Management

Community Need

  • Strategic planning is crucial to nonprofit success, but many nonprofits lack the skills or experience on staff to best form these plans. The key needs nonprofits have for  informing the strategic planning process include assessment and evaluation of current or potential programs, markets and competitors.
  • 35% of nonprofits report that developing or updating their strategic plan is one of their top priorities for the next two years according to a 2009 Taproot survey of 238 nonprofits.
  • 2011 Taproot study reported that 27% of nonprofits receive pro bono consulting (financial and management) services and 42% need more. Additionally, 26% current use pro bono organizational design and coaching support and 46% would like to receive more.

Trends

  • Management consulting firms are becoming increasingly transparent about their pro bono work as they recognize that offering such opportunities are necessary to recruit top talent—particularly from Generation Y.
  • MBA programs are increasingly integrating pro bono service into their curriculums.

Leaders

  • Accenture – Through their pro bono work, Accenture provides nonprofits and civic organizations with the strategy, technology, and operational assistance they need to better achieve their missions. While many of their offices take on ad hoc pro bono programs worldwide, they currently have formalized pro bono programs in eight countries
  • Boston Consulting Group – Business management consulting firm BCG reports pro bono service as an important part of its social impact organization-wide with many of their offices engaging in pro bono service addressing seven common issue areas.
  • CampusCATALYST – This Chicago-based nonprofit partners with Chicago universities to engage college students in high-impact pro bono consulting for nonprofits.
  • Compass – Through pro bono strategic consulting, Compass strengthens greater DC-area nonprofits by engaging volunteering teams of MBA alumni from top business schools in service.
  • Deloitte – Led by their CEO, Deloitte has made a public commitment to donating $50 million in pro bono service over 3 years, and has a rapidly growing pro bono program. Deloitte also provides the nonprofit and corporate sectors with an annual snapshot of the state of corporate volunteering and pro bono service through their Volunteer IMPACT surveys.
  • Harvard Business School Community Partners – Community Partners provides Harvard Business School alumni the opportunity to apply their business and management skills as pro bono consultants working on strategic projects in the nonprofit sector.  
    NYC CHAPTER
    NORTHERN CA CHAPTER
  • Monitor Group - Since 1998, Monitor Group has provided pro bono strategic resources to nonprofit venture philanthropy fund New Profit, Inc. valued at over $50 million. 
  • Net Impact – With more than 250 chapters nation-wide, this network of over 15,000 current and former MBAs promotes using business for a better world.
  • Stanford Alumni Consulting Team – Since 1987, the Stanford Alumni Consulting Team has delivered pro bono management consulting services to hundreds of nonprofits through a network of alumni of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Case Studies

Build the Movement

Here are five things you can do to help build the pro bono ethic in the management profession.

  1. Do more pro bono and share your story with your network through social media (LinkedIn profile, twitter, etc.).
  2. Volunteer to coordinate and promote pro bono service for your MBA alumni association.
  3. Speak to students at a local MBA program about pro bono service and its role in your career.
  4. Ask your employer to create a formal pro bono program and budget.
  5. Provide us with feedback, suggestions and tips to keep this page fresh and relevant. Email us at professions@taprootfoundation.org.