ABA Section of Business Law

What is the relationship between lawyers, philanthropy and pro bono? Last year, the State Bar of Georgia's A Business Commitment (ABC) Committee partnered with the Southeastern Council of Foundations to find the answer.

Georgia's ABC Committee was established to increase support of nonprofits by linking pro bono business lawyers with nonprofit organizations. By working with pro bono lawyers to build the capacity of Georgia's nonprofit organizations, ABC also recognized the need to increase the resources of nonprofits.

The Southeastern Council of Foundations (http://www.secf.org/), a voluntary membership association of grant-making foundations and programs in 12 southeastern states, promotes excellence throughout the field of philanthropy and the creation of new philanthropic resources to benefit the region. ABC therefore agreed to partner with the Southeastern Council of Foundations to form a Lawyers and Philanthropy Committee.

The Lawyers and Philanthropy Committee envisioned a strategy to develop a continuing legal education curriculum on philanthropic options. The goal of this CLE is to stimulate the growth of philanthropy by providing lawyers who are not typically engaged in estate planning with information about a broad range of philanthropic options they can discuss with clients.

Nearly 25 lawyers gathered at the state bar headquarters on May 23, 2002, for the two-hour session led by Mark Williamson, partner at Alston & Bird, and Bryan Clontz, vice president for advancement at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. The session was videotaped for use on the Georgia ICLE Online Library, which will allow lawyers throughout Georgia to view the presentation.

The Southeastern Toolkit for Giving, published recently by the SECF, was the featured handout at the CLE session. Although the South has approximately one-third of the nation's population and two-fifths of its poverty, it has less than one-fifth of the nation's philanthropic assets. According to ABC Committee member Mark Williamson, "One of the most effective ways to encourage more individuals to create permanent charitable endowments — such as private foundations or funds at community foundations — is to encourage professional advisers like lawyers to discuss philanthropic options with their clients."

Because of the positive response to the Georgia "Pilot Project," the Lawyers and Philanthropy Committee developed a training event for representatives from state bar associations and community foundations throughout the southeastern region to have the CLE curriculum on philanthropy approved for their states and to launch their own programs.

With a $25,000 grant from New Ventures in Philanthropy, in October of 2003, representatives from nine participating southeastern states reconvened to attend a day-long session to share their stories of victories and obstacles encountered while working to get approval for and participation in the course. All of those attending had obtained CLE approval and were sponsoring Lawyers & Philanthropy training. The institutionalization of this curriculum and its effect in the southeast may provide encouragement and opportunity for similar programs in other regions.

Commenting on the creation of the "Lawyers and Philanthropy Committee" of the Louisiana State Bar Association, Monte Mollere, Access to Justice director of the Louisiana State Bar, said, "Contrary to public image, ‘philanthropy' isn't a new concept for lawyers. The new concept is the bar's institutionalized effort to expand philanthropy. The committee recognized their work as a long- term effort, and members were pleasantly surprised by the immediate benefit that one pro bono program received when the local foundation charged a small fee for the CLE, and donated the proceeds to the area pro bono project."

For more information on Lawyers & Philanthropy, please see the Web site at http://www.abc-georgia.org.