Highlights from the Corporate Convening at Taproot Foundation's 2017 U.S. Pro Bono Summit

Developing next gen leaders, discovering your company's pro bono sweet spot, and more
Jun 20, 2017 4:45 PM ET

The Upshot: highlights from Taproot Foundation's 2017 U.S. Pro Bono Summit

The Taproot Foundation's U.S. Pro Bono Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from across sectors and industries with a shared vision to make the talents and skills of the business community accessible to social change organizations.

At Taproot's 6th annual Corporate Convening at the U.S. Pro Bono Summit, 61 business leaders from 45 top companies came together to discuss how to engage corporate talent in pro bono service. Participants were engaged in a full day of sessions and networking designed to help them maximize the impact potential of pro bono programming at their company. Key takeaways from the day include:

Insights and Trends from the Field --> read more
Pro bono programming is increasingly becoming more sophisticated as companies move toward integrating pro bono as part of their broader CSR portfolios. The majority of attendees (75%) were experienced practitioners, noting bestpractice program features such as providing a spectrum of offerings and engaging senior leadership. Attendees represented a diverse pool of companies across 10 industries from financial services to technology to healthcare – and more. 

The Sweet Spot: Maximizing the Impact of your Program --> read more
When building a pro bono program, it’s important to consider all the variables that influence the design of a company’s pro bono program. Taproot introduced the Pro Bono Sweet Spot– a four-step framework pro bono practitioners can use to identify how to maximize the ROI of their company’s program. 

Developing Next Gen Leaders (and How Pro Bono Can Help Us) --> read more
Companies know their greatest asset is their talent. Taproot facilitated a conversation with Center for Creative Leadership’s George Hallenbeck, an expert in experience-based leadership development, and Macquarie Group’s Austin Dowling, the regional head of Human Resources, to discuss the skills effective leaders need to succeed in today’s constantly changing work environment and how pro bono can be leveraged to develop those skills. 

Connecting Your Program to the Bottom Line --> read more
It goes without saying that pro bono can have a transformative impact on nonprofits, but it also connects to a company’s bottom line. In this session, Taproot explored key business case drivers that can help practitioners make the case for pro bono, and highlighted six companies (Barclays, Adobe, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, Autodesk, Addison) who are doing it particularly well. 

And more!

Download the U.S. Pro Bono Summit Upshot for complete insights.

About the Taproot Foundation
Taproot Foundation, a national nonprofit, connects nonprofits and social change organizations with skilled volunteers who provide their expertise pro bono. Taproot is creating a world where organizations dedicated to social change have full access—through pro bono service—to the marketing, strategy, HR, and IT resources they need to be most effective. Since 2001, Taproot’s skilled volunteers have served 4,600 social change organizations providing 1.5 million hours of work worth over $160 million in value. Taproot is located in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles and is leading a network of global pro bono providers in over 23 countries around the world. www.taprootfoundation.org