[November 19, 2012]

Capital One, Common Impact, Points of Light, and Taproot Foundation Launch Online Tool to Increase Impact of Pro Bono Volunteer Services for Nonprofits Across the Nation

Corporations across the U.S. are estimated to provide more than $15 billion in pro bono volunteer services to nonprofits across the country in 2012, according to the Taproot Foundation, and 66 percent of nonprofits in America say they need pro bono volunteer services more than any other kind of volunteering. To better leverage these skilled services, today the Nonprofit Collaborative launched the Readiness Roadmap, an online guide that assesses, prepares and connects nonprofit organizations with key tools and resources to engage skilled volunteers and maximize their time.

The Nonprofit Collaborative was convened by Capital One (News - Alert) Financial Corporation, a pro bono services provider, in partnership with three leading national nonprofit organizations - Common Impact, Points of Light and the Taproot Foundation - to increase the impact of pro bono volunteerism across the country.

"The Readiness Roadmap is a critical resource that has the potential to equip all nonprofits, large or small, to readily access and make the most out of skills-based support. The potential for this tool to strengthen the capacity of the nonprofit sector and enhance organizations' ability to tackle social issues is tremendous," said Danielle Holly, Executive Director, Common Impact.

The Readiness Roadmap is designed to help nonprofits build capacity and maximize volunteer hours with tools in assessing and analyzing organizational needs that allow nonprofits to direct pro bono services to the areas where they will have the most impact. The Readiness Roadmap offers:

• Organizational readiness assessments
• Project readiness assessments
• Pro bono and skills-based volunteerism sourcing
• Project planning
• Implementation
• Evaluation and post-project volunteer recognition.

More than 66 percent of U.S. nonprofits report the need for pro bono services more than any other volunteer service; however, many organizations find that making good use of volunteer services can be challenging, according to a study commissioned by the Collaborative¹. Approximately 73 percent of survey respondents said they would be more likely to seek pro bono support if they could identify specific projects and better understand how volunteer time can be used to improve their infrastructures.

"As leaders in the skills-based volunteer movement, we recognize that it takes both strong nonprofit and corporate partners to execute impactful community programs. The Readiness Roadmap is an excellent diagnostic tool to assess organizational readiness and prepare to successfully engage in skills-based volunteering," said Jackie Norris, Corporate Institute Executive Director, Points of Light. "Our goal is for every business, from Main Street to Wall Street, to have the opportunity to work with strong nonprofits by providing the social sector this free collaborative resource."

"At Capital One, we invest in innovative programs and collaborate with best-in-class partners to help nonprofits advance their missions and impact our communities," said Daniel Horgan, Senior Director, Community Affairs, Capital Oe Financial Corporation. "With corporations projected to provide billions of dollars in pro bono volunteerism this year alone, we know how important these skilled services are to nonprofits and we also know that nonprofits are asking for guidance to leverage the time and talent more effectively. The Readiness Roadmap is a great example of how innovation and collaboration can help fulfill the nonprofit sector's need for capacity building support."

Piloted at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in June 2012 and updated to incorporate feedback from over 80 early adopting nonprofits, the Readiness Roadmap has shown great promise in improving pro bono support services.

"Fifteen billion dollars in pro bono work will be done this year to help nonprofits. It's a lot to celebrate but the majority of nonprofits are still reporting that their key challenge in using pro bono is knowing where to find the services they need," said Aaron Hurst, Taproot President & Founder. "So it's critical that resources like the Readiness Roadmap exist to help nonprofits find the tools necessary to benefit from pro bono services."

Nonprofit organizations and corporations interested in learning more about pro bono support can visit http://readinessroadmap.org/.

About Common Impact

Common Impact is a nonprofit organization that connects skilled professionals from global companies to high-potential local nonprofits. Our employee engagement programs match employee-volunteers with nonprofits that need help overcoming key business challenges. This innovative approach to corporate community service enables companies to realize a positive return on their social investment while building stronger teams and developing employee skills. At the same time, this access to private sector talent enables nonprofits to amplify their impact on the constituents they serve. Ultimately, our work helps foster stronger communities wherever those companies operate. Further information can be found at http://www.commonimpact.org/.

About Points of Light

Points of Light is the leading volunteer organization with more than 20 years of history and a bipartisan presidential legacy. Our mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world. We connect people to their power to make a meaningful difference by providing access to tools, resources and opportunities to help volunteers use their time, talent, voice and money to meet the critical needs of our communities. We are organized into three divisions: Programs, Civic Incubator and Action Networks, which include HandsOn Network, the largest network of 250 local volunteer centers across the country and around the world; generationOn, the youth service movement that ignites the power of kids to make their mark on the world; AmeriCorps Alums, the national service alumni network that activates the next generation of service leaders; and Points of Light Corporate Institute, our enterprise that enables companies to engage their employees and customers in service. For more information, visit www.pointsoflight.org.

About Taproot Foundation

Since its founding in 2001, the Taproot Foundation has been leading the development of a pro bono movement, working to engage the nation's millions of business professionals in pro bono services both through its own award-winning programs and by partnering with companies to develop and scale corporate pro bono programs. The Taproot Foundation's mission is to lead, mobilize and engage professionals in pro bono service that drives social change. To learn more visit www.taprootfoundation.org.

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a Fortune 500 company with approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Its subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. We apply the same principles of innovation, collaboration and empowerment in our commitment to our communities across the country that we do in our business. We recognize that helping to build strong and healthy communities - good places to work, good places to do business and good places to raise families - benefits us all and we are proud to support this and other community initiatives.

¹ LBG Associates. "Pro Bono Readiness Research" Jan. 2012. http://www.readinessroadmap.org/sites/readinessroadmap.org/files/assets/Pro%20Bono%20Readiness%20Survey%20Report_FINAL.pdf

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20121119006194/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]