We're putting a challenge out to professionals to get involved in nonprofit board service, but it's not to the folks you'd expect. In a field of service long dominated by financial types, who provide crucial expertise in managing dollars, why not think bigger? Savvy leaders will tell you that the people and reputations of an organization can be just as valuable as its finances, and there's no one better than the human resources and marketing professionals to support those assets.
Now more than ever, it is critical that nonprofits develop human resources and marketing literacy that will help them strategically advance and grow their missions in a way that benefits everyone. Not convinced? From our conversations with your HR and marketing peers, here are the top three reasons to serve on a nonprofit board:
1. NETWORKING "Workplaces are the social network to learn about opportunities, not church or community groups any longer." "I normally do most of my work nationally. It is very satisfying to be able to be involved locally and give back in that way."
2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT "It's incredibly valuable for alternate skills development. It brings a new challenge, instead of a myopic view of your own company's brand." "I do a lot of recruiting for development professionals in nonprofits,
and now I know more about the importance of their abilities to work
effectively with the board, what board involvement entails, and all of
the different aspects of fundraising and managing a nonprofit."
3. MISSION FULFILLMENT "I was driven by my own personal desire to be involved. I realized that there was a need, and I got recommendations from others where I could be of use." "I have the satisfaction that comes from helping others, roviding some expertise, and helping the organization meet its goals."
This month, in conjunction with BoardSource, Taproot is hosting a series of webinars for professionals, corporations, and nonprofit organizations that will show you how to harness valuable human resources and marketing skills to really make a difference. Register now our first free webinar hosted tomorrow, March 1 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT), on how your company can engage HR and marketing employees in nonprofit board service. If you can't make it, check out our Board Service Hub to find dates for future online sessions and other valuable tools to get you started down the road to truly sustainable and impactful service.
On February 16, the Taproot New York office held its first pro bono consultant appreciation event of the year. We invited our amazing PBCs to share their stories of how they MAKE IT MATTER, and now we'd like to share them with you.
Merryl is a freelance copywriter who has worked on five Service Grants and counting. She was honored as one of New York's Pro Bono Superstars and has been an active supporter of Taproot.
"When you can do something, you have to do it," Merryl says. "I had a teacher in high school who said to me, 'You've got to take that personality of yours and make the world better with it.' I took that very much to heart, and I go through each day trying to make at least one person smile and laugh."
Check out the video below to hear how Merryl turned her pro bono engagement into a "paid" opportunity.
Changing the world is hard. Changing the world while balancing social, professional, family, and financial needs is even harder. So how can you make the change you want to see in the world without reaching that exhaustion point where you wish that someone would come and change your own burnt-out world? Rather than nixing the idea of helping the greater good, I recommend combining your needs into one.
I balance my need to change the world by doing it professionally. I run a website development company called Twomile whose mission is to create Web sites that produce positive social change. And as you might expect, running a business in this market is difficult because organizations often have lots of passion but unfortunately not much money. I want to share two different examples of how Twomile helped support great causes without funds while our company still benefited.
1) Pro Bono Work: A Honduran nongovernmental organization called Olancho Aid was in a unique situation where they had many poor children who could benefit from a quality education, and they also had a strong network of donors from the United States. Olancho Aid came to us in 2010 needing a tool that could connect the donors to the kids before the new school year started...which was only a month away. This program had no money to start, but the people running it were thankfully a band of highly organized and empowered volunteers.
Twomile was in a situation where we could either reject this work until they got enough money (which they weren't going to get in the next month) or do this project pro bono and help send more than 20 children to school the very next month. We decided to take it on pro bono and built out a basic platform for them in just eight hours. This year, the Scholarship Platform now has 53 children up for sponsorship. It's amazing how eight hours can change so many lives! This project paid off not only through the amazing amount of self-fulfillment we got, but also through the networking opportunities with other NGOs in Honduras also needing technological aid.
2) Incubation: In 2009, my local rose garden had a fabulous idea of tracking volunteer hours to motivate more people in the community to contribute. Creating a tracking system for around 30 volunteers a month unfortunately was a bit out of everybody's budget. My company decided that this idea was something many organizations could use and that we would instead create a platform from which hundreds of organizations could all benefit. Given that we had technology and business resources, we incubated a product called OurVolts and shouldered all the expense of development with the hope of recouping the costs once people started subscribing. Look at how many hours people volunteer at the San Jose Rose Garden!
My company is proud and excited about this opportunity that was only possible because a group of gardeners had a "crazy idea" and definitely did not have the budget for it at all.
I've seen other companies offer sliding scale rates for nonprofits, accept a barter of fresh honey from a bee association for a new Web site, or train new developers on sites that just needed to get done. By no means am I trying to imply that this is easy at all--the business decisions around offering pro bono work or to incubate a project are huge--but I am implying that opportunities to change the world are abound. If you look in your social life, your professional life, or your family life, with a little effort, you will find ways to also make a difference while maintaining a fulfilling balance in your life. Give that friend a small compliment, recycle that paper in your office, inspire your child with super hero stories. I am a firm believer in doing that small thing for the sake of the greater good. It will cause a positive ripple in our society that points right back to you. At that rate, you could be doing social good way more than 40 hours a week!
James McBryan is a partner at Twomile and is the the Pro Bono Role Model of the Year for the Taproot Foundation.
Through desigNYC, Darhil Crooks, art director of Esquire magazine, last year designed materials for Eating Healthy in Bed-Stuy, a campaign by Bed-Stuy Farm Share, a nonprofit working to combat obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in a New York City neighborhood where residents have little access to healthy foods. Darhil designed a guide with bold graphics and new photography featuring local residents. The piece introduces preventive health care concepts with specifics on diabetes and heart disease, facts about the neighborhood, seasonal recipes, and information about community food projects.
Across the country there are about 286,000 graphic designers, and increasingly they are donating their skills to nonprofits like Eating Healthy in Bed-Stuy. They are also starting to work to apply designing thinking to societal issues around the globe and to design new products and solutions that address social, economic and environmental issues.
Good design is critical to addressing progress in our society and should not just be available to those who can afford to buy it. Nonprofits are increasingly in competition for visibility, support, and funds, and well-designed programs, products, and collateral can set nonprofits apart. The sector's need for design expertise includes the generation of informational, event-based, and fundraising collateral; programs and campaigns; and branding guidance and implementation.
Pro bono service has been practiced by designers for decades but is only recently becoming more transparent. The majority of these design professionals work at firms, which is also where the bulk of the pro bono work is done. Anecdotally, we have seen that most design firms donate at least 10 percent of their time to pro bono efforts. AIGA, the leading membership organization for the profession, has recently recognized this trend and is in the process of rolling out a formal program to encourage all designers to at least donate 5 percent of their time.
Pro bono is also widely practiced at design schools and is integrated into the curriculum and portfolio building process. This is where most designers begin their work in the community. Design schools may even surpass law schools in the opportunities they provide students to give back what they learn.
Pentagram has been the gold standard in pro bono efforts in the design industry. Not only is more than 25 percent of their work centered on for social change efforts, but it is also some of the most inspiring work in the field. Target has the been the exemplar for corporate pro bono design work with their breakthrough school library makeover project. Frog Design has become the early leader in putting design thinking to work in this arena.
One of the more creative models developed for designers to engage in pro bono work is CreateAthon, a model adopted by 73 agencies to do work-around-the-clock creative blitzes for nonprofits. While not all the results are adopted by clients, the Red Bull-fueled outcomes are inspired.
It is remarkable to see the adoption of pro bono in the design profession--certainly a lower-paying field relative to management consulting or law. As a profession, designers set the bar for pro bono service.
Last week was the Super Bowl of Social Media: Social Media Week. Social Media Week is a worldwide biannual conference that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every year through learning experiences that aim to advance individuals' understanding of social media's role in society. In my role here at Taproot, part of what I do is drive social media strategy for the organization. Needless to say, with hundreds of panels, workshops, mixers and more happening all at once, I was in hashtag heaven.
Here are four jewels from the week that I want to share with you:
1. Three's a Crowd
About a month ago, our founder Aaron Hurst predicted the demise of some third party fundraising Web sites. I couldn't agree more. Right now there are thousands of tools/sites that were all created to basically do the same thing--fundraise. There are many issues regarding these, but one that bugs me (and many other nonprofit professionals) most is that most organizations don't have the bandwidth to use these tools/sites effectively, let alone sit down and craft a full social media strategy, which would help the process along. The best advice for organizations who are using (or want to use) social media for fundraising or brand awareness is to pick at least one (free) tool, attach no more than three objectives, and build a simple strategy from there. That way, you'll be able to manage it and have the numbers to back up your ROI.
2. Link, Link and Link Again
Fifty percent of all Facebook posts have a link attached to them. Almost every post that an organization broadcasts should have a link attached to it. I'll go a bit further and say that these links should all be tracked and point to the same destination. Finally, I'll add that an organization should pay close attention to the links that their friends are sharing. Are there themes to the content? If so, that's an indicator of what your organization should be speaking to and sharing online.
3. LinkedIn is For Nonprofits Too
Most people think of LinkedIn when they want to find a job, advance their professional careers, or find new employees. But LinkedIn is also a great place for nonprofits. There are 80 million affluent, influential professionals from 200 countries on LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn group for active pro bono consultants is a great space where they can connect based on a current interest, giving back using their current skills. Furthermore, an organization can host a free banner add, upload their Twitter Stream and place video all on LinkedIn, and all for free.
4 . Sometimes, Social Media Just Doesn't Fit
My last event of the week was the Jazz Social. Sponsored by Whole Foods Market, it featured two jazz performances that sandwiched a discussion from industry and social media professionals on the use of social media within the space. The defining moment of the event was when an older woman stood up at the end and commented, "I don't Twat, Tweet, Facebook or any of that stuff, and I never will. I come to these Jazz events every month because of word-of-mouth. My friends tell me where to go." This comment was met with applause. She's right. What I got from her comment was that audiences are being social in so many ways, not just via the Web. It's our job as nonprofit professionals to pay attention to the vehicles that our supporters are using and build from there.
Dupe Ajayi is the External Affairs Manager for the Taproot Foundation.
Motor City, Detroit, the former industrial powerhouse turned Rust Belt haven, has seen the devastating results of urban decline follow into the 21st century. The death of American Manufacturing has sucked the life out of a thriving metropolis that propelled it to heights in line with the mythology of American prosperity. The decline of this mega engineering industry has left the city with a yearning for future success and looking for new arenas of support. With dwindling tax revenues and poor regional unity, the city has faced tremendous obstacles in attracting funds for projects to build up the city's infrastructure and create sustainable solutions to systemic unemployment, crime and--arguably the most devastating plague of the Rust Belt--the brain drain.
In spite of these tremors, Detroit is experiencing its renaissance thanks to the steadfast commitment of a community that refuses to see the city fail and instead imagines a rich and dynamic metropolis in its future. In developing plans for a future of prosperity, many Detroiters are looking to pro bono resources and cross-sector collaborations to bring new life to the shattered dream of Americana that haunts the city. One of the big pro bono players is Matt Cullen, CEO of Rock Ventures, an affiliate company of Quicken Loans, who has taken the lead on numerous projects to leverage dramatic change through public and private partnerships. Most recently, as the volunteer CEO of the M1 light rail project that aims to build the first light rail system up Detroit's main thoroughfare, Woodward Avenue, Mr. Cullen has facilitated partnerships between the municipal and federal governments along with private companies and foundations to ensure that Detroit can develop into a competitive urban economy.
I had a chance to speak with Mr. Cullen a few weeks ago regarding his experience with pro bono service and his longstanding commitment to Detroit's development.
Someone once questioned if a product created by Ron Popeil, the iconic
infomercial pitchman and product inventor, would ever be used. His
famous response was that it wasn't designed to be used; it was designed
to be gifted. This, like many similar products that line store shelves,
are not intended to be purchased by the eventual owner, but by a friend
or family member looking for a present to give.
Very little of the revenue collected by nonprofits comes from the end
users of their services. The man at a shelter, for example, doesn't
cover the cost for his soup and housing. The revenue comes largely from
third parties like foundations and the government that never use the
services and often have little in common with those being served.
To design a social services program, you need to create something both
to be used and to be gifted. You need the man at the shelter to come
back the second day and for the foundations to want to pay for the soup
he is eating that they themselves have never tasted. So, you need to
design the gift that feels good to give and that someone really
wants--not easy.
But wait, there's more!
It may not be easy, but plenty of organizations have designed a perfect
gift. However, the added challenge is that beyond those two basic
objectives, nonprofits want to also fulfill the promise of their own
advertisement, as Pete York notes. It is not enough that their service
is funded and used, they want it to actually make the impact that it
espouses--to change someone's life.
So, now you have to design the perfect gift that changes someone's life.
That is a much greater design challenge and yet another reason I
believe that nonprofits have a lot to teach companies about innovation.
Aaron Hurst is the President & CEO at the Taproot Foundation.
We've had the privilege of tracking the progress and impact our amazing pro bono consultants. But rarely do we get the opportunity to pull back the curtain and let you meet the playful professionals who help bring everything together behind the scenes. In a new monthly series, we'll be sharing stories from our own staff and letting you know why we've decided to MAKE IT MATTER with our jobs at Taproot.
MARK RICE Senior Program Manager, Los Angeles
I was one of the first Pro Bono Account Directors for Taproot in Los Angeles back in January 2009. I was assigned to a Web site project for the Downtown Women's Center, a wonderful organization that provides long term shelter to homeless women in downtown L.A. I pulled together a strong pro bono team, and we were ready to go.
We decided to have our initial team meeting during lunch at the Downtown Women's Center (DWC) to get a feel for the work the organization is doing to help homeless women in LA. The clients at the DWC split us up to sit among the 125 homeless women who were at the Center for meal time. I was a bit nervous at first as I certainly had never sat down with so many homeless women at a table for lunch. However, the women were so friendly, I immediately felt right at home and had a wonderful conversation with the ladies. I learned about the enormous challenges these women face, and how incredibly grateful they are to an organization like the DWC, which cares enough about them to get them off the street and provide long term housing.
The Executive Sponsor from the DWC spoke at the lunch and told the women that this Taproot team was going to develop a new Web site for the DWC at no charge. She then introduced each of the Taproot team members, and all of the sudden all 125 women stood up to give the Taproot team a standing ovation. I have honestly never felt that kind of deep appreciation for helping people. I never understood the enormous challenges homeless women face every day, and how deeply appreciative they are for anyone willing to help. It was one of the most moving moments in my life and it made me immediately realize the value I can bring using my skills from the corporate world to help a nonprofit better serve individuals who so desperately need help.
Just a week later, I received a note from Taproot indicating they were looking for someone to come on full time as Program Manager in L.A. I literally jumped at the chance to use my skills to help dozens of Taproot pro bono teams have a similar transformative experience and make a truly meaningful impact in helping those who are less fortunate. I made the decision to leave the corporate world to join Taproot in May 2009, and I've never been happier. ALETHEA HANNEMANN Director of Product and Program Development
Every weekday, when we all walk out the door, I tell my kids where we're going. They go to school, and their daddy Mark and I go to work, and that (plus all the requisite hugs and kisses) is our chant as we head out the door.
One day when my oldest was about 2 years old, I brought him into the Taproot office for lunch. I thought it would be nice for him to see where I spent the day. We walked into the downstairs office, and he looked around at all the desks and said, "Where's Daddy?" I laughed and explained that we had two different workplaces, and he looked puzzled. Since Mark and I always said we were both going "to work", it made sense--of course Teddy thought Daddy would be there!
But "work" isn't really some monolithic entity. And I'm particularly proud of where I work and what I do and who I do it with. So from that day on I've made a point of saying exactly where I'm going when I head out the door each day. Teddy and George are going to Katherine Michiels School. Daddy is going to work. And me? I'm going to Taproot.
MEGAN BAKER Development Associate, Eastern-Central Region
I came to Taproot with the foggiest of ideas about the nonprofit sector. I graduated from college in 2009 with a humanities degree, and like many of my peers, I felt lost during the entry-level job search. The publishing jobs promised to me were nonexistent, I didn't want to go to law school, and public relations didn't exactly tug at my heartstrings. As a strong writer with a passion for literature and research, I was attracted to a grantwriting role at Taproot that would allow me to think critically and craft pages of text all day long.
As I began drafting grant proposals and reports for Taproot, I knew that my role fit me well. I was puzzled, however, when our Chicago Executive Director asked me what inspired me about nonprofits. What inspired me about nonprofits? What were nonprofits? I had landed in the sector incidentally--I wasn't a part of those groups in undergrad that painted houses in Appalachia, organized campus workers for living wages, or demonstrated for women's reproductive rights on the quad. Once again, I felt lost.
My manager suggested that I shadow a Taproot Service Grant project--I needed an inside peek at another nonprofit to get my bearings. I was elated when I learned that Taproot was awarding a pro bono consulting project to an organization I really admired--826CHI. Founded by Dave Eggers (on whom I had written at least three papers in college) and armed with a quirky organizational personality, 826CHI provides creative writing and tutoring services to underprivileged youth in Chicago. By shadowing 826CHI's pro bono project, I am learning first-hand about nonprofits' strengths in delivering needed services, the many challenges that organizations face (whether or not they have a celeb founder), and the ways in which pro bono talent can help nonprofits expand social impact.
I may not have painted houses in college, but that didn't mean nonprofits weren't relevant to me. Think about where your passions lie--literature, land conservation, nutrition, dance, workforce development, the list goes on--and chances are, there's a nonprofit out there that's making serious headway in them, and you should give them a closer look.
In the report, they specifically cite generous pay and their Social Impact Practice Network as the two main drivers of their success as an employer. BCG really stands out from the pack of other management consulting firms in terms of their commitment to pro bono and social impact. It is wonderful to see they are being recognized and rewarded for their investment and commitment.
Today is International Corporate Philanthropy Day. What are you doing as a business professional to give back?
Changing the world is hard. Changing the world while balancing social, professional, family, and financial needs is even harder. So how can you make the change you want to see in the world without reaching that exhaustion point where you wish that someone would come and change your own burnt-out world? Rather than nixing the idea of helping the greater good, I recommend combining your needs into one.
Through 
Last week was the Super Bowl of Social Media: 
Motor City, Detroit, the former industrial powerhouse turned Rust Belt haven, has seen the devastating results of urban decline follow into the 21st century. The death of American Manufacturing has sucked the life out of a thriving metropolis that propelled it to heights in line with the mythology of American prosperity. The decline of this mega engineering industry has left the city with a yearning for future success and looking for new arenas of support. With dwindling tax revenues and poor regional unity, the city has faced tremendous obstacles in attracting funds for projects to build up the city's infrastructure and create sustainable solutions to systemic unemployment, crime and--arguably the most devastating plague of the Rust Belt--the brain drain. 
In spite of these tremors, Detroit is experiencing its renaissance thanks to the steadfast commitment of a community that refuses to see the city fail and instead imagines a rich and dynamic metropolis in its future. In developing plans for a future of prosperity, many Detroiters are looking to pro bono resources and cross-sector collaborations to bring new life to the shattered dream of Americana that haunts the city. One of the big pro bono players is Matt Cullen, CEO of Rock Ventures, an affiliate company of Quicken Loans, who has taken the lead on numerous projects to leverage dramatic change through public and private partnerships. Most recently, as the volunteer CEO of the M1 light rail project that aims to build the first light rail system up Detroit's main thoroughfare, Woodward Avenue, Mr. Cullen has facilitated partnerships between the municipal and federal governments along with private companies and foundations to ensure that Detroit can develop into a competitive urban economy. 
Someone once questioned if a product created by Ron Popeil, the iconic
infomercial pitchman and product inventor, would ever be used. His
famous response was that it wasn't designed to be used; it was designed
to be gifted. This, like many similar products that line store shelves,
are not intended to be purchased by the eventual owner, but by a friend
or family member looking for a present to give.
We've had the privilege of tracking the progress and impact our amazing pro bono consultants. But rarely do we get the opportunity to pull back the curtain and let you meet the playful professionals who help bring everything together behind the scenes. In a new monthly series, we'll be sharing stories from our own staff and letting you know why we've decided to MAKE IT MATTER with our jobs at Taproot.
I was one of the first Pro Bono Account Directors for Taproot in Los Angeles back in January 2009. I was assigned to a Web site project for the Downtown Women's Center, a wonderful organization that provides long term shelter to homeless women in downtown L.A. I pulled together a strong pro bono team, and we were ready to go.
Every weekday, when we all walk out the door, I tell my kids where we're going. They go to school, and their daddy Mark and I go to work, and that (plus all the requisite hugs and kisses) is our chant as we head out the door.
I came to Taproot with the foggiest of ideas about the nonprofit sector. I graduated from college in 2009 with a humanities degree, and like many of my peers, I felt lost during the entry-level job search. The publishing jobs promised to me were nonexistent, I didn't want to go to law school, and public relations didn't exactly tug at my heartstrings. As a strong writer with a passion for literature and research, I was attracted to a grantwriting role at Taproot that would allow me to think critically and craft pages of text all day long. 
