The Value of Corporate Pro Bono Services

In the US an industry standard for valuing pro bono services has been established at $US120 an hour.

The Taproot Foundation’s Pro Bono Action Tank (PBAT) and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) has introduced the first standards for assigning a monetary value to the pro bono services, beyond the legal profession, provided by corporations to Not for Profits.

The aim of these standards is to allow corporations to more accurately track and report the value of pro bono services as a cash equivalent.

Charles Moore, Executive Director of the CECP says pro bono services have become an increasingly important part of corporate philanthropy.

Moore says it is always preferred to recognize the Fair Market Value for services provided to the community; however, companies which are not professional services firms often do not have these market rates defined, thus the need for the dollar valuation standard.

The valuation model was developed through extensive research, donated by Wellesley Hills Group, LLC, that analysed billing rates across a variety of professional services firms. Using the model and input from a corporate advisory committee created to oversee the research, the standard valuation was established at $120 an hour. In addition to this standard rate, the research provides a breakdown of hourly values by category of services offered for companies that want a more detailed audit of their annual pro bono service.

The pro bono valuation standards can be found on the Pro Bono Action Tank web site at: www.probonoactiontank.org

For more information, visit www.CorporatePhilanthropy.org