At the Target for Good Party at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in NYC, I got the chance to taste both new Ben & Jerry’s flavors: Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder.  Very tasty!!  And I love what this promotion supports!

Target and Ben & Jerry’s have partnered to offer two new, exclusive ice cream flavors at all Target stores nationwide.  The super premium ice cream flavors, Berry Voluntary^® and Brownie Chew Gooder^®, will be available throughout 2010 in mini cups and pints.  For the Target news release click here.  I could find no reference to this partnership or new flavors on Ben & Jerry’s website.  In fact their most recent press release posted was from 4/20!  Sheesh!

Berry Voluntary is raspberry cheesecake flavored ice cream laced with white chocolate chunks and raspberry swirls.  Brownie Chew Gooder is vanilla caramel ice cream with fudge brownie pieces, finished with a caramel swirl.   Mini cups will be available for $1.25* and pints will be priced at $3.50*.  I ate two mini cups at the Party and they both were delicious!

From the Target press release, “The partnership symbolizes each company’s shared commitment to volunteerism.  Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder were specifically created to encourage guests to volunteer in their local communities through a special promotion called “Scoop it Forward.”

Guests simply visit www.VolunteerMatch.org/scoopitforward to find volunteer opportunities in their neighborhoods.  After registering for a specific volunteer activity, and forwarding the opportunity to five friends, that person and each of his or her friends will receive a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, redeemable at Target stores, while supplies last.  After that time, guests will still be able to participate in the “Scoop It Forward” promotion, and will receive a $1 off coupon in recognition of their volunteer efforts.”

So eat some ice cream, feel virtuous, and support volunteerism!

Last week I attended the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City with almost 6,000 other people from the nonprofit, government, and business sectors.  I usually am presenting or facilitating sessions at these conference so it was a real treat to actually get to attend some sessions this year!

One session I especially enjoyed was the panel on “Understanding the Talent Benefits and Metrics of Pro Bono Engagement: Develop Your Employees and Measure Your Success” facilitated by Lindsay Firestone of Taproot Foundation.  One of my specialty skills areas is metrics and the evaluation of social programs from both the nonprofit/social impact and business perspectives – so I always appreciate hearing about advancements in the field.  The panelists were Janet Donovan Katsakis from Merck, Evan Hochberg from Deloitte, Matt Hines from Capital One, and Farron Levy from True Impact.  After opening remarks from each panelists, we were able to select two mini breakout sessions.  I first sat with Lindsay and Diana Fischer, an AmeriCorps fellow from Taproot Foundation.  The following table and report in its entirety can be found at http://www.probonoactiontank.org./pro-bono-standards/.

The Taproot folks were sharing the results of their 2009 collaborative work with the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) to establish a definition and valuation for pro bono service.

They have calculated an overall average of $120/hour for pro bono service provided to a nonprofit organization.  This compares to the Independent Sector‘s  hourly average value for “hand on volunteering” of $20.85.

If your employees are providing professional services to your nonprofit partners, you now have an approximate value to use to help you estimate the contribution you are making to the community.  This $120/hour figure is especially useful if you are not a professional services firm and do not already have market values assigned to the skills your employees could be providing through pro bono service.

But remember, if your CEO or other executives are helping paint a fence, you need to use the $20.85/hour figure, not a percentage of their salary or the $120/hour average pro bono value as they are providing hand on/manual labor not skilled services – even if they are good painters!

I hope you find this information helpful!