Taproot Foundation Announces Closure of its Seattle Office

New Strategic Plan Encourages a Shift in Investment and Ending On-the-Ground Presence in Puget Sound Region

 SEATTLE, WA – June 10, 2010 – Taproot Foundation regretfully announced today that after three years of delivering high-quality pro bono services in Seattle are we are shutting down our direct operations in the region. Taproot has proudly delivered $4.5 million in pro bono resources to the region through over 100 Service Grants engaging the skilled contributions of more than 650 business professionals. We are grateful to all of our funders, partners, and pro bono consultants who made these three years in Seattle very successful. The decision to end operations in Seattle was a difficult one for Taproot but ultimately necessary according to the recently completed strategic plan.

Taproot’s new strategic plan charts a course for creating a national billion dollar pro bono marketplace by 2020. The strategies employed to reach this goal include 1) working at the national level with corporations, associations, and graduate schools to enable and inspire the pro bono ethic and 2) deepening investment in Taproot’s local pro bono marketplaces. Based on our experience delivering 1,300 Service Grants nationally and recent data from 150 stakeholder interviews, Taproot learned that a sustainable Service Grant program in our local marketplaces must have the potential to scale to an annual operation of over $1 million and have access to an extensive local philanthropic support network. Governed by this economic reality, Taproot decided to disengage its Seattle Service Grant program and on-the-ground presence.

Although Taproot’s local Seattle office is closing, our commitment to pro bono in the region remains. We will fulfill all of our existing Service Grant commitments, seeing them through to successful completion. Meanwhile, we’re directing our energy to enable and inspire others to continue providing pro bono services in the Seattle area. Taproot is actively exploring strategies to keep up the momentum gained by the pro bono movement in Seattle. As an example, Taproot is in the midst of planning a workshop to build the capacity of corporations and their employees to provide and sustain pro bono services in the Puget Sound region.

Taproot Foundation wants to extend thanks to all its partners for their belief in our vision, our work and in the pro bono movement.

About the Taproot Foundation

Taproot is a nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society. We engage the nation’s millions of business professionals from marketing, design, technology, and strategy fields in pro bono services both through our award-winning programs and by partnering with companies to develop their pro bono programs. One day, we envision all organizations with promising solutions will be equipped to successfully take on urgent social challenges. For more information about the Taproot Foundation, please visit: www.taprootfoundation.org

Contacts

Seattle Stakeholders – Joel Bashevkin

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