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HandsOn Twin Cities Pro Bono Volunteering

Published on 2/6/2020

Less than 2% of a nonprofit’s budget is spent on critical infrastructure including the technology, operations, human resources, finance, and strategic planning functions. Among this tiny budget is also oftentimes the salary of the fundraising function which underwrites the nonprofit’s programming or, in other words, the entire mission. Compare this to the private sector spending 35% of their budget on these important functions. In essence, nonprofits are tackling the world’s toughest challenges with the fewest amount of resources.

At HandsOn Twin Cities, we have spent the last year proving the value of pro bono volunteering as an effective capacity-building resource. We’ve since designed, developed, implemented, and are now scaling new and innovative ways for professionals to give back and for nonprofits to accelerate their mission-driven work.

We’re taking a cohesive and collaborative approach to building the pro bono movement here in the Twin Cities by engaging all stakeholders – nonprofit organizations, pro bono volunteers, peer intermediaries, and corporate social responsibility teams.

For nonprofits, we’ve launched a quarterly free offering, the Principles of Pro Bono & Scoping Workshop which is an interactive training that focuses on the best practices of pro bono and guides organizations through the creation of their own scope of work to help hone their needs, set expectations, and identify the right pro bono volunteer expertise.

After a successful launch of Impact Day in 2018, HandsOn Twin Cities brought the program inhouse and delivered two successful & inspirational Impact Day events in 2019. We are thrilled to continue to scale the program as a quarterly offering in 2020. Impact Day is a day-long crosssector hackathon-style workshop that leverages corporate sector talent for social sector needs. We pair nonprofits in need of capacity-building support to a team of experts in their field who give their time pro bono to tackle challenges and develop tangible solutions. Each Impact Day focuses on a specific functional area to create a cohort of professionals who are all working in similar careers and a cohort of nonprofits who can offer each other support and guidance as they go through similar challenges.

We’re also working within companies through our Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Program to build out their own internal pro bono opportunities for their employees and nonprofit grantees. Based on the 2016 Deloitte Impact Survey, pro bono programs are the fastest growing internal giving program at companies, with 50% of companies now offering one, up from 32% in 2008. And it’s no surprise why – doing good is good for business! 88% of employees feel their job is more fulfilling when they are provided opportunities to make a positive social impact and, further, 92% of individuals state that volunteering improves both broader professional skillsets and is effective way to improve leadership skills.

With all this, 2020 will be a record year of impactful giving in the Twin Cities. To join us in growing the local pro bono movement, reach out to meg@handsontwincities.org.

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