NEC Launches Pro Bono Program 'Social Entrepreneur School Business Supporter'

NEC Corp., a leading Japanese electronics company, announced on April 27, 2010, that it would start a pro bono social contribution program using its employees' professional skills. It is the first company to start such a program in Japan. A pro bono program is a type of social contribution activity that supports non-profit organizations (NPOs) by using professional skills and know-how obtained from business instead of monetary donations.

NEC will use this approach as part of its "NEC social entrepreneur school business supporter (NEC version pro bono)" program. The "NEC social entrepreneur school" opened in 2002 in cooperation with ETIC., an NPO that aims to cultivate entrepreneurs. The school has now been re-launched as a new social contribution program.

There are three purposes: first, to suggest solutions to challenges facing social entrepreneurs by using the professional skills of the NEC group; second, to better understand the consumer's point of view and to promote the creation of new products and services by having employees taking part in the field of social change; and third, to further develop the community-based volunteer activities as part of the "NEC Make-a-Difference Drive (MDD)," which has been joined by NEC employees around the world and to expand MDD into a network-typed social contribution activity reaching beyond the community.

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http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/028879.html

NEC Corp. global site
http://www.nec.com/
ETIC. official website
http://www.etic.or.jp/english/

Posted: 2010/07/14 06:00:15 AM