INBOX

Pro Bono Legal Sources Incomplete

To the Editor:

The Chronicle's February 4 online story on legal services for nonprofits, "Lining Up Free Legal Help for Your Nonprofit Group," was a good start on an important issue, but it omitted several critical pieces of information that your readers should know.

First, the effort to provide legal services to nonprofits is several decades old. Prominent, active programs that bring together nonprofits and volunteer lawyers are well-rooted in many major U.S. cities, including New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Boston, and Detroit. New initiatives are under development in at least a dozen other cities. Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan have statewide programs, and programs that target rural areas of the country are gaining visibility and strength. Together these "intermediaries" channel many millions of dollars of free services to America's nonprofit sector every year.

Second, these groups do not operate on the kind of ad hoc, improvisational basis described in the February 4 article. They are professional and well-organized. They carefully screen clients, assess their needs, and match them with lawyers from law firms and in-house corporate law departments. They provide training to attorneys and nonprofit groups on legal issues. They emphasize quality of service to ensure that nonprofit groups get the help they need efficiently and effectively. Intermediaries and lawyers from around the country meet regularly and confer daily over the Internet in order to maintain the highest professional standards and improve the efficacy of the entire network.

Third, this work is actively supported by major professional groups such as the American Bar Association, the Pro Bono Institute, the American Corporate Counsel Association, Probono.net, and the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Thousands of lawyers, supported by their law firms and in-house corporate law departments, donate their talent and expertise every year, as do hundreds of legal services staff attorneys.

In this time of need, when America's nonprofit sector is being forced to do more with less, when all of us are being asked to do our part to help, it is essential that nonprofit groups understand that there are resources out there to help them. The Business Law section of the American Bar Association has a manual on how to provide legal services to nonprofits that includes a directory of local programs. It is available online at http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/probono/abc/abc.pdf. Power of Attorney, a national foundation that provides funding and other services to build the capacities of local legal-service programs for nonprofits, has a Web site listing its grantees and strategic partners at http://www.powerofattorney.org. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management has a searchable database of providers at http://www.allianceonline.org. And Probono.net has an online resource center for lawyers representing nonprofits on a volunteer basis at http://www.probono.net.

Once again, thank you for drawing attention to this critical area of need for the nonprofit sector. We hope every nonprofit group that needs legal help will contact us, so that we can continue working together to build stronger communities in the days ahead.

News of Another Nonprofit Professionals Network

To the Editor:

We were delighted to read that young nonprofit managers in the Bay Area have formed the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network in San Francisco ("Linking a Network to Connect and Nurture Young Charity Workers," January 21). We've been involved in a similar, very successful collaboration of nonprofits outside of Boston, and are currently celebrating our 10th anniversary.

The Metrowest Nonprofit Network is an informal consortium of nonprofits run by a volunteer steering committee of area nonprofit executives. We offer opportunities for information exchange, professional development, and, perhaps most importantly, the chance to meet and network with peers and colleagues primarily through a series of training workshops on a variety of topics relevant to nonprofit staff. These range from board development, fund raising and grant-proposal writing to media relations and financial management. Workshops are open to all nonprofit staff and board members. In addition, we host a series of Executive Director Roundtable coffees, which provide valuable opportunities for directors to share common concerns and triumphs.

As we mark our 10th year, we would be pleased to share the benefit of our experience with our younger colleagues, or other groups interested in forming such a collaboration. Please contact Cathy Mogavero at cmogave@marlboroughchamber.org or Marilyn Martino at contact@sudburyfoundation.org.