Pro Bono Junkie's Blog
October 2007 Archives
By Aaron Hurst on
October 26, 2007 5:44 PM
| Permalink
In 1999, sappi, a global printing and paper powerhouse based in South Africa, launched a program called "ideas that matter." Every year they donate money as well as in kind printing and paper to a graphic design or design firm to take on a project for the public good. They have supported over 200 projects with over $6 million.
If you have a breakthrough design idea that would make a meaningful social impact, you should be sure to check it out:
http://www.sappi.com/SappiWeb/Initiatives/Sappi%20Ideas%20that%20Matter/
By Aaron Hurst on
October 19, 2007 4:26 PM
| Permalink
The Communication Arts website offers an article on design for the public good, including a great gallery of public design. The examples range from a poster for a film festival to beautiful brochure for Doctors without Borders. You can click oneach and read about the project and designer.
http://www.commarts.com/CA/feadesign/pg04/
It is easy to be distracted by the gallery, but be sure to read the article too. It does a nice job of giving a balanced view of the pros and cons to doing pro bono work as a designer.
By Aaron Hurst on
October 12, 2007 11:06 AM
| Permalink
McCall Design Group, the retail design firm responsible for just about every Gap, Victoria's Secret, and Bath & Body Works, just completed a pro bono space plan for Goodwill in San Francisco. They opened the new store on October 4th with much fanfare. The new store has a more efficient layout than their usual stores and might be the best designed thrift shop in the country. Not only is it a smart space, McCall helped to really integrate the brand into the experience, right down to the note cards announcing the opening.
McCall has just signed on to do Goodwill's 18th area store, a 16,000 sf space in Redwood City. They're excited and Goodwill is ecstatic. They're also collaborating on the design of a new breed of Goodwill off-shoots called "William Good," which will be a one-off, boutique clothing store that is essentially a pilot program.
By Aaron Hurst on
October 9, 2007 12:41 PM
| Permalink
A number of graduate schools (e.g., engineering, design, business, etc.) are starting to engage their students in pro bono projects as part of their curriculum. This is a wonderful way to build the pro bono ethic in professionals early in their careers, and the students clearly gain a lot from the real world experience.
My fear is that these students may be getting a lot more out of the experience than their nonprofit clients. It has always been one of my core beliefs that nonprofit pro bono clients should be treated as paying clients and not as guinea pigs or second-class customers. When students do projects for nonprofits are they able to add real value or are they just wasting the time of a resource-strapped nonprofit?
What has your experience been providing or receiving pro bono services from graduate students? Send me an email at PBJ@taprootfoundation.org.
By Aaron Hurst on
October 4, 2007 10:36 AM
| Permalink
There is finally a restaurant for Pro Bono Junkies. In Palo Alto, CA you can now enjoy a fresh bowl of pasta at the "Café Pro Bono." It is "a place for taste conscious people" and apparently for socially and environmentally conscious people as well. If you are ever in the Palo Alto area and want a good place to dine and talk about how you are putting your skills to work for the common good, you now know where to go.
Be sure to tell them I sent you and don't bother to leave a tip as the service is "pro bono."
By Aaron Hurst on
October 1, 2007 2:19 PM
| Permalink
When I launched the first site in 2001, we didn't have a single nonprofit or volunteer signed up. The site held up well for the last six years, but over the last year it began to feel like a poor reflection of the work being done by our pro bono consultants. The Taproot Foundation now has over 500 nonprofit clients and over 10,0000 business professionals who have signed up to serve.
This new site is the first step in creating a true destination for pro bono on the web. It includes a searchable database of over 500 pro bono projects. It connects people to our growing presence on the top social networking sites. It provides a home page for the five cities where we have begun to build a pro bono community.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Please send us your feedback on our 2.0 site and let us know how we could make it even better.
