Pro Bono Work Pegged At $120/hour

The NonProfit Times Reported - March 30, 2009
A new study estimates that the standard pro bono services provided by corporations to nonprofits is valued at an average of $120 per hour.

Taproot Foundation’s Pro Bono Action Tank (PBAT) and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) released the standard.

The valuation model was developed through research, donated by Wellesley Hills Group, LLC, that analyzed billing rates across a variety of professional services firms. The $120 per hour figure was determined using the model and input from a corporate advisory committee created to oversee the research.

The $120 is based on a rounded average billing rate for mid-level employees across disciplines. The rounded average for entry level is estimated at $85 per hour while executive level is $180. The averages vary across disciplines, from a low of $80 for entry-level marketing, advertising or public relations to a high of $320 for executive-level legal or medical services. Three other skill areas are included in the study: accounting and financial services; architecture, engineer, construction; and, human resources, IT services and strategic consulting.

Companies that are not professional services firms often do not have Fair Market Value (FMV) rates defined, creating a need for a dollar valuation standard. The standards will allow corporations to more accurately track and report the value of pro bono services as cash equivalents, according to Charles Moore, executive director of the CECP.

“Establishing a standard for the valuation of services is a critical first step to create transparency in the marketplace and to recognize companies for their contributions,” said Jamie Hartman, executive director of the PBAT. “There is an opportunity to make billions of dollars worth of pro bono services available to greatly increase the impact of corporate philanthropy in our society,”
Standards like these also will make it easier for all businesses to engage in pro bono services, according to Emily Talley, senior director, community affairs, Capital One Financial Corporation, and member of the Pro Bono Action Tank Leadership Group.

The new standard was included in the 2009 CECP Annual Corporate Giving Standard Survey, which can be viewed on the CECP Web site, www.corporatephilanthropy.org.
The pro bono valuation standards can be found on the Pro Bono Action Tank Web site at: http://www.probonoactiontank.org/resources/

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This article is from NPT Weekly, a publication of The NonProfit Times.
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