Casual Fridays for a Cause

July 28, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute

A New York law firm is taking the “Casual Friday” idea and applying a charitable angle.

Lawyers and staff members at Anderson Kill & Olick are allowed to wear jeans on Fridays, if they make a small contribution to the firm’s ongoing fund-raising drive. Lawyers are charged $10 for the privilege each time they take advantage of it, other staff members $5, and interns $1.

Since starting the program in July 2008, the firm has raised more than $15,000 for three organizations: the American Cancer Society, City Harvest, and the National Parkinson Foundation.

“‘Doing Good Deeds With Denim’ adds a lovely twist to the bit of relaxation that comes with wearing comfortable clothes at week’s end,” says Ronni Meltzer, the firm’s director of human resources.

About the Author

NICOLE WALLACE

Features Editor

Nicole Wallace is features editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has written about innovation in the nonprofit world, charities’ use of data to improve their work and to boost fundraising, advanced technologies for social good, and hybrid efforts at the intersection of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, such as social enterprise and impact investing.Nicole spearheaded the Chronicle’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast and reported from India on the role of philanthropy in rebuilding after the South Asian tsunami. She started at the Chronicle in 1996 as an editorial assistant compiling The Nonprofit Handbook.Before joining the Chronicle, Nicole worked at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and served in the inaugural class of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.A native of Columbia, Pa., she holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.