Volunteer your Skills to Strengthen Nonprofits

Homepage archive, published 5/19/10

Aaron Hurst, founder of the Taproot Foundation (Photo courtesy of Taproot)

If you are looking for creative ways to give back with less, you might want to consider contributing your skills and expertise to a nonprofit in need. Many nonprofits have a wealth of volunteers and yet still seek volunteers with professional skills, according to The Taproot Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit consulting firm that promotes pro bono service to nonprofits. Taproot has offered pro bono opportunities in Los Angeles since 2008, when CCF awarded it a $100,000 grant to expand its services and help strengthen the capacity of nonprofits in L.A. County. Taproot is one among 11 CCF partner organizations providing management support services to L.A.’s nonprofit community.

Aaron Hurst, Taproot’s founder, recently shared his thoughts about skills-based volunteering, who should be involved and how to help even with limited time.

“In this country, we don’t set up nonprofits for success and yet they are charged with the most critical work in our society,” said Hurst.  “We expect them to operate with the scale and efficiency of a large company and yet we say they need to do it without the infrastructure successful companies rely on.” Taproot is founded on the idea that pro bono services can leverage top talent in support of our communities' greatest needs.

Hurst offers this advice to volunteers who want to make sure that their services are helpful: “Be honest about what you have to offer and remember that the nonprofit is the client and not the other way around. If you have limited time, use your skills and background to help a nonprofit scope out its needs and find a team with more time to do the work needed.”

Read the full article.

Read about CCF's partner organizations that provide management support services for nonprofits.