It has been an especially exciting few weeks to follow the world of corporate philanthropy and social responsibility. Between the energy of National Volunteer Week, excitement of President Obama signing of the Serve America Act into law, success of this year's Global Philanthropy Forum, and our participation in hosting a forum with Goldman Sachs for nonprofit leaders, the spirit of encouraging service is palpable at the Case Foundation.
In her latest blog post, our CEO Jean Case reflected on the need for businesses to be more strategic in their volunteer efforts, and points to some startling data from Deloitte's 2009 Volunteer IMPACT Survey to support her charge. We're excited to see Evan Hochberg, Deloitte's national director of community involvement contributing to the discussion. Not to mention, Deloitte is also on Taproot's list of socially conscious companies to watch.
In a guest post he wrote for the Chamber of Commerce's blog, ChamberPost, Evan offers these tips for businesses and nonprofits on how to strategically add pro bono and skills-based volunteering to their organizations:
Suggestions for corporate donors include:
- Offer a signed commitment, as 88 percent of nonprofits see the lack of one as problematic.
- Be transparent. Let nonprofits know what type of pro bono and skilled volunteer support is available, as 95 percent said they didn’t know which companies to approach.
- Advise nonprofit partners who at your company can help them secure pro bono support, as 97 percent said they didn’t know whom to contact.
Suggestions for nonprofits include:
- Be ready and available to accept skilled support. Pro bono is a generally more sophisticated contribution than traditional volunteerism, so assign staff or board members to solicit and oversee pro bono engagements in their area of expertise.
- Meet with corporate funders to discuss the top three business issues outlined in your strategic plan; ask your funders if they can identify expertise within their organizations to help address these needs.
- When negotiating sponsorship contracts, think beyond the cash mentality and recognize pro bono as a currency that can garner recognition and benefits. This will underscore its value and encourage more of it.
Get the rest of Evan's insights and great advice from the post, How the Business Community Can Answer the Call to Service.
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