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Taproot Foundation Announces the Average Hourly Value of Pro Bono Service is now $195

New valuation up 30% over 2015 value

Taproot Foundation Announces the Average Hourly Value of Pro Bono Service is now $195

New valuation up 30% over 2015 value

Published 10-09-19

Submitted by Taproot Foundation

In the lead up to Pro Bono Week 2019, Taproot Foundation announces that the average hourly value of pro bono service in 2019 has increased to $195, up 30% over the 2015 valuation. The $195 valuation defines the average per hour value of time donated by business professionals to nonprofit organizations through pro bono services, including expertise in areas like marketing, strategic planning, HR, technology, and finance.

“Pro bono support is an essential resource for nonprofit organizations, and yet for so long it was defined only by the absence of a fee,” says Taproot Foundation President and CEO Lindsay Firestone Gruber. “Before the launch of these defining standards in 2009, most nonprofit organizations receiving pro bono support weren’t able to account for the monetary value of the services they received, making it hard to allocate the needed staff time or advocate for support. Now, after completing thousands of pro bono projects in the decade since, we have an even stronger understanding of the nature of the work and value delivered.”

The $195 per hour value of pro bono service compares to the hourly value of traditional volunteering, which is $25.43, as indexed by Independent Sector in April of 2019. Both forms of volunteering are critical to providing nonprofits with resources.

The Pro Bono Valuation is an effective tool for companies as well. According to CECP’s Giving in Numbers 2018, pro bono service was one of the fastest-growing domestic volunteer programs offered in the corporate sector, with 56% of companies offering pro bono programming to their employees. And there are an increasing number of companies that are reporting on the monetary value of pro bono service, up four points to 27% in 2017. With this updated valuation, companies—including those outside of professional services fields where hourly rates are more readily available—can better track and report their pro bono service.

 

Download your copy of the Pro Bono Valuation report here.

 

About the Pro Bono Valuation Study
Taproot Foundation, in collaboration with CECP, established the first average hourly value of pro bono service in 2009 at $120, with an update to $150 in 2015. The data used for the 2019 valuation model were sourced from the 2019 Salary Guides on average starting salaries (excluding benefits, bonuses, or other incentives) for accounting and finance, administrative, technology, legal, and creative professionals produced annually by Robert Half and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The dollar values reflect average, national hourly rates of pay, adjusted for consulting and the average level of experience of skilled volunteers.

About Taproot Foundation
Taproot Foundation, a national nonprofit, connects nonprofits and social change organizations with passionate, skilled volunteers who share their expertise pro bono. Taproot is creating a world where organizations dedicated to social change have full access—through pro bono service—to the marketing, strategy, HR, and IT resources they need to be most effective. Since 2001, Taproot’s network of skilled volunteers has served over 7,000 social change organizations providing more than 1.6 million hours of work worth over $195 million in value. Taproot has offices in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and founded a network of global pro bono providers in over 30 countries around the world. www.taprootfoundation.org 

CONTACT
Crystal Hendricks-Kretzer
Taproot Foundation
@TaprootFound
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Taproot Foundation

Taproot Foundation

Taproot helps mission-driven organizations amplify their impact by mobilizing skilled volunteers to advance resource equity. Since 2001, our community has served over 19,000 social change organizations and provided almost 2 million hours of service worth over $300 million. By ensuring nonprofits have access to skilled resources at no cost, we facilitate HR, finance, marketing, and strategy projects that can help them achieve their mission. Volunteers get to support causes they care about in meaningful ways. And the corporations we help to develop skilled volunteering programs boost employee engagement and support their local communities and causes their teams care about.

www.taprootfoundation.org

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