Through my work with the Corporation for National and Community Service, I attended the annual conference for Executive Directors of Governor’s Commissions on National and Community Service in DC in December.  (NOTE: For those of you who don’t know, each state (except SD) has a Governor appointed nonpartisan board that selects and oversees the AmeriCorps programs in the state and serves as a catalyst promoting service as a strategy to address critical local issues.)  At the conference, there was a session presented by Shannon Maynard, Executive Director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, and Michelle Pullaro, East Coast Regional Director of the Taproot Foundation on the Pro Bono Summit being held in New York City in February.

The Pro Bono Summit brought together more than 150 top corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders, to:

• “Create a new definition for pro bono service that directly addresses nonprofit groups’ most pressing needs, including:
  • financial management
  • technology
  • organizational development
  • communications and marketing
  • human resource management
  • fundraising assistance
• Identify the benefits to companies of providing pro bono services, and expand the pro bono ethic among the corporate community
• Share best practices in providing pro bono services

Participants at the Summit also kicked off The Pro Bono Challenge, a three-year campaign to leverage $1 billion in skilled volunteering and pro bono services from the corporate community. To date, more than 18 companies have become Pro Bono Champions, collectively pledging to provide more than $118 million in professional services to help nonprofits address critical social needs.”

The Pro Bono page provides links to some great resources:

• Making the Case for Pro Bono Service (762 KB PDF)
• Pro Bono Examples (653 KB PDF)
• Spotlight Your Pro Bono Story – If you are a company or nonprofit who would like to highlight your successful pro bono partnership, e-mail Julie Proulx at jproulx@cns.gov. Please provide a brief description and contact information (phone and e-mail) so that someone may follow up with you.
• Profiles of Recipients of the 2008 Pro Bono Awards (59 KB PDF)
• What Corporations Are Saying about Pro Bono (12 KB PDF)
• Related Research and Readings (2 MB PDF)

Check out the Pro Bono Junkie’s Blog by Aaron Hurst at Taproot Foundation for current updates.