Pro Bono Market Overview

The pro bono marketplace harnesses millions of skilled professionals (“suppliers”) through different distribution channels to deliver them effectively to a diverse set of clients. Use the diagram below to learn about the state of pro bono happening by each group within the market.

Supply

Suppliers:
Business Professionals

Distribution Channels

Marketplace

  • Assess professional's expertise
  • Assess client needs and readiness
  • Match/Access
  • Oversight/Management
  • Quality Assurance
  • Knowledge management evaluation
  • Celebration

Demand

Clients

State of Pro Bono: Professional Schools

Summary

Pro bono in professional schools is still an emerging field which needs to be formalized and institutionalized by universities as students are eager to participate in pro bono projects.

Business Case

  • Partner pro bono service opportunities with classroom learning to maximize student experience
  • Attract top talent, drive recruitment, and set the university apart by leveraging pro bono opportunities as a draw for perspective students
  • Help students get an advantage in the job market by exploring and developing interest and gaining real world job experience
  • Improve collaboration and communication among students by providing students opportunities to work with faculty and peers from different departments, disciplines and graduate schools through pro bono projects
  • Promote positive community image for the university

Professions

  • Design – Many design schools have some pro bono service programs available to students.
  • Marketing – Many students engage in pro bono marketing projects – from brochures and flyers to full ad campaigns.
  • Strategy - Nearly all of the top 25 business schools have pro bono programs.
  • Human Resources – More human resources focused programs are turning to experiential learning projects to enhance their curriculum but few formal pro bono programs exist.
  • Information Technology – Some information technology programs have started engaging in pro bono through collaborative programs with business and law students, but have been slow to start up their own pro bono programs.
  • Finance – Many finance-focused MBA students can engage in pro bono financial analysis projects and with microfinance organizations.
  • Law – Law schools are leading the way in the pro bono service movement with nearly all law schools institutionalizing pro bono programs with pro bono advisors, and many even having pro bono requirements for students.
  • Architecture – Today all types of architecture students are engaging in pro bono service – even landscape architects.

Trends

  • The vast majority of students want to make a positive impact on society and find pro bono service an effective means to do so.
  • Programs are generally student driven, but many student-led programs are difficult to sustain, as students spend a lot of time upfront ‘reinventing the wheel’ every year.
  • Many student-run programs struggle to gain proper institutional support and resources.
  • There is an increasing collaboration between schools and fields within universities.
  • Schools are increasingly finding that by increasing structure around pro bono programs they can prevent problems before they occur.
  • Many business schools are electing to have separate social innovation or social entrepreneurship tracks for students interested in social change.
  • There is an increasing intersection between pro bono service and microfinance in professional schools.
  • Many schools have alternative spring break programs which involve completing a semester-long pro bono projects at the non-local site.
  • In schools lacking formal pro bono programs, students are increasingly turning to their local Net Impact chapters for pro bono service opportunities.

Leaders

  • AIGA – AIGA's Standards of Teaching for design educators includes encouraging pro bono work among students.  
  • Emory University – With four established pro bono programs, Emory is leading the way for business schools.
  • Net Impact  – Net Impact's mission is to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.
  • Northwestern University – The Masters of Science in Learning & Organizational Change Practicum Project tasks students with identifying, diagnosing, and designing a human-capital related need and project for a nonprofit.
  • Pratt Institute – Pratt’s Design Corps Class immerses students in a design agency setting, providing nonprofits with high quality marketing materials at the end of the course.
  • Stanford University – Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Alumni Consulting Team delivers $3.4 million dollars of pro bono management consulting services every year to nonprofits.
  • University of Washington – The Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at the University of Washington is an innovative program that brings together law, business, and IT students to complete collaborative pro bono projects for nonprofits and small businesses.

Case Studies

Resources

  • Design for Impact Framework – A guide to the tenets of high-quality pro bono service delivery. When developing a program, advising participants, or evaluating project results, this tool is useful in reviewing the standards of project success.
  • Communicating Business Value to Schools Flashcards – This presentation is a useful starting point to learn about  and communicate the benefits of pro bono service.
  • Creative for a Cause – This site is a collaborative resource for educators of Visual Communications who wish to instruct their students on the importance of adopting a social and ethical approach to their work.
  • Board Fellows Program Manual for MBA Schools – This manual is a guide for setting up a Board Fellows program at an MBA school and takes a look at several successful programs across the country.
  • A Handbook for Law School Pro Bono Programs – This handbook focuses on the nuts and bolts of the operation of pro bono programs in law schools in the United States. It is designed to help schools insprie and enable their students to live up to the legal profession's highest ideals of public service.

 

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