“Well, uh, yes, I guess I am.”

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you! I talk to people in India about CreateAthon all the time!”

That is what greeted me within 10 minutes of stepping into an evening reception at the Global Pro Bono Summit, hosted recently by Taproot Foundation. It was a moment that took my breath away, and the start of a 24-hour experience that filled me with the promise of good in the world like never before.

Joining me at the event in NYC was none other than  CreateAthon Chief Evangelical Officer Peyton Rowe. That, in itself, is enough to get me pumped up on the matter of all things pro bono. Then there were our friends from Taproot Foundation, A Billion + Change, and other swell folks from socially minded corporations we’ve come to know. I expected to see these flag-bearers for pro bono, and to once again be inspired by their leadership.

What I encountered was something altogether different.

I was surrounded by people from about a dozen different countries who were part of Taproot’s global fellows program. Then there were “intermediaries,” people throughout the US who lead programs designed to mobilize pro bono efforts in their respective industries and/or communities. Like CreateAthon.

Before we intermediaries were introduced to the global fellows, Taproot Founder and event organizer Aaron Hurst provided some meaningful context to us on why these people had come to New York, and why we had been invited to meet them:

“Understand that most of the people you’ll meet today come from countries in which pro bono is neither encouraged nor tolerated. In some cases, they are not only putting themselves at professional risk for advocating the practice of pro bono, but also personal. They can go to jail for this.

“You’re here to get to know them, encourage them, and connect with them from now on, so they can be prepared to carry out this work when they go home.”

That got our attention.

Then here they came, 22 of the most delightful people I’ve ever met. Between their broken English and my heavy Southern accent, we often had to repeat ourselves or help interpret each other’s sentences. But what transcended that awkward dialogue was the immediate, shared spark of something between us: the belief in pro bono.

There’s so much to say about this experience — perhaps I shall come back here and unpack all of my takeaways — but for now, I hope you’ll be inspired by three things I now know to be true, thanks to this global gathering of good.

Pro bono is going to become an industry, not a nice to do.

We can capitalize on it and make a living giving it scale throughout the world. What some may have once considered a pipe dream is now quickly becoming a force.

People are different. Their hearts are the same.

The power of human connections around a central cause has never been more palpable to me than in the last two weeks. All it takes is one moment, and an extended hand.

The impact of CreateAthon has only just begun.

Our 24-hour marathon model is being noticed in places far from here, not just in India. In France: “We now have a marathon model in place inspired by CreateAthon.”

In the Netherlands: “Oh yes, we’ve heard of you. What a great program!”

In Germany: “We love CreateAthon, and I am going to get you to Berlin to teach us how to do it.”

Where do we go from here? Global fellows, corporate leaders, and intermediaries like us will reassemble for Global Pro Bono Summit II a year from now. In the meantime, we’ll be connecting with each other, one by one, sharing ideas and offering encouragement. We’ll also be working together on a number of initiatives coming out of the summit that will help to move the global pro bono movement forward in the next 12 months.

The last thing I know for sure?

If you have a little idea, it can be big.

Peyton checks in at our mod venue, Steelcase

Telling our stories, one by one

P and T reunite with our global bestie, Armin from BMW Foundation.

Heated debate among the panel of judges for best global pro bono plan

Champion of pro bono and lover of all things CreateAthon: Taproot Foundation founder Aaron Hurst

We Riggs folks are always up for a conversion about pro bono, and the Billion + breakfast was a great way to share our belief in skills-based volunteerism as a means of corporate social responsibility. But my new best Twitter friend Paul Klein unearthed a whole new perspective in his Forbes post this week by stating “social change isn’t the responsibility of business, it is the result of business.”

That’s what A Billion + Change is really all about: helping American businesses understand that the fastest and most profound way to create results in the community is to give employees the opportunity to put their best business skills and talents to work for nonprofits. In doing so, they help NGOs and NPOs build the kind of capacity and intellectual resources they need to build sustainability and move their missions forward.

We’re thrilled with the enthusiastic response from the A Billion + Change event, and we look forward to sharing more news very soon about the South Carolina companies that are taking the pledge to create or expand their own skills-based, pro bono programs. As always, we believe South Carolinians will rise to the occasion, expressing our collective belief in doing the kind of work that matters most.

Teresa (third from left) at the White House

How revved up can you get walking into the White House and being seated alongside the nation’s most influential leaders in corporate social responsibility? Just ask Peyton Rowe, who joined me in DC recently for A Billion + Change’s national forum on the power of corporate pro bono. We were totally spent after a day of meeting and hearing from people who, like us, believe that talents honed in the workplace have a higher calling: to help meet social needs.

This was our third meeting with A Billion + Change, organized as a joint intiative of the Points of Light Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Led by Senator Mark Warner as Honorary Chair and Jean Case of the Case Foundation, A Billion + Change is on a mission to raise $2 billion in pledged pro bono service from corporations by 2013. Corporate executives, nonprofit leaders, and White House administration officials gathered at the White House to celebrate the milestone of 200 pledge companies. Riggs Partners, on behalf of CreateAthon, is a charter pledge company.

Our agenda was filled with an impressive array of speakers, many of whom left us with comments that spoke volumes to the power of pro bono:

Gene Sperling, Director, National Economic Council

“Skills-based volunteering is about long-term vs. short-term, about defining the kind of company you want to be.”

Senator Mark Warner, Honorary Chair, A Billion + Change

“The campaign’s move to 500 pledge companies can be transformational, and can reinvigorate the notion that the private sector has a positive role to play in society and in our economic recovery.”

Wendy Spencer, CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service

“Pooling our resources together, we will make the greatest impact. Just imagine engineers serving as STEM tutors.”

John Finneran, General Counsel, Capital One

“90% of our managers tell us employees perform at a higher level after having been involved in a pro bono project.”

Joe Echevarria, CEO, Deloitte

“The best learning comes from the most difficult assignment, and pro bono is not for the faint of heart.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, Special Assistant to the President and Director, Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation (and founder of Ethos Water)

“This President believes many of the answers to issues affecting our communities are already out there. It’s our job to identify what’s working, lift them up, and build the human and financial capital around them to provide scale.”

While these events are quite grown up, Peyton and I inevitably leave every convocation with a feeling of wonder and enthusiasm befitting a pair of teenage girls. Did you meet him? He’s awesome! Did you hear what she said? They knew about CreateAthon! Can you believe that?

It’s not often in life you get to look at your little idea through the eyes of very big thinkers. When you do, it’s like looking through a pinhole and seeing the light open up before you for as long and wide you can imagine.

For CreateAthon, we believe the light is just beginning to shine.

We gathered in a meeting room on the 41st floor of the Morgan Stanley building in Manhattan. Around us were a hundred representatives of Fortune 100 companies, collected here to fuel the momentum of a powerful service initiative called A Billion+Change.

Senator Mark Warner stepped to the podium.

We face some real challenges in this country, he said. 

The government can’t fix these problems.

Nonprofits can, if we help them build capacity.

Nonprofits are there, on the ground, in the right position to do it, he said.*

It was the opening to one of the most fascinating days of my career, spent in the company of corporate giants and nonprofit leaders with the desire (and position) to go about the business of changing the world. We spent the day talking about the ways these corporations—early pioneers in skills-based pro bono services—are creating global CSR programs, providing opportunities for employees to be engaged in them, developing systems for managing them, identifying meaningful ways to measure them, and more.

At the heart of it all is A Billion + Change, a movement that has already engaged nearly 100 companies with pledges that total $1.5 billion in skills-based pro bono service. It marks a sea change, really: corporations leveraging the talents of employees throughout an organization in service to nonprofits. And it’s not just hands-on service. It’s volunteer service based on the professional skills of the individual. By matching the workforce skills with the needs of these nonprofits, powerful connections are made.

Think what happens when UPS employees volunteer their expertise to improve the logistical challenge of getting supplies to a region ravaged by an earthquake. Or  HP—the world’s largest technology company— collaborates with a national educator’s resource center to improve digital communication and distribution of materials.

It’s a new way of thinking about corporate pro bono service that not only values but also encourages coordinated participation in socially responsible efforts, all on “company” time.

Riggs Partners is proud to be standing there alongside Starbucks, Target, Microsoft, Walmart, Kraft, Capital One, Deloitte, Dow Chemical, GE, IBM, Intel, PepsiCo, and more, as a founding pledge company in the A Billion+Change movement. In fact, our CreateAthon pro bono program, through which we develop branding and marketing materials for nonprofits during a 24-hour marathon, was showcased at the Billion + launch event in Washington, DC early this winter. With a collective impact of nearly $15 million in our 15th CreateAThon year, we believe our program is a powerful example of the most effective kind of Corporate Social Responsibility program:

• Aligned with the company’s brand;
• Leverages the prized commodity of the talents and skills of its employees;
• Boosts morale;
• Makes a difference to those nonprofits being served.

In a post titled The Best Job In America, Jenny Lawson, executive director of A Billion + Change, writes, “Together, we are seeking to make A Billion + Change the biggest pledge of corporate service in history.”

I think it will happen. I believe the A Billion + Change movement will catch fire as companies—large and small—realize the profound impact that comes from stepping up, making a commitment to service, and working together to do what needs to be done.

It has certainly changed our company for the better.

Cathy and Teresa represent Riggs Partners among pledge companies, the leadership team and Senator Mark Warner

Room With A View

Teresa talks small business pledge strategies with Jackie Norris, executive director of Points of Light Corporate Institute

Breakout session

Riggs Partners to the left; HP to the right

*The sentiments, if not the exact words, expressed by Senator Mark Warner, honorary chair of the A Billion+ Movement. I hasten to add that while I may be a bit biased—I am a native Virginian, after all—I found Senator Warner to be both refreshingly candid and delightfully charming.

**A special thanks to the leaders of the A Billion + Change movement:  Honorary Chairman Senator Mark Warner, Points of Light, the Case Foundation, Deloitte, HP, IBM and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

***Photos graciously provided by A Billion + Change

Sharing CreateAthon and the pro bono love

Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining 14 other speakers and performers at the inaugural TEDx Columbia event. What began for me as an Oh my God, how will I ever have time to prepare for this item on my never-ending list became a transformative experience second only to CreateAthon, my subject de jour.

While I was more than humbled to have the opportunity to spread the CreateAthon gospel on such a distinguished stage, I was more moved by the cumulative effect of the day. It crept inside me as these words bounced in and out of every conversation.

What if. Who knew. We can. You can. I did. I asked. Yes.

There also was a lot of talk during the day about Columbia and the undiscovered potential of our city as evidenced by the talent, intellect and passion of everyone assembled at TEDx Columbia. The mere fact that we “did TEDx” was viewed as a great achievement. Certainly it was.

I submit the greater outcome of the day, however, lies in a heightened awareness of the other. Look at what that other person is doing. Look at the terrible thing that happened to her, and what she did with it. Look at the risk he took.

TEDx gave us a day to put down our own ego-driven lens and peer through the lens of the other. To soak in our fellow man’s distinctive experiences, and to consider just how vital it is that we all see the world a little bit differently.

After all, if two of us are exactly the same, one of us is irrelevant (to quote Jay Coles).

I think the world’s a little more beautiful today, being reminded of that.

So many thanks to the incredible TEDx Columbia team and fellow speakers for inviting me to be part of this incredible experience, for working so hard to make it such a success, and for entering my life as new friends.

We’re only halfway through the month and CreateAthon has already traveled to Washington, DC to help launch the A Billion + Change initiative. There they joined forces with companies like Starbucks, Capitol One, and Microsoft to promise to create $1 billion in pro bono services by 2013. To add to this already incredible month, AIGA highlighted CreateAthon in their Design for Good movement as a way to get involved in pro bono designing. The support from these two initiatives will do wonders in helping spread CreateAthon’s message.

Welcome to the team, Andrea!

Just when we didn’t think November could get any better, Peyton Rowe, CreateAthon’s Chief Evangelical Officer, brought Andrea Goulet Ford to our team. It has only been a few weeks since Andrea joined us, and she already has our heads spinning with her amazing ideas. With her help, CreateAthon is on the path to even greater success.

It’s exciting to see how much CreateAthon has grown this year. What’s even more exciting is seeing how many people want to help CreateAthon succeed. Today is only November 15 and I am overwhelmed by how much support our program has gained this month. I can’t wait to see what the rest of November has in store for us.

by Jody Piland

This morning, I will attend a kick off breakfast in the Russell Senate Office Building hosted by Sen. Mark Warner, honorary chair of the initiative. Later on, I’ll participate in a panel discussion alongside leaders in corporate social responsibility from companies who are also involved in the program. I’ll be asked to share our experiences with CreateAthon as a model for how a small business can generate large-scale probono impact.

Teresa

So how does a Billion + Change work? Participating companies define a pledge amount toward the cause and report on their progress throughout the initiative. A majority of the companies involved are major corporations with significant CSR programs, like HP, Microsoft, IBM, Walmart, and Discovery Channel.

On behalf of CreateAthon, we’ve pledged to more than double the number of partner agencies, universities and professional organizations involved in the program. Our estimates tell us if we reach this goal, we will move from generating approximately $2.3 million in pro bono services each year to an annual impact of $5.6 million.

As if it couldn’t get any better, I’m joined today by none other than Peyton Rowe, Chief Evangelical Officer of CreateAthon. She’s just in from Richmond, and we are truly beside ourselves with the prospect of meeting so many folks who are committed to sharing professional talents for social good.

So know that today, the CreateAthon story will be told from the one place in America that was most meant to inspire servant leadership. Who knows? Maybe some good karma will rub off down the street.