Eric's Life in the Pro Bono Movement
From Bored Employee to Board Member
Taproot Consultants on How Service Has Changed Their Lives
Eric Longo on Pro Bono
“I was not very engaged and passionate in my day job. And then I saw firsthand that my background as a trained attorney with strong business skills could be extremely valuable to a nonprofit organization. I saw a chance to apply my experience to the nonprofit world and align my skills with a mission that makes a difference in the world."
Eric Longo was raised in France in a family that considered volunteering an essential part of life. For many years, his mother has devoted her time to teaching French as a second language to recent immigrants. So it was no surprise that Eric has always made time for volunteering throughout his years attending law school in Paris and after he moved to New York City in 1991.
However, it wasn't until Eric discovered the Taproot Foundation's pro bono model that he realized the full extent of his ability to make a difference. Leading his first Taproot service grant for Comprehensive Development, Inc. (CDI), a small educational nonprofit organization, was a life-changing experience for Eric.
While sharing a lunch with CDI's Executive Director to celebrate the success of the project, Eric had an epiphany. In the middle of a downtown restaurant, he realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life: work in the nonprofit sector.
Today, nonprofit work is the center of Eric's life. He is the vice chair of the board of the HIV Law Project, an organization that fights for the rights of underserved people living with HIV/AIDS. He is also one of Taproot's most experienced and active Account Directors and a tutor for CDI. But Eric has discovered that he wants to do even more. He plans to move into a full-time job on the leadership team of nonprofit organization within the next year.
Eric's Pro Bono Epiphany
Before discovering Taproot, Eric knew something was missing in his life, but he wasn't sure what it was. He had a good job working in client services for a company that develops audio tours for major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was also volunteering his time for worthy organizations like God's Love We Deliver and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
"For years, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life," Eric remembers. "I landed jobs mostly by accident and my work in the for-profit world didn't really resonate with my core values."
He first saw the name "Taproot Foundation" on a job applicant's resume. He was interviewing a potential employee who spoke glowingly about her experience as a Taproot volunteer.
Eric was intrigued. "She got the job and I signed up as a Taproot volunteer," he says.
He started work as an Account Director on his first Taproot project and was immediately hooked. "I remember thinking, 'This is great! Now I don't have to just chop carrots in a soup kitchen, but can actually put my strongest skills to good use.'"
His first project focused on branding and key message development for CDI, an organization committed to tutoring 18-22 year old recent immigrants in English as a second language. Eric knew the value of their services firsthand, having grown up with a mother who taught French as a second language throughout his childhood.
He was surprised by the level of sophistication at such a small nonprofit organization. He was also energized by working with a brilliant Executive Director and an engaged board of directors and using his business and legal abilities to deliver on CDI's important mission.
After completing the project, CDI's Executive Director took Eric out to lunch to thank him for his contribution. As they lingered over coffee, Eric had an epiphany: He suddenly knew his true calling was in the nonprofit world.
"I was not very engaged and passionate in my day job. And then I saw firsthand that my background as a trained attorney with strong business skills could be extremely valuable to a nonprofit organization," he says. "I saw a chance to apply my experience to the nonprofit world and align my skills with a mission that makes a difference in the world."
It was good timing for an epiphany. He was sitting with a potential mentor who could offer him valuable advice on making a transition into the nonprofit sector.
Making the Transition
Eric's work with Taproot was a great first step toward a new career in the nonprofit sector. However, to achieve his goal of landing a senior-level nonprofit role, Eric learned that he would need some additional firsthand experience.
His new mentor advised him to, "Get your behind on a board and get some more direct volunteering experience to supplement what you've done with Taproot." Eric also learned that he would need some direct fund raising experience to qualify for the type of high-level job that he wanted. Others might have been intimidated by the work required, but Eric was motivated by his belief in his true calling.
"I was always so scared to network before, but suddenly I had no problem calling people up, inviting a board chairman to lunch," he says. Meanwhile, he signed up for a United Way board training program called Linkages and took on two simultaneous Taproot service grants.
Soon after completing the Linkages program, Eric met the Executive Director of the HIV Law Project at a "board speed dating event." He knew immediately that it was a perfect match. Serving on the board of directors for the HIV Law Project would leverage his legal background and his longstanding commitment to helping those with HIV/AIDS live longer and healthier lives.
He joined the board in March 2008 and started a new Taproot project soon after. He also remains a devoted volunteer for CDI and other organizations as he continues to build his fundraising experience and evaluates full-time job opportunities in the nonprofit sector.
The Pro Bono Business School
"Taproot really has changed my life. It triggered an epiphany for me," Eric says. He believes that his work for Taproot offered him a much-needed opportunity to step away from his day-to-day responsibilities and see possibilities for himself that he had never considered.
At the same time, Eric's pro bono work allowed him to develop professional skills that will serve him for the rest of his career. "For me, Taproot was a kind of business school. I was a business generalist without formal business school training in marketing and human resources. Through Taproot, I got to work with and learn from brilliant marketing and HR professionals that I never would have met through other channels."
For Eric, however, the most powerful benefit of his pro bono work for Taproot was the chance to learn about himself and his purpose in life. "You get out what you put into it," Eric says. "Taproot gave me rewards outside of my day job and helped me to prepare for a new career and the next chapter of my life. It helped me discover my voice professionally."
