When I started Bullet Consulting in 2010, I wrote pro bono work into my business plan. I believe it’s important to give back to the community, and I’ve long been intrigued by an idea of “tithing” your time, the way some people tithe at church. My goal was to spend 5% – 10% of my time working for nonprofits. But how do you actually do that? As I learned, it was not as easy as I had thought it would be.
The problem is finding an organization that can use your help. It’s not that nonprofits don’t want the help; however, they’re not necessarily set up for volunteers to simply join the organization and begin applying their business experience. I learned that lesson when I started making cold calls to local nonprofits. When they do take volunteers, it’s often to do relatively rote tasks that require a lot of hands and little thinking, like printing donor letters and stamping envelopes.
In fact, one reason business people don’t volunteer more is that they find this work unsatisfying. People often say that if they’re giving their own precious time, of which they have so little to begin with, they want to feel that their time has an impact.
Enter the Taproot Foundation. If you’ve never heard of this organization before today, please do yourself a favor and watch this inspiring 3-minute video.
View this video from Taproot Founder Aaron Hurst on Vimeo.
Taproot has been a godsend to me and thousands of volunteers in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. It’s given those of us who want to do pro bono work the opportunity to do it – and do it in a productive, meaningful way.
I’ve worked on several pro bono projects since starting my business, and I can enthusiastically recommend Taproot. I’ve collaborated with dedicated people and inspiring nonprofits; they’ve allowed me to do some of my best work. I’ve expanded my network and met some wonderful and smart people. I’ve increased my experience by taking on new challenges I would not have encountered in my consulting business. And I’ve seen amazing true transformation in the nonprofits I’ve worked with. I can confidently say that the pro bono work I’ve done with Taproot has benefited me and my business as much as it has benefited Taproot’s nonprofit clients.