Social Impact of Pro Bono Consulting

How big firms can change the landscape of philanthropy

A McKinsey study of 196 C-suite nonprofit leaders released in March, 2013 explored today's state of leadership in the social sector to uncover what leaders need to succeed.  The study found that two primary barriers preventing nonprofit leaders from securing the resources they need:

• ·         A lack of understanding on how to find the right resources; and
• ·         A feeling that the right resources are inaccessible because they are too expensive.

While this finding is not surprising, it is unfortunate. The social sector needs a lot of pro bono resources in marketing and communications, strategy, HR, technology, board leadership, legal and finance, that can dramatically enhance the effectiveness of their organization’s mission. Professionals from the big fortune 500 firms have the expertise and resources needed to contribute towards the social sector and most of them are willing to make an impact. If this gap can be bridged, Non profits can find right resources and maximize their utility.  Taproot Foundation is one of the nonprofit organizations that make business talent available to organizations working to improve society. Taproot engages the nation’s millions of business professionals in pro bono services by partnering with companies to develop their pro-bono programs.

Taproot is currently working with companies such as Deloitte, Capital One, Wells Fargo, HP, American express, Gap, Chevron etc to avail the pro bono services for the Non-profit sector. But Taproot is not the only one, big consulting firms such as Bain’s and Mckinsey’s of the world are already involved in pro bono projects. Bain is regularly involved in pro bono consulting services for NPOs, including the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Center to refresh their strategy; EEN (Enabling Employers Network) to develop and implement an evaluation system to recognize companies’ efforts in employing PWDs; and United World College South East Asia (UWCSEA) on development of the foundation’s strategies.

Although organizations such as Taproot and big firms with pro bono culture exist, we are yet far away from completely bridging the gap between the availability of right resources and their utilization in the social sector. A huge number of talented professionals who are willing to contribute towards a social cause know no other way than donations or charity. Most of these professionals engage in relief work, while their expertise is in development projects. If all the large firms start encouraging pro bono services with their own industry expertise and partner up with organizations such as taproot or NGO’s, the Non-profit sector can access the right resources inexpensively.