As the field of pro bono service continues to grow, companies increasingly identify pro bono programming as a critical element of their overall social impact objectives. Taproot Foundation conducted an inaugural survey of companies doing pro bono to collect data on their programs, identify trends, and share key observations for advancing the field. This resource provides information to help practitioners compare their program design and outcomes to peers in the field, and to support them as they work to effectively tell their success stories and achieve greater impact through pro bono service.
Key Takeaways
The survey results revealed three main takeaways. For the full report–including detailed data illustrating current trends in pro bono programming–find the resource here.
There is no “one size fits all”
The survey results confirm what we’ve long observed in the field: companies are tailoring their pro bono programs to maximize their unique opportunities for impact. Companies consider how their social impact goals, business objectives, distinct context and constraints, and employee skills and expertise intersect to form best-fit pro bono programs. (See our Pro Bono Sweet Spot for more information.)
Almost all companies are looking to scale their pro bono programs
Pro bono programming is a key factor in helping companies achieve their overall social impact goals—about 64% of respondents reported that pro bono is a very or extremely important part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. As such, companies want to do more pro bono and are hoping to scale their programs in a variety of ways, such as engaging more departments and lines of business, increasing the number of employee participants, and supporting more nonprofits.
Impact measurement is a work in progress
As pro bono programs mature, companies are looking to measure the impact of their programs on both nonprofits and employees to better tell their pro bono story.
