Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio
Celebrating Our Corporate Attorney Volunteers: Volunteer Lawyers Strengthening Nonprofits & Our Community
By Erin Childs Executive Director PBPO
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n the City of Dayton alone, there are nearly 2,000 registered 501(c)(3) public charities working tirelessly to make a difference in the community. They bring meals to the elderly. They house families who have been displaced. They make sure children are ready, able, and excited to learn. They help our region thrive. However, just like well-resourced for-profits, nonprofits need legal advice to navigate these uncertain times. Yet most nonprofits, particularly the smaller ones with limited resources, lack regular access to legal advice. With the help of our dedicated attorney volunteers, Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio (PBPO) engages attorneys to meet that need. Our goal is to give qualifying 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations in our region access to free business legal assistance, which will in turn enable them to make more effective decisions, improve governance, management policies, and procedures while preserving their limited resources for their program implementation. This year, PBPO is celebrating its 5th anniversary. In that short amount of time, PBPO has provided direct legal services to over 225 nonprofit organizations in Dayton and Cincinnati on more than 1,500 different legal projects. How were we able to accomplish this? Because we are powered by the selfless volunteerism of over 650 corporate attorneys willing to take time out of their busy schedules to volunteer pro bono for our nonprofit clients. The collective impact of the work done by our volunteer attorneys is being felt throughout the community. Thanks to our volunteers, organizations like Clothes That Work, Life Essentials, Miami Valley Nonprofit Collaborative, and Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund are stronger and are better able to focus on what they do best – making a deep impact on the people and communities they serve. Without the help from the staff & attorneys at PBPO, we would not have been able to navigate the process for getting our real estate tax exemption for the horse farm we purchased in 2019. Having access to an organization that is in existence to assist nonprofits with legal matters is an enormous benefit. Like most nonprofits, we have a tight budget and knowing that we have a resource to turn to that alleviates the stress in dealing with legal matters is crucial. This is not the first matter they have helped us with and, no doubt, it won’t be the last.
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By Marcie Hunnicutt Esq. Dayton Director PBPO
Jacki Mayer, Executive Director, Therapeutic Riding Institute
PBPO Helps Lawyers Do Good
At PBPO, we make it easy for corporate attorneys to efficiently and meaningfully share their expertise with nonprofits. We offer a broad range of projects in transactional practice areas such as contracts, employment, general corporate issues, corporate governance, intellectual property, real estate, mergers, and dissolutions. Our matters are pre-screened, discrete, and generally not subject to time deadlines. The average project takes six hours to complete. For many corporate and in-house lawyers, pro bono opportunities are limited. Becoming involved with PBPO expanded my opportunities to help nonprofit organizations and thereby help my community. My involvement with PBPO has proved that one of the best ways to receive true joy and much satisfaction is to give your time to help others. This is what it means to be a Dayton lawyer.
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Walter Reynolds, Partner, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
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Dayton Bar Briefs October 2020
937.222.7902
