Aaron Hurst Elected to the Prestigious Ashoka Fellowship

The Founder of the Taproot Foundation is identified as one of the top social entrepreneurs in the world.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, August 3, 2005 - Understanding the untapped potential of the millions of business professionals in the country, Aaron Hurst founded the Taproot Foundation to build a national model for pro bono service. For this achievement and his vision for system social change in our communities, he has been named one of the top social entrepreneurs in the world by Ashoka.

The Taproot Foundation has become the provider of pro bono services to the nonprofit sector in the Bay Area and New York and plans to be in every metropolitan area in the country within ten years. In the last three years, the Taproot Foundation has awarded over $10 million in pro bono marketing, human resources and information technology services to nonprofit organizations working in health, the environment, education and social services.

The Taproot Foundation was inspired by work of the founder’s grandfather, JE Slater who served in the Kennedy Administration where he wrote the original blueprint for the Peace Corps. Like his grandfather, Hurst believes that seemingly intransigent boundaries can be crossed when people work together as peers and sees the pro bono model as a valuable tool in addressing the increasing polarization in our country. When business and nonprofit professionals work together, they remove cross-sector discrimination and are able to join forces in strengthening our communities.

For his innovative approach to boosting civic participation, Hurst has been elected an Ashoka Fellow. Once elected to Ashoka, Fellows benefit from being part of the Ashoka global Fellowship for life.

Ashoka elects emerging social entrepreneurs to an international Fellowship of their peers, providing significant financial support and an array of professional services, primarily through three strategic partnerships: McKinsey & Company, Hill & Knowlton, Inc. and the International Senior Lawyers Project. A global organization, Ashoka supports exceptional nonprofit leaders who share qualities traditionally associated with leading business entrepreneurs – vision, innovation, determination and long-term commitment – but are committed to systemic social change in their fields. Ashoka Fellows are recognized for their innovative solutions to some of society’s most pressing social problems.

Ashoka Fellows work in six broad fields: learning/youth development, the environment, health, human rights, economic development and civic participation. Selection criteria include the social impact of the idea, demonstrated creativity in problem solving, the newness of the idea and the entrepreneurial quality of the founder.

Like many entrepreneurs in the business community, Hurst started the Taproot Foundation on his credit card and working fulltime as a volunteer for 18 months until he was able to raise the money to pay himself and hire a staff. In four years, he has grown the organization into a bi-coastal pro bono services agency with a budget of over $1 million that is making an impact on the lives of millions of Americans.

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