Examples of pro bono work

Almost all of the major financial planning trade organizations have posted general financial planning topics on their Web sites, especially after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. But pro bono work in the financial planning field was going on before the attacks, and is available most often when dealing with people facing individual crises (such as excessive debt, death of a family member, catastrophic illness, etc.).

The FPA
The Financial Planning Association has a variety of online resources for handling money in times of crisis, including its Sept. 11 page.
http://www.fpanet.org/public/index.cfm

The FPA Massachusetts Chapter
The Massachusetts Chapter of the FPA provided volunteers to individuals affected by the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy. The link below gives a brief overview of the qualifications and activities these volunteer financial advisors provided to victims of the disaster.
http://www.fpama.org/volunteer.html

CFP Board
After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, CFP Board organized more than 50 volunteers to answer questions on a variety of financial topics. They established a financial assistance Web page as a resource for anyone affected by the terrorist attacks. This Web page provided the public with the opportunity to submit questions to financial planning practitioners, obtain answers to typical questions people had following the crisis, and find links to other useful resources. To learn more about CFP Board, visit their Web site at www.CFP.net.

Individual Planners and Firms
This Bloomberg article describes several different types of pro bono work conducted at the local community level by a variety of planners and firms that have worked with at-risk teens, women's groups, low-income homeowners, and other groups in need of pro bono assistance.
http://wealth.bloomberg.com/