2.12.2008 - 11:59pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK, NY - February 13, 2008 - Encouraging employees to use their professional skills in volunteer work, leaders at the Summit on Corporate Volunteerism today will kick off a national campaign to engage more of America's business professionals in the work of nonprofits and communities.

A growing number of companies have begun to support employee volunteering by shifting to a "pro bono" approach - where employees apply the professional skills they use everyday in the workplace to help nonprofits meet community needs.

Today's summit aims to fuel this growing trend. More than 120 business, government, and nonprofit leaders - including U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao and Fortune 500 executives - will set goals and map strategies for making "pro bono" as common in marketing, finance, technology, and management consulting as it is in the legal field.

Deloitte, Intel, IBM, and other companies will announce pledges totaling more than $110 million in skilled volunteering or pro bono service, with several more companies accepting the challenge to create or expand such corporate initiatives in the years ahead.

"America's workers are immensely talented, and when they volunteer their time and skills great things happen -- in their companies and in our communities," said Jean Case, Chair of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which is sponsoring the Summit. "Today we are calling on leaders across the private sector to go pro bono and help unleash the extraordinary power of skilled workers to help nonprofits better meet social needs."

Companies have long recognized the value of employee volunteer programs in bettering their communities while driving up morale, retention, and productivity. But to get more 'bang for the buck,' more companies are shifting to a pro bono approach. Instead of painting a school or cleaning a park, employees use their professional skills - such as marketing professionals creating an outreach campaign; logistics experts helping a food bank improve its delivery system; or IT professionals installing a local network.

"We have fundamentally changed the way we approach pro bono service in order to bring the full strength of our organization to bear for nonprofits," said Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte LLP, which today announced a three-year $50 million commitment to pro bono service. "With the same level of commitment and sophistication that we approach our commercial client engagements, Deloitte is now positioned to drive high-impact results for our pro bono clients."

Other companies and organizations announcing specific pro bono commitments in conjunction with the Summit are Intel; IBM; Accenture; Harvard Business School Community Partners; Manning, Selvage, and Lee, Public Architecture; and the Taproot Foundation. Ten other organizations have pledged to become Pro Bono Champions: Citi; General Electric; ING; UPS; Monitor Group; Entrepreneur Foundation; Target, McKenna, Long, and Aldridge; National Geographic Society; and Butler Rubin, Saltarelli & Boyd LLP. Many other companies are expected to join in the coming weeks and months.

Nonprofits are addressing key social and economic issues, but they often need help to achieve sustainability and large-scale impact. A recent study showed that 89% of nonprofit leaders realize that volunteers' workplace skills are extremely or very valuable to their organizations, and 77% agree that their organizations could benefit significantly from corporate volunteers focusing on business practices improvements. However, nearly two-thirds of nonprofits do not partner with any companies that provide volunteers. The summit aims to address this gap by encouraging more skilled corporate volunteers.

"Nonprofits are tackling our toughest problems of crime, poverty, disease and illiteracy," said Stephen Goldsmith, Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "They are doing extraordinary work, but sometimes lack the capacity for large-scale change. Engaging millions of professionals in pro bono service would have a profound impact on the nonprofit sector's ability to meet social needs."

The Summit kicked off last night at a reception featuring Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy and the presentation of Pro Bono Awards to six companies and organizations for their excellence in offering pro bono corporate skills to solve social challenges. The award recipients were General Electric, Harvard Business School Community Partners, McKinsey & Company, Monitor Group, Pentagram Design, and The Ad Council.

The Summit is being convened by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation in collaboration with the Corporation for National and Community Service, Points of Light & Hands On Network, Taproot Foundation, UPS, and USA Freedom Corps, and with support from Citi, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, and Target. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

Created by President Bush in 2003 and administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation brings together leaders from the worlds of business, entertainment, sports, education, government, nonprofits, and the media to recognize and inspire service and volunteering in America.

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