Comments on: Chat Topic 10/20: Pricing for Community Benefit Consultants http://www.npcons.net/2009/10/chat-topic-1020-pricing-for-community-benefit-consultants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chat-topic-1020-pricing-for-community-benefit-consultants Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:01:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Joy Stephens http://www.npcons.net/2009/10/chat-topic-1020-pricing-for-community-benefit-consultants/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Joy Stephens Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:16:31 +0000 http://www.npcons.net/?p=135#comment-49 I find it easy to respond to the pro-bono question and graciously say no. I justify this by telling the client that for the last three years I have been the interim Executive Director for a nonprofit who helps children living in poverty who were born with sickle cell disease. End of discussion. I find it easy to respond to the pro-bono question and graciously say no. I justify this by telling the client that for the last three years I have been the interim Executive Director for a nonprofit who helps children living in poverty who were born with sickle cell disease. End of discussion.

]]> By: Ellis Carter http://www.npcons.net/2009/10/chat-topic-1020-pricing-for-community-benefit-consultants/comment-page-1/#comment-46 Ellis Carter Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:43:09 +0000 http://www.npcons.net/?p=135#comment-46 Hildy, The small community of non-profit lawyers who rep npos exclusively face many of these same issues. Regarding pro-bono requests,if all your clients are deserving NPOs, how do you think your paying NPO client would feel about you doing another similarly situated npo's work for free? We once had a great paying client discover that we donated substantial probono services to a similarly situated npo and they let us know exactly how they felt about it. Not pretty. We now have a strict office policy that sets budgetary and other guidelines. Mostly, we do work for small groups with no realistic legal budget where we think the community impact will be high. For example, I set up Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition and Pafco Advocacy, a related (c)(3) and (c)(4). The (c)(3) teaches NPOs how to participate in the political system. The (c)(4) actively lobbies on behalf of health and human services at the AZ legislature. That, to me, was the ideal pro-bono project. First, it was unsexy enough to be unlikely to attract funding to afford the sophisticated legal advice they needed. Second, the project united disparate social services agencies around common interests, blocking billions in proposed budget cuts. That is what I look for. No realistic budget and a way to leverage my work for the greatest overall community impact. Hildy,

The small community of non-profit lawyers who rep npos exclusively face many of these same issues.

Regarding pro-bono requests,if all your clients are deserving NPOs, how do you think your paying NPO client would feel about you doing another similarly situated npo’s work for free?

We once had a great paying client discover that we donated substantial probono services to a similarly situated npo and they let us know exactly how they felt about it. Not pretty. We now have a strict office policy that sets budgetary and other guidelines.

Mostly, we do work for small groups with no realistic legal budget where we think the community impact will be high. For example, I set up Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition and Pafco Advocacy, a related (c)(3) and (c)(4). The (c)(3) teaches NPOs how to participate in the political system. The (c)(4) actively lobbies on behalf of health and human services at the AZ legislature.

That, to me, was the ideal pro-bono project.
First, it was unsexy enough to be unlikely to attract funding to afford the sophisticated legal advice they needed. Second, the project united disparate social services agencies around common interests, blocking billions in proposed budget cuts.

That is what I look for. No realistic budget and a way to leverage my work for the greatest overall community impact.

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