FAQ
If you can’t find the answer to your question, please contact us:
- For technical questions: support@taprootfoundation.org
- For questions regarding whether you qualify for a grant or questions about which grant to apply for: Contact our local office
The Service Grant Process
- How do the projects work?
- To learn more about how we structure our consulting engagements, visit our page describing our Service Grant Approach.
- How long do the projects last?
- From kick-off to closing, our projects last about six months. A project kicks off about a month after the client receives a Letter of Intent, which in turn is about two months after the application due date.
- Why do the projects last so long?
- At the beginning of the consulting process, we work hard to set up both the client team and the consultant team for success. This takes time. After we assign a lead volunteer to your project, that person will take a week or so to staff a full team. And once the project kicks off, it might take a bit longer than a standard consulting project, since the pro bono consultants are typically completing their work on top of their full-time jobs. The time a project takes does not compromise quality (and in some cases improves it), but clients must be prepared for this type of timeline.
- Who manages the projects?
- Pro bono consultants perform the day-to-day management of the projects. A pro bono Account Director is responsible for ensuring quality and managing relationships with both clients and pro bono consultants. A pro bono Project Manager leads the team with the Account Director and manages logistics.
A dedicated Taproot Foundation staff member, a Program Manager, checks in with both the client and pro bono consultant team periodically throughout the project to ensure project success. - Where do your pro bono consultants come from?
- Our pro bono consultants are a mix of about 60% employed by corporations, 25% independent contractors and about 15% who are in transition or who are retired. We primarily recruit our pro bono consultants through job boards.
- How much experience do the pro bono consultants have?
- On average, our pro bono consultants have about 12 years of experience in their area of expertise, but we require different skills and years of experience for different consultant roles. For example, Account Directors, who serve as team leads, have at least 10-15 years of experience, but each project team typically includes more junior members as well.
- Can I select the pro bono consultants for my team?
- No. Your Account Director, who has years of experience in building these types of teams, will handle the staffing.
- Would a Taproot team be made up of pro bono consultants from one company or from several different companies?
- All of our pro bono teams consist of a variety of individuals coming together from an array of backgrounds, companies, and experiences. Our teams are formed at the beginning of each project and it is this kind of networking that our pro bono consultants are looking for.
- What do pro bono consultants want to get out of these projects?
- Our pro bono consultants are coming to Taproot Foundation looking for a variety of experiences. Some of them join to gain exposure to the nonprofit sector, to use the skills they have to give back to their community, want to be involved with more mission based work, to add new experiences to their resume or to network with for profit and nonprofit professionals. They are often doing this work in addition to a typical workday and are most importantly doing it because they have a passion for pro bono.
- What happens if one of the pro bono consultants on my teams leaves?
- We have a database of thousands of pro bono consultants. If one of the consultants on your team needs to leave the project, we will replace them as soon as possible.
- What happens if we need work done after the project is complete?
- Many of our pro bono consultants continue to work as board members, advisors, volunteers and paid contractors after a project is complete. We encourage pro bono consultants to build long-term relationships with organizations, but it is not part of our official programs. It is up to each individual to continue to work with an organization.
- What expenses will I be responsible for on a project?
- The Taproot Foundation Service Grant covers the cost of the consultant labor involved in the project. Expenses related to deliverables or implementation, such as printing brochures and hosting websites, are your responsibility. As in any consulting project, however, our consultant team will work with you to ensure that the results of the project fit your budget requirements as closely as possible. Our teams strive to work within the resource limits of their clients.
Applying for a Service Grant
- What criteria do you use in awarding Service Grants?
- Our guidelines committee and Board of Directors set the basic grant criteria. Each region, however, might look for a slightly different mix of organizations in each grant round. For more information, see the grant criteria page.
- What are the deadlines to apply for a Service Grant?
- The deadlines are September 1, December 1, March 1, and June 1. If you miss a deadline, you application will be automatically considered for the next grant round.
- How long will it take me to apply for a Service Grant?
- Our grant application take a few hours to complete. It includes many of the same questions asked by other foundations. Please visit our grantmaking process page for more information.
- I know we need help in a lot of areas, but we don't know where to begin.
- What must you get done, and what would you merely like to get done? What does your board think? What do they most strongly support? If, after answering these questions, you still find yourself with a number of seemingly equal needs, think about timing. Our projects typically complete about 10-12 months from the time of application, so if something must get done sooner, you should explore other resources.
Also think about your capacity. What will bring the most benefit while putting the least strain on your resources? Our local staff is available for consultation if you have questions regarding the scope or fit for a particular grant. - Can we apply for more than one Service Grant per cycle?
- No. If during the course of application process, however, we determine that you would be a better fit for another grant, we make that suggestion and give you the opportunity to switch.
- If you award us a Service Grant, when will it start?
- We generally send out Letters of Intent for the Service Grants within 8 weeks of the application deadline. We then assign a pro bono Account Director who does a site visit and has the authority to award the grant. This can take another 4 weeks.
- If we are already a grantee, can we apply for additional grants?
- We like to build long term relationships with organizations that have effectively used our services. We encourage most grantees to apply for additional services after they complete their first project.
- What is a "fiscal sponsor"?
- To receive a Service Grant, an organization must either be a 501(c)(3) organization or be fiscally sponsored by another 501(c)(3) organization. In fiscal sponsorship, a 501(c)3 assumes legal and financial responsibility for the activities of another organization. Only if your organization is not a 501(c)(3) itself do we require a fiscal sponsor.
- What fiscal year should I report?
- Our Service Grant Application asks for some information from your most recently filed IRS 990 form (even if it has not yet been audited). Fill in the year that appears in the top right corner of that form. If your latest filing was for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005, you would enter "2005" as the fiscal year. If your filing was for the period July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006, enter "2006" as the fiscal year.
- The Service Grant application asks for contact information for a number of roles in our organization. What are these roles, and why are we asked for them?
- The Taproot Foundation staff and pro bono consultants need to contact certain people in your organization during the application review process and during the project itself. In some cases, the same person might fill more than one role.
Role Description Application Contact If the Taproot Foundation has questions about your application during the review process, we will contact this person. Executive Director Typically, the Taproot Foundation awards grants to organizations that have an Executive Director, or someone with a similar title. Development Director This is the person most responsible for fundraising in your organization. Primary board contact Successful projects often require some interaction with a representative from your organization's board. Executive sponsor This is the executive-level staff member who will be responsible for the project. This may or may not be the Executive Director. Person responsible for scheduling meetings with executive sponsor During the service grant application review process, the Taproot Foundation may need to conduct an in-person interview with the executive sponsor as well as the primary board contact and possibly others. Knowing whom to contact to schedule the interview expedites this process. Day-to-day project contact This is the person in your organization whom the Taproot Foundation's pro bono consultant team will work with most closely during the project. Specialists #1 and #2 Many projects require you to have a person with specialized skills on the project team. For example, Website and Donor Database projects require someone with relevant technical knowledge. Performance Management projects require a human resources specialist. Brochure and Annual Report projects may require a copywriter.
We ask that you provide contact information for every role listed above, with the possible exception of Specialist #2.
Managing Your Online Account
- I lost my sign-in information. What do I do?
- Visit the sign-in page and click on the link that says, "I forgot my username or password."
- Can we have multiple users on our account?
- Your account has one username that can be used to log in, and there is only one account per nonprofit organization. If you want another trusted colleague to have access to the account, simply share the username and password with that person.
(If you do share access, we recommend that you choose a different password from any personal passwords that you use. You can change your username or password at any time by visiting the Edit Account Profile page.) - The person who opened the account is no longer with the organization. What do we do?
- If you do not have the login information for your account, send us an email with your contact information and we will move the account over to you.
- Why am I being asked to choose a new username for my account?
- Until August, 2006, you would use an email address to log in to your nonprofit account. This caused problems for nonprofit organizations when the person with that email address left the organization, and it made it inconvenient to share access to the account with other colleagues in the organization. By transitioning to non-email usernames, we hope to mitigate these problems.
(If you do share access, we recommend that you choose a different password from any personal passwords that you use. You can change your username or password at any time by visiting the Edit Account Profile page.) - Do I need to create a new account every time I apply for a Service Grant?
- If you have already applied for a Service Grant and would like to submit another grant application, you do not need to create a new account. You should sign-in under your previous account name and then start a new grant application.
- I have submitted an application for the upcoming deadline, but I no longer want to be considered for a Service Grant. Is there anything I should do?
- Please contact your local office and let them know about your decision.
Web Browser Requirements
- What are the supported browsers for the Service Grant application?
- Before you start your Service Grant application, please make sure you use a browser we support:
- IE 6.0+ - 7.0+ on Windows
- Firefox 2.0+ on Mac, Windows
- Safari 3.0+ on Mac
- How do I enable JavaScript in my browser?
- Some pages on the Taproot Foundation website require that you have a feature called JavaScript enabled in your browser.
To test if your browser supports JavaScript and has it enabled, click this link. If you saw a "congratulations" message, you're in good shape.
The Google website provides good instructions for enabling JavaScript in some common browsers. - How do I enable popup windows in my browser?
- Some pages on the Taproot Foundation website use a feature called "popup windows"; when you perform a certain action on these pages, they open up an additional, smaller window containing more information. Some web browsers have been set up to block these popup windows from appearing.
