The National Association of Pro Bono Professionals (NAPBPro) continues to grow and find ways to provide value for membership. Part of our mission continues to be the promotion of pro bono and bringing members together. This year, we plan to increase the value of membership by providing things that members have been asking for.

First, if you have not visited the new website, NAPBPro.net, please do. We would like members to post their celebratory events to the calendar. This will allow all of us to see what other communities do to say thank you, and possibly not reinvent the wheel. Nothing grows pro bono better than sharing ideas and resources. If you have a pro bono event coming up in the next 12 (twelve months) please, take a moment a put it on the calendar. If you have difficulty doing that, you can contact Pete Fierro at fierrop@lanwt.org.

Many members of the Executive Committee have been in the pro bono business for more than 10 years, because of that, we plan to bring webinar trainings to our members, and to new pro bono professionals in the course of this year. Again, sharing of resources is a guarantee of pro bono growth.

To each of you reading this, NAPBPro is your member organization. Please feel free to contact ANY member of the Executive Committee if there is something we can do for you. Making NAPBPro responsive and relevant to our membership is the primary goal of my term as President. With NAPBPro.net, the initiation of Webinar trainings, the William Reese Smith award, the Tanya Neiman Pro Bono Professional award and the $650 Hanna Cohn Scholarships for the Equal Justice Conference, I believe we will be responding well to your requests but, we are prepared to do more with your input.

Another important change this year is the addition of 2 scholarships to the Nuts and Bolts Pro Bono training that occurs immediately prior to the Equal Justice Conference. We want to encourage new pro bono professionals to take advantage of this training and believe that providing financial assistance will be beneficial. The scholarship will include a 1 (one) year membership in NAPBPro, Nuts n Bolts registration fee and the cost of one night at the hotel. ($300).

Equal Justice Conference - $650. for members only (2 available)
Nuts and Bolts - $330 for non members new to pro bono (2 available)

There will be a free Webinar open to all pro bono professionals during National Pro Bono Week. The working title is Working with Pro Bono Clients: How to Train Your Volunteers.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: Meg Connolly, Tanya Neiman Pro Bono Professional of the year and Stephen P. Griebel, the William Reece Smith, Jr. Special Service to Pro Bono Award Winner.

I have attached the NAPBPro Executive Committee names and their contact information to this report. Please feel free to contact your local committee member, or any other member at any time. Thank you for this opportunity to serve you.