Pro Bono Partnership (the Partnership) is pleased to announce it was awarded a $10,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. These funds will support the Partnership’s mission to strengthen and empower nonprofits and communities by providing free legal services to nonprofit organizations in the Fairfield County, CT region.
The generous grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation will directly support the Partnership’s programming and operational costs, making legal services and educational resources accessible to local nonprofits.
“We’re thrilled to have the continued support of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation for the legal services and training the Partnership provides in Fairfield County,” said Pro Bono Partnership Executive Director, Nancy Eberhardt. “Expert legal advice is critical for our nonprofit clients, and with the financial backing of grants like this we can continue to make outreach and education priorities, and provide legal services at no cost to charities so they can focus their resources on building capacity and sustainable programming for the community,” Eberhardt continued.
Each year demand for Pro Bono Partnership’s services increases, and last year was the busiest in the Partnership’s 20-year history. In 2017, the Partnership assisted 800 nonprofits in the tristate area, and recruited and mobilized 1,400+ volunteer attorneys who provided 22,000 hours of free legal services—more than $9.5 million value to the nonprofit sector. As one nonprofit executive recently said of Pro Bono Partnership, “It is so difficult for small agencies such as ours to keep up-to-date with the numerous changes in regulations and laws. Further, given our budget, it is impossible to have lawyers on staff to assist. That is what makes your service all the more important.”
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation promotes philanthropy as a means to create change in Fairfield County, focusing on innovative and collaborative solutions to critical issues impacting the community. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Community Foundation is in compliance with the Council on Foundations’ national standards, and has awarded $180 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org.
In addition to providing direct legal services and a Legal Resource Helpline, Pro Bono Partnership provides educational material on topics ranging from forming a nonprofit and determining a board’s leadership role, to navigating employment issues and complying with fundraising or advocacy laws via in-person workshops and on-demand webinars available on the Partnership’s website: https://www.probonopartner.org/learning-center/.