Taproot Foundation

We supported The Taproot Foundation in 2011 in connection with a new program to design, build, pilot and launch a new “Service Grant” that enables nonprofits to develop and track key program performance indicators. Taproot’s leadership, supported by external consultants, many offering pro bono services, is conducting interviews, facilitating nonprofit focus groups and stakeholder discussions to identify the most critical methodologies and frameworks that enable nonprofits to define and measure program outcomes. Taproot Foundation will pilot the new evaluation program in New York in the Fall of 2012.

The Taproot Foundation's mission is to lead, mobilize and engage professionals in pro bono service that drives social change. Taproot has been working in New York City since 2004. In 2011 they awarded 81 service grants to New York non profits, worth over $4.4 million in pro bono services. Taproot's Service Grant program gives nonprofits vital access to capacity-building tools and services at no cost to the organizations, affording them the support necessary to build critical infrastructure and realize long-term impact. Taproot awards and manages pro bono consulting projects that provide nonprofits with tangible deliverables like key messages, annual reports, websites, strategic and financial planning tools, and HR consulting. These deliverables strengthen the infrastructure of community nonprofits that cannot afford to purchase professional consulting services.

In addition to the evaluation project, The Heckscher Foundation sponsored five new Service Grants to New York City nonprofits serving youth in the areas of education, arts, social services, health, recreation, and workforce development across four quarterly grant rounds in 2012.

 
rawboned