As is common practice with large firms, Deloitte provides pro bono services to local communities. Employees of the consulting giant also volunteer their time and skills with area nonprofits. It’s a pretty good one-two punch as big-name corporate responsibility goes. Deloitte, however, saw opportunity to leverage a greater impact.
Welcome philanthropy, in the form of large-scale grants to support regional initiatives where Deloitte employees are already engaged in pro bono and volunteer work. The Problem Solvers Fund works as a cash complement to the firm’s pro bono work. Deloitte staff apply for grants ($1 million in year one) to fund social impact projects in their communities.
Here are the benefits I see:
- A multi-pronged approach to community development that reflects Deloitte’s high standards for its corporate clients
- Beautiful publicity and public image for Deloitte
- Employee satisfaction. Employees are not given lip-service to ‘volunteer’ or work on a pro bono basis, but can attain funds to leverage their input and create real movement.
- Nonprofit buy-in and ownership. Pro bono services are often used as a band-aid to existing ills. The introduction of money allows organizations to more sustainably leverage this knowledge (pro bono) and man power (volunteer) to build out programs or develop new ones. This is galvanizing for everyone involved.
In effect, Deloitte has added a nonprofit consulting component to its corporate identity.
I'm Olivia Khalili. I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission. 
