Finance
Community Need
- Financial planning, cost analysis, and auditing can be expensive and specialized skills that are difficult for nonprofits to access or afford. Key areas for need include financial and strategic planning assistance and analysis, assistance with audits, and financial literacy training.
- 12% of nonprofits report that increasing their financial management capabilities is one of their top priorities for the next two years, according to a 2009 Accenture study.
- 2011 Taproot study reported that 29% of nonprofits receive pro bono financial services and 28% need more.
Trends
- Microfinance has become increasingly popular in the finance profession, with individuals and organizations offering pro bono services to create the models, structure, and support to run microfinance programs.
- Members of the finance profession are increasingly providing managerial accounting support in addition to pro bono auditing services.
- Finance professionals have a long tradition of serving on boards. 82% percent of nonprofits now reporting that they have and finance professional on their board (Taproot, 2011).
Case Studies
- Citi and Microfinance Institutions
- KPMG and the Millennium Cities Initiative
- Morgan Stanley and Microfinance Institutions
- The Monitor Group and New Profit
Build the Movement
Here are five things you can do to help build the pro bono ethic in the finance profession.
- Do more pro bono and share your story with your network through social media (LinkedIn profile, twitter, portfolio, etc.).
- Volunteer to coordinate and promote pro bono service for your MBA alumni association.
- Speak to students at a local MBA program about pro bono service and its role in your career.
- Ask your employer to create a formal pro bono program and budget.
- Provide us with feedback, suggestions and tips to keep this page fresh and relevant. Email us at professions@taprootfoundation.org.
