the 1970s, as greater partnerships were created between neighborhood communities and the business sector. The CSR movement has strengthened corporate philanthropy practices such as employee volunteer programs, in-kind donations, and charitable contributions.

Although law firms have been working for decades to ensure justice for those who cannot afford representation, it was not until about 25 years ago that this focus began to escalate dramatically. In 1983, the American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted a rule which stated that all lawyers should “render public interest legal service.” Pressure from the Bar Association and subsequent revisions which clarified the terminology ignited wide-spread interest and engagement. In 1993, the Law Firm Pro Bono Project put forth a challenge to the legal community to contribute three to five percent of billable hours to pro bono legal services. As of September 1, 2007, 149 law firms had joined in the movement as signatories. The number of legal pro bono organizations has also drastically increased from approximately 80 organized programs in 1980 to almost 800 in 2007.

What are the nonprofit needs for pro bono service?
The nonprofit community is at the forefront of addressing today’s most pressing challenges. By providing health care, housing, food, and education services they are ensuring that individuals have their basic needs met. As a society, we are increasingly reliant on this structure to care for our communities, address environmental issues, and provide needed cultural elements such as theater and art spaces. While there is an increasing reliance and need on this structure, the sustainability of nonprofit organizations is often neglected. According to the Johns Hopkins’ Listening Project, 80 percent of organizations reported capital investment needs for “program development,” while just 25 percent reported success in raising the needed capital.

Pro bono provides a unique opportunity to help nonprofit organizations better serve the causes they address and ensure sustainability into the future. For example, nonprofit organizations report, on average, a 40% increase in efficiency when significant technology improvements are introduced. Using volunteers who are proficient in technology to address structural needs in the nonprofit sector can have a dramatic impact on the capacity of nonprofit organizations.

Is there a growing trend in corporate America for pro bono service?
In 2004, the Points of Light Foundation found that 60% of Fortune 500 businesses list their employees’ volunteer efforts on their websites. A 2005 survey of executives by the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College found that 64% of executives surveyed say that corporate citizenship produces a tangible contribution to the company bottom line. Among executives at large companies, 84% see direct bottom-line benefits. While this isn’t an indication of the scale of employee volunteerism across the country, it is a demonstration of the value that corporations place on volunteering as a key component of corporate philanthropy.

Pro bono service takes employee volunteering to the next level by marrying a company’s core competencies with its corporate social responsibility strategy. Pro bono service fits nicely with a new trend in the private sector where corporate volunteering, as a component of corporate philanthropy, is becoming more personal. Businesses are creating a stronger alliance between their mission and the causes to which they donate time, funds, and services.

Corporations have the potential to strategically focus their social investment by leveraging their most competitive asset – their talent. The specific knowledge, unique business experience and particular skills of professional services employees are often what nonprofits lack most.

Another example of the rise of pro bono service is the growing number of intermediaries that help link the private and nonprofit sectors. Organizations like the Taproot Foundation, Happiness Foundation, Common Impact, and Net Impact facilitate the application of pro bono services to address critical nonprofit needs.

What are some examples of corporations performing pro bono service?
The management of Madison Square Park, a public park located directly across the street from Pentagram Design’s New York office, requested and secured Pentagram’s pro bono design skills to revive the park’s image and increase usage. Pentagram created new banners and redesigned the on-site hamburger joint, the “Shake-Shack,” to contribute to the overall revitalization of the park. Madison Square Park has become a bustling public place and a destination for many people. Through this pro bono work, Pentagram heightened their local reputation, expanded their public recognition, and improved the quality of their neighborhood.

In December of 2004, Indonesia suffered one of the most devastating tsunamis in modern history. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) quickly became overwhelmed with the magnitude of work in dispersing aid and ensuring assistance reached those in need. In response, a division of Deloitte U.S. Firms initiated a pro bono project that provided recommendations for business operations and financial controls to strengthen UNDP’s ability to handle and disperse financial contributions. This effort was assisted by six Deloitte member firms. During the course of the project, over 17,000 hours of assistance were provided, involving 60 professionals over six months. Deloitte estimates the total value of the project at approximately $3.5 million. It also lists this example on its website, saying: “While we also made a sizeable financial contribution, we were able to contribute services that far outweighed the dollars.”

Why is it critical for companies to do pro bono now?
The nonprofit sector is the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, a sector which is mobilizing to address the nation’s needs for social services, education, health care, environmental protection, cultural enrichment, and other critical needs of today’s society. Yet the nonprofit sector’s growth is inhibited by a chronic unmet need for investment in its own infrastructure and service capacity.

The legal community has led the way in contributing its professional expertise to nonprofit organizations in need of assistance, but as our nation increasingly relies on nonprofits to tackle some of society’s most challenging issues, it is the right time for that same ethic to be embraced by the broader business community.

This situation demands a large-scale solution, and America’s millions of business professionals are capable of making a significant impact. People want to work for--and do business with--companies that are committed to making a difference. There is no better way to do this than companies supporting employees’ pro bono efforts.

What are the benefits of pro bono service to corporations?
Following are just a few specific examples of the benefits of pro bono service to corporations:

In 2005, Deloitte’s Volunteer IMPACT Survey reported that more than 80 percent of working adults believe that volunteering enhances decision-making, problem solving, networking, negotiating, and work delegation skills; and more than 90 percent agreed that volunteering builds skills in teaming with and motivating others.

The Points of Light Foundation released a report in 1999 that revealed that those companies who focus employee volunteering programs on core business functions reported benefits of stronger public relations campaigns, improved marketing and communications, development of employee skills, better recruitment and retention of employees, and advancement in workplace diversity.

Do people have to do pro bono service through their employer or workplace?
Ccompanies are encouraged to participate in this effort because of the large-scale impact they can have on making pro bono service a mainstream component of corporate life. Individuals are also encouraged to discuss this option with their companies to see if an internal effort already exists or could be started.

For individuals thinking about a cause they care about and how to use their skills to have an impact, there are organizations that can help them find volunteer experiences suited to their skills and interests. To learn more, visit:

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