# professionals4free Web site launches

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/05/19/professionals4free-web-site-launches/
- Published: 2003-05-19T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/2270.jpg)

A new Web resource will help voluntary and community organisations find out how 
to obtain free professional support.
Professionals4free contains information and
advice to make it easier for voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) to assess
whether they need professional help and if so, identify what type, such as legal
advice or management consultancy.

The site features a database providing details of brokers that VCOs can contact 
to help them make contact with professional firms interested in offering free support.
It links into the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) helpdesk which
is available to answer questions that users may have.

The site also offers guidance to professional individuals and firms interested in
offering their services for free to the community.

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The launch of the Web site follows an extensive study and consultation process conducted
in 2001 by Business in the Community and funded by the Home Office, which resulted
in the ‘Free for All’ report. This found that relatively few VCOs who could benefit
from free professional support seemed to know what services were available or where
to find them. It also showed that access to free professional support seemed to 
depend on location, luck and personal contacts.

A separate survey in 2002 asked 102 VCOs if they would find useful a dedicated Web
site that listed pro bono services and how to obtain them. Ninety nine per cent 
said they would.

Lord Filkin, Home Office Minister for Race Equality, Voluntary and Community Policy
said: “The Professionals4free website and helpline will provide an easy and effective
way for people to get the help they need, while providing a route for professionals
to get active in their community.”

The site is also designed to help professional firms who do not know how and where
to announce the professional skills they have to offer. Chris White, UK Director
of Communications at the leading Business and Financial advisor firm Grant Thornton,
comments: “The professionals4free Web site is a really valuable resource for professionals
wanting to offer their skills and expertise since it signposts them to brokers. 
We deliver our pro bono support through ProHelp and find that using a broker is 
key to ensuring our services go to where they are needed most.”

The professionals4free site has been developed by Business in the Community’s ProHelp
programme, TimeBank, NCVO and Business Community Connections, with funding support
from the Home Office Active Community Unit.

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