The Pros are going Pro-Bono

Last week, while lunching with a PR friend of mine and dreaming up, as we like to do, future possibilities to work together, he was struck by a brilliant idea. “Why don’t we pick up a pro bono client together?” He asked. The idea of using my PR skills for public service immediately tugged at my heartstrings, and the thought of finally getting to work with my very talented friend made me beyond excited.

Non-profits in need of free work would be far less critical of our not-yet-existent company website, Twitter handles or snazzy business cards, we reasoned. Also, as Jim Senior points out in this PRSA article from 2007, pro-bono PR work reaps tons of benefits.

So together, we discussed areas of interest and identified where we thought our skills could be best applied (kids, the arts and anything dealing with women’s issues, yes! Animal rescue and environmental causes, maybe next time.) We have also posted an open call for ideas on Facebook , called on friends plugged into that industry, and have called several organizations that we have either donated to, or volunteered for, in the past.

With our net now cast, we’re hoping to get at least a couple of meetings going by next week. After all, with April being national Volunteer Month, how can we go wrong?? In the meantime, if you have any tips, lessons learned or encouraging words, please share!