Taproot Foundation

The Taproot Foundation is an American foundation. It works to engage the America's millions of business professionals in pro bono service, building the infrastructure of nonprofit organizations to help address society's most pressing social and environmental issues.

Taproot Foundation's model for pro bono service leverages the time and talents of the business community to provide nonprofits with free, professional services, and ensure that they have the resources they need to thrive. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, it is the leading pro bono service provider in fields beyond the legal community, providing nonprofits assistance in areas such as marketing, information technology, and human resources.

Approach

The Taproot Foundation has two main strategies for furthering its mission:1. "Do pro bono."Every year, the Taproot Foundation manages hundreds of pro bono projects across the country, directly recruiting and engaging business professionals in pro bono work to support local nonprofit organizations. The Taproot Foundation screens all of its nonprofit clients, scopes their needs, assigns a team of professionals to volunteer their skills on the project, and then manages the project to ensure its completion and high-quality results.2. "Inspire others to do pro bono."The Taproot Foundation partners with corporations, universities, and trade associations to infuse the pro bono ethic into every business profession. By 2020, it strives to have all business professionals consider pro bono work an integrated and esteemed part of their careers. As a result, billions of dollars worth of critical pro bono services will be available to the nonprofit sector, strengthening nonprofits' ability to effectively serve our communities in the long-term.

History

Aaron Hurst founded the Taproot Foundation in 2001, 40 years after his grandfather, Joseph E. Slater, wrote the original blueprint for the Peace Corps. Inspired by his grandfather and the Peace Corps’ ethic that seemingly intransigent boundaries can be crossed when people work together as peers, Aaron created the Taproot Foundation to connect America's millions of business professionals with nonprofits who need their talents and experience.

Within the Taproot Foundation's first five years, its reach expanded well beyond its headquarters in San Francisco. A New York office was established in 2004, followed by a Chicago office and Boston office in 2006, and a Seattle office in 2007. The organization continues to expand across the country so that more business professionals can volunteer their skills to help their community.

In 2007, the New York office was among over 530 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [cite web| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss| title=New York Times: City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million Retrieved on August 29, 2007]

Impact

The Taproot Foundation has attracted over 3,000 business professionals to volunteer their skills on pro bono projects. To date, these projects have provided $34 million worth of professional services to the nonprofit sector and supported 702 different nonprofits that are tackling critical issues in health, education, the environment, and poverty.

References

External links

* [http://www.taprootfoundation.org Taproot Foundation website]