Deloitte Donates Its Best Thinking to Help Hundreds of Nonprofits Battle Recession By Addressing Common Business Challenges
NEW YORK, June 5, 2009 — Today, hundreds of nonprofits nationwide, each struggling to meet an unprecedented demand for services despite a dramatic decline in cash contributions, will receive business counsel to help them more effectively run their organizations, at no cost. Deloitte is marking its 10th Annual IMPACT Day, a celebration of its year-round commitment to workplace volunteerism, by contributing the highly valued business skills of its people to hundreds of nonprofits across the country. More than 40,000 Deloitte personnel from some 70 communities are encouraged to participate.
Additionally, Deloitte is observing its 10th Annual IMPACT Day by launching its new Pro Bono Fellowship program. This new initiative, an extension of Deloitte's $50 million commitment to pro bono, will enable up to 10 high-performing managers and senior managers in the organization to contribute their professional seasoning to a leading nonprofit for a three-to-six-month engagement, while receiving full pay and benefits. Fellows will be selected based on workplace performance, commitment to community involvement and the match of their skills to the business needs of the nonprofits. Fellowship recipients will be announced in July.
"Community involvement is, and always has been, part of the fabric of Deloitte," said Barry Salzberg, chief executive officer, Deloitte LLP. "Nonprofits face the same kinds of business issues as for-profit organizations so, over the years, we have come to know that the most vital resource we can contribute to the community is the one we offer our commercial clients every day -- the best thinking of our people. The work we do has significant value to nonprofits, which is why it is a fundamental component of our philanthropic mix."
Deloitte takes a unique approach to its corporate day of workplace volunteerism. Typically, workplace volunteer events focus entirely on traditional, hands-on volunteer activities, such as painting, planting and clean-up projects. While those are a part of IMPACT Day, Deloitte volunteers are also delivering a wide variety of business workshops and seminars to hundreds of nonprofit executives in 20 cities across the country. These in-depth sessions are intended to bolster nonprofit leaders' capacity to deal with organizational issues that, if left unattended, can impede their ability to effectively serve their constituents. Educational sessions include Communicating Change, Strategic Planning Re-imagined and Social Networking/Web 2.0, among others. Altogether, Deloitte volunteers will participate in more than 800 projects on IMPACT Day.





