The term “capacity-building” tends to be thrown around quite a bit in the nonprofit sector. And as jargon, it has the unfortunate fate of being pretty obscure outside of our sector—not to mention losing its meaning when overused within the field. But at the heart of it, nonprofit capacity-building is one of the most exciting and inspirational ways to support an issue. Quite simply, it’s about achieving a multiplier effect—creating more change in the world by helping to strengthen the organizations that are tackling society’s greatest challenges. At Taproot, we are driven by a strong belief in the exponential impact that can come from supporting nonprofits in this way.
Taproot has long made the case that a strong corporate pro bono program is a triple win—nonprofits receive the support they need, companies build deeper relationships with their communities, and employees have the opportunity to apply their skills in new and meaningful ways. While a good deal of evidence supports pro bono as a powerful social impact strategy, practitioners often struggle to articulate the business case for pro bono.
When Taproot was founded in 2001, we knew our mission to drive social change through pro bono service didn’t have to start from scratch. The legal profession in particular served as an example of the potential that can be realized when you engrain an ethic of service into an industry and build programs and resources so nonprofits can leverage it. But outside of the legal profession, that type of access to pro bono services for the nonprofit sector was still rare.
What motivates nonprofits and volunteers to engage in skills-based volunteering? Nonprofits use skills-based volunteering to strengthen their infrastructure in ways that better equip them to solve our communities’ challenges. Many volunteers give their skills to help solve a challenge for an organization addressing an issue they care about or to feel connected to the community. In this SNCR 2020 article, Taproot Foundation and Team4Tech partnered to further the social sector’s understanding of the leadership development benefits of skills-based volunteering—focusing exclusively on the nonprofit’s outcomes of such initiatives.
Last week, the 2018 Global Engagement Forum: Live convened leaders and experts from business, government, and nonprofit organizations to collaborate around solving specific problems within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Hosted by PYXERA Global, the Forum convened over 300 leaders, experts, and stakeholders in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Through her work with the Thameside Prison Initiative, Sabrina is successfully helping prisoners gain the skills they need to find meaningful employment after release.
Happy Fall! Common Impact is excited to head into the last few months of 2018 (can you believe it?) with new initiatives under our belt and a wealth of inspiration. Over the past eight months, we have had the opportunity to define and launch new models for scaled impact, interview everyday leaders from all backgrounds to understand how they create a meaningful impact in their communities, build our internal capacity by hiring new rock star team members and create new partnerships that enable inclusive and sustainable social progress.
Don’t put off your nonprofit’s next big project because of a tight budget! With support from passionate Taproot Foundation volunteers skilled in marketing, strategy, finance and more, you can make those plans happen while keeping costs low.
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