Report: Pro Bono Now Prevalent in All Areas of Philanthropy

By Ryan Scott

A new study from CECP finds that pro bono service has experienced an explosion of growth that is sweeping across Corporate America. As the fastest growing employee engagement program, pro bono service is now represented across every industry for the first time in the study of pro bono service. Half of all surveyed companies now offer pro bono service as an element of their volunteer program. That’s up from 34 percent of all surveyed companies just a few years ago, when pro bono was a benefit offered mostly by service companies.

The report, Giving in Numbers: 2014 Edition, illustrates what a popular and important feature pro bono service has become to companies and nonprofits alike. In 2013, the median value of pro bono across all industries was $300,000, comprising a key reason why corporate giving increased for 64 percent of companies since the end of the Great Recession (although growth in giving has slowed overall in recent years, which I have previously addressed). Among companies reporting pro bono service dollar values in 2013, 67 percent have increased cash contributions since the end of the Great Recession.

The Taproot Foundation, in their new report citing CECP data, identified three main themes around the popularity of pro bono service:

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