Some More Thoughts on Skills-Based Volunteering

A couple of months ago, I wrote about skills-based volunteering in response to a Boston Globe article. Thinking back on it, I realize that both the Globe reporter and I left out something that’s important to acknowledge. What we now call “skills based volunteering” was really invented by professional service firms: accountants, consultants, law firms and advertising agencies. They call it pro bono work, and they’ve been at for a long time.

The event that brought this to mind is Deloitte’s recent national Day of Impact and local Summit for Non-Profit Leaders. Deloitte has taken the tradition of pro bono work, developed and given it new focus. They’ve looked at skills based volunteering as both a powerful vehicle for using their professional skills for the good of the community and as an effective tool for staff development. They have systematically studied how volunteering can foster employee skill development and applied the lessons learned to their internal practices.

Questions for firms that have a tradition of working pro bono:

• What has your experience been?
• How has it changed over the last several years?