Pro Bono Perspectives

Dr. Stephanie Royal, Chief People Officer at The Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty fighting organization, talks about community-driven philanthropy, leading with compassion, and how the K-shaped recovery from COVID-19 is further disadvantaging under-resourced communities and the nonprofit sector. Hear Stephanie’s takes on nonprofit talent management in the COVID-19 era, including new challenges with employee retention, the importance of investing in staff, building a culture of DEI, and supporting mental health and wellness. Visit robinhood.org to learn more.

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Rahsaan Harris, CEO of Citizens Committee for NYC (CitizensNYC), a micro-funding organization that provides support to community leaders on the front lines of change in their own neighborhoods. Hear what it was like for Rahsaan to assume his position as CEO in March 2020 right as New York went into lockdown, how he drove meaningful change during the pandemic, and why he believes many elements of pandemic era philanthropy and work culture should remain in place.

Visit citizensnyc.org to learn more about Dr. Rahsaan Harris and micro-grants for neighborhoods, nonprofits, and small businesses.

Hear from Yusuf George of JUST Capital, the only independent nonprofit that tracks, analyzes, and engages with large corporations and their investors on how they perform on the issues Americans care about most.

Yusuf recaps findings from JUST Capital’s Corporate Racial Equity Tracker and recommendations for how corporate leaders can act on DEI commitments as outlined in the CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity. One of the most crucial steps companies can take toward racial equity is tracking and reporting on the state of pay equity within their organizations, says Yusuf, who believes measurement, transparency, and accountability are all key to achieving meaningful change.

Yusuf and host Danielle Holly discuss other trends in CSR including shareholder versus stakeholder capitalism, the need to shed short-termism in DEI work, and why leaders must push past discomfort in order to make real progress on racial equity.

Visit justcapital.com to learn more.

This Pride Month, we welcome Lena Ballantine, COO of The Trevor Project, which does life-saving work in mental health and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, and Jen Carter, Head of Technology & Volunteering at Google.org and founder of the Google.org Fellowship Program, a pro bono program that matches Google employees with social impact organizations full-time for up to six months.

Since the beginning of COVID-19, the volume of youth reaching out to The Trevor Project has increased significantly, at times as much as doubling. The recent political climate and racial injustices have also contributed to a mental health emergency where 42% of LGBTQ+ youth have “seriously considered” suicide.

In this context, Lena and Jen recap The Trevor Project and Google.org Fellowship Program’s work on the Crisis Contact Simulator, which leveraged cutting-edge AI technology to better equip volunteer counselors to support LGBTQ+ youth during a mental health crisis. Hear about the impact of this project and best practices for ensuring pro bono partnerships are set up for success.

Visit thetrevorproject.org for LGBTQ+ mental health resources and google.org to learn about the Fellowship Program and Google’s other philanthropic works.

Volunteer with The Trevor Project: thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/volunteer

The Trevor Project’s National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021: thetrevorproject.org/survey-2021

Chef, cookbook author, and activist Julia Turshen operates at the intersection of food and social justice. Her highly acclaimed cookbooks share deeply personal and meaningful narratives on LGBTQIA+ representation, racial equity, body positivity, and more. Here, Julia talks about food insecurity and how the pandemic put the spotlight on systems that were already broken, plus what each of us can do to promote social justice and equity from our kitchens.

Learn more about Julia and her latest cookbook, Simply Julia, at juliaturshen.com and visit equityatthetable.com, her easy-to-navigate directory of women and gender non-conforming individuals in the food industry, focusing primarily on members of the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities.

Controversy over the tech sector’s role in society, democracy, and philanthropy has been making headlines for years. Recently, some tech companies have leaned into these areas even further while others have made statements that they are specifically staying out of political and social issues. In this episode, get a frontline perspective from Platypus Advisors Founder Caroline Barlerin, a leader in CSR and skills-based volunteering with experience at companies like Twitter, Eventbrite, and HP.

Caroline and host Danielle Holly discuss the changing nature of tech CSR through the lens of systemic inequity, diversity, and evolving approaches to philanthropy, especially amongst billionaires. Hear their thoughts on how skills-based volunteering and “platypus professionals,” those who span both business and social impact, will be some of the biggest drivers of meaningful social change in the years to come.

Visit platypusadvisors.com to learn more about Caroline and her work.

Dr. Mai Nguyen talks about the power of design thinking and how it’s being applied to financial institutions like credit unions to advance economic empowerment and social justice. Director of the Design Lab at UCSD and a Filene Research Institute Fellow, Mai has dedicated her career to addressing systemic discrimination and policies that create inequities in access to capital, housing, and more.

Currently, she is focusing on the study and expansion of credit unions as a catalyst for community transformation. Listen for a fascinating take on the social responsibility of credit unions, the significant community investments they’ve made in recent years, and how design thinking can transform them into a true force for equity.

To learn more about Mai’s work, visit mai.web.unc.edu, designlab.ucsd.edu, and filene.org.