Taproot Foundation

I, unfortunately, can’t recommend professionals spend their valuable time volunteering for the TapRoot Foundation, when there are other organizations that will treat you better. There are a few problems:
1. The biggest is how they qualify professionals. I was told I needed 2 years of professional experience in the fields I wanted to be qualified in, despite having recently completed a Master’s degree, AND submitting a project I performed for another organization like TapRoot, that highlighted my skills. Quality control is one thing, but when other organizations will honor the effort you’ve put into your education, and qualify you for projects based off of that, there’s no reason to require 2 years of professional experience. We’ve worked hard earning those skills, even if we’ve not yet been paid to use them, and we should be valued for them. Further, I and many volunteers are doing this at least partly to EARN that experience. Much like the job market, the gatekeepers are so risk averse that they will only accept experience, and put little value on the training and education you’ve spent so much effort and money on.
2. There appears to be a dearth of meaningful projects. Following the rejection of my skill set, I was told I could reach out to project managers and try to get recruited. The project managers were all amazing people who responded to my «cold emails» requesting consideration. However, most of them replied that they hadn’t been involved for quite some time. Checking the website, there are very few listings for projects in the Chicago area, at least. I believe this is due to…
3. What appears to be poor internal management. Emails through the website are not responded to unless you harry them. I think the lack of diverse and meaningful projects are due to a lack of motivation on the Chicago regional staff to get out there and find projects. The Chicago regional program looks like it’s falling apart, and some commentary on internal message boards between would-​be consultants seems to support this.
There are many great ways to volunteer, especially for skilled professionals. Don’t waste your time with this one.

Since 2001, the Taproot Foundation has been strengthening nonprofits by engaging business professionals in ‘pro bono’ service.
Through the active engagement of business professionals in service, Taproot in forging strong, productive partnership between the leaders of both sectors.
With offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, D. C and here in Chicago, Taproot has provided tangible deliverables valued at over $ 58 million toward the improvement of the nonprofit sector.
Are you interested in volunteering your professional skills on a pro bono project? E-​mail