Dear Friends,
A Billion + Change is delighted to announce a partnership with Public Architecture,which engages architecture firms, nonprofits, and manufacturers to commit to pro bono design for the public good through its nationally recognized 1% program. Together the two organizations will work collaboratively to drive the transformation of business culture in America, making pro bono service the new normal for businesses of all sizes and sectors.
In a joint statement today, A Billion + Change Executive Director Jenny Lawson, and Public Architecture President and Founder, John Peterson said, “Recognizing our common commitment to pledges of service, activation of those pledges, measurement of success and our common belief in the future and power of pro bono service, we see this partnership as an exciting opportunity to grow the community of business owners and professionals who are committed to contributing pro bono and skilled services to underserved communities.”
"We are excited to welcome Pubic Architecture and recognize the significant experience the organization brings in building a network and strategies to engage professional service sectors in pro bono campaigns and collaboratives. Their 1% program keeps growing in testament to those businesses that make up the design, engineering and architecture sector. We anticipate not only sharing the experience of A Billion + Change, but learning a lot as well,” said Lawson.
“Public Architecture is thrilled that The 1% national network of nearly 1200 architecture and design firms who have made a pledge to provide pro bono service for communities in need are joining the leadership of Billion + Change’s pledge companies to advance corporate social responsibility, " said Peterson.
Public Architecture’s 1% program asks every architecture and design firm to commit a minimum of 1% of their billable time to pro bono services every year. Their growing network represents 15,000 designers who commit nearly $45M in pro bono services every year. Firms participating in The 1% range from young offices to the largest architecture and design firms in country. Already among A Billion + Change pledge companies, Chicago-based Cannon Design pledges 5500 hours of pro bono design service through The 1%, an estimated annual value of nearly $700,000 annually.
A Billion + Change is a national campaign to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono and skills-based services from corporate America to address core issues in communities across the country and around the world by 2013. As of today, A Billion + Change has mobilized more than $2 billion worth of pro bono service from an estimated 500 companies across the country – a true defining milestone in the history of the service movement and a foreshadowing of how corporate America and the nonprofit sector are finding ways to work together to make true, valuable impact.
About:
Public Architecture is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in San Francisco. It engages architecture firms, nonprofits, and manufacturers to commit to design for the public good through its nationally recognized 1% program; it acts to bring about positive community change through public-interest design initiatives and pro bono design service grants; and it shares the potential of design to change the world through advocacy and outreach. The 1%, a program of Public Architecture, connects nonprofits with architecture and design firms willing to give of their time pro bono. http://www.publicarchitecture.org