Five Questions with Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio

Marcie Hunnicutt, Dayton Director and
Counsel for Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio

1) What is the mission of Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio?

Established in 2014, Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio (PBPO) provides free business legal services to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Dayton and Cincinnati areas. Our mission is to strengthen our community by engaging attorney volunteers to provide nonprofits with free legal services tailored to their business needs.

2) How do you help area nonprofit organizations?

Our objectives are to (1) provide high-quality, direct legal services to nonprofit organizations so they can implement sound business decisions, maintain compliance, and operate more effectively, and (2) actively promote best practices and accountability within the nonprofit sector through our educational workshops, webinars, and publications.

The legal guidance and educational programming provided to our nonprofit clients enables them to make more effective business decisions, improve governance, and implement sound management policies and procedures, while preserving their limited resources for their program implementation. We cost-effectively assist these organizations by drawing upon the legal expertise of our small internal staff and a cadre of over 600 active attorney volunteers, who are experts in various aspects of business law.

3) How can nonprofits connect with your organization?

Visit our website, www.pbpohio.org, or give us a call! Thanks to the generous support of the Dayton Legal Heritage Foundation of The Dayton Foundation, we hired Marcie Hunnicutt as our Dayton Director and Counsel earlier this year. She welcomes the opportunity to talk with local nonprofit organizations and/or attorneys interested in volunteering. Marcie can be reached at (937) 396-2131 or marcie@pbpohio.org.

4) What events and programs do you currently offer for nonprofits?

While only nonprofits that meet our client criteria receive pro bono legal services, our workshops, webinars and legal resources are available and accessible to all nonprofit organizations in the community, whether or not they are PBPO clients. We always offer our educational sessions in collaboration with umbrella and partner organizations, such as the Dayton Metro Library and the Miami Valley Nonprofit Collaborative. If you are interested in joining our mailing list to be notified of upcoming nonprofit seminars, please either reach out to Marcie Hunnicutt or sign up on our website.

5) What else would you like nonprofits to know about your organization?

Earlier in November we celebrated our five-year anniversary. We took a moment to reflect on all that has been accomplished in just a short period of time. A total of 650 amazing volunteer attorneys have donated their time and talents, handling over 1,200 unique matters for more than 200 nonprofit clients. This saved them nearly $3 million.

While we are proud of our numbers, the true achievement is seeing the positive impact of our nonprofit clients. Lending our expertise to their legal needs allows nonprofit leaders to focus on what they do best -- making a significant impact on the people and communities they serve.