Taproot Foundation
Social Media Management | Copywriting | Branding
Taproot Foundation, a national nonprofit, that connects nonprofits and social change organizations with business professionals who volunteer their expertise to deliver pro bono services in areas like marketing, HR, IT and finance. Taproot also works with companies to design and implement pro bono employee engagement programs that deliver pro bono support to organizations in their communities. Since 2001, Taproot’s network of skilled volunteers has served over 7,500 social change organizations providing more than 1.7 million hours of work worth over $200 million in value. Taproot has offices in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and founded a network of global pro bono providers in over 30 countries around the world.
As a Marketing and Communications Associate, I contributed to Taproot's mission through a broad range of efforts—from search marketing to content development to social media—that drove Taproot awareness amongst its audience and impacted nonprofits' engagement in events and programs. I worked as a true marketing generalist, carrying out SEM/SEO marketing, website management/updating, email marketing, content marketing, writing blogs, graphic design, social media management, and strategy implementation.
Social Media Management: Sample Posts
Social Media Management
goal: Increase awareness of Taproot and pro bono, and build a community of engaged pro bono users and advocates through LinkedIn, LinkedIn Groups, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Groups
result: Increase nonprofits and volunteers social media engagement and signup for programs, and increased web traffic to Taproot.org and Taprootplus.org
Responsibilities:
Focused on five KPI metrics for Instagram and LinkedIn: Increasing followers, engagement, likes, reach, and impressions.
Connected with current and possible clients on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to increase follower and post engagement
Activated our key accounts and other industry influencers through shared posts, comments, and tags
Created several posts under community hashtags that led to direct sales leads and reposts.
Created custom content for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn including photo carousels, reaction and interactive posts, industry and event-specific Instagram and LinkedIn Stories.
Created graphics to assist in marketing campaign for new product launch
Gathered direct leads for sales that assisted in their monthly quote goals
Kept the advisory team informed of client happenings on social to aid them in conversation starters for existing clients
Designed custom posts to promote product launches, webinars, upcoming events, and guides.
Created promoted posts and paid ads to advertise resources thought pieces
Posted daily to ensure consistent engagement with their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram audience, creating 37+ post weekly
Key achievements:
Increased followers by 30%
Increased reach & engagement across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram by 2%
Increased followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn by 5%
Managed social channels with over 65,000+ followers
Branding: Catalog Design
Download the full catalog here!
Branding: Social Media Graphics
Copywriting: Profiles
PEOPLE OF PRO BONO: SHERRY GREEN, BUILDING FAMILIES TOGETHER
Building Families Together is a nonprofit startup that envisions a future where incarcerated men successfully re-enter society with a promising future for themselves and their families. Led by CEO and founder Sherry Green, they are on the fast track to maximizing their efforts to support those striving to turn their lives around.
Finding purpose through pro bono
Like many children, while growing up I was unsure of what I wanted to be. Although my career continues to be written as I make my way through life, having a desire to help people was something I discovered about myself early on. Now as an Organizational Change Management Lead, I draw the most inspiration from helping nonprofits and have a deep appreciation for the work they do.
Valuable lessons in change management
When I first signed up to volunteer my skills through the Taproot Plus platform, Unity Community Development Corporation’s project request immediately drew my attention. Their important work helps address the needs of traditionally under-served community members by providing services such as employment, housing, education, and transportation. Their organization’s needs paired really well with my experience, so I knew we would make the perfect match. Through this board development project, I learned an unbelievable amount of new things. And although the outcomes from this project is still under development, I will forever value the lessons I learned through giving back pro bono.
Similarly, working with Building Families Together on a copywriting project was just as enjoyable. This fantastic organization works with formally incarcerated men to ensure that they and their families have access to the resources and education they need to thrive. Although finding myself revising writing on a topic I knew nothing about was a bit of a challenge, it was exciting to stretch my skills, get involved with a cause I care about, and immerse myself into their important work. Donating my skills to both of these organizations has been both fulfilling and eye opening.
The impact of pro bono
Addicting – that is how I would sum up my pro bono experience. When you give back, it has a way of providing happiness and a sense of purpose. To the nonprofit professionals I’ve worked with: thank you. You each took a chance on me and offered me the incredible opportunity to learn and grow with you. Each nonprofit I’ve partnered with has opened my eyes to incredible work being done around the world by amazing people.
PEOPLE OF PRO BONO: HEMA KUMAR
Outside of the office, Organizational Change Management Lead Hema Kumar likes to absorb the beauty of nature by hiking and birdwatching. But after donating one hundred hours of pro bono support, nothing compares to the addicting rush of excitement she experiences when giving back to nonprofits through Taproot.
Aiding families
At Building Families Together, we value the importance of family. Our mission is to equip good men and fathers with the necessary resources they need to stay out of jail. We restore families, build men’s self-worth and self-respect, and help families heal from the traumatic effects of incarceration. When I witness the growth of the fathers we work with, it makes the hard work well worth it.
The challenging life of a nonprofit startup
Growing and sustaining a nonprofit takes years of effort and determination. If a nonprofit doesn’t have the resources they need to get their organization up and running, changing the world becomes a distant reality. Even with the long hours of researching and recruiting the right volunteer, outsourcing talent trumps overloading your schedule with more tasks. As a new organization, we not only recognized the challenges businesses often face as a startup, but understood the importance of building a team and leveraging talent to maximize our efforts in the community.
Like many nonprofit startups, growth, visibility, and marketing was on the top of our priority list. And thanks to Taproot’s skilled volunteers, we now have a fresh marketing strategy, a brand new website, and a revised business plan to keep Building Families Together viable for years to come.
Finding pro bono support
Over the past two year, we have received over 300 hours of pro bono support from Taproot. Every project and consultation session has been instrumental in the growth and development of Building Families Together. And, the support we consistently receive from Taproot staff members is phenomenal.
Whenever I needed to get in touch with a volunteer –Taproot made it happen. Their help desk is so inviting and zealous. Not to mention, the volunteers that they connected us with were always upbeat and eager to get the ball rolling. Taproot, we are forever grateful for your pro bono service—you are truly a blessing. And to all our volunteers: thank you for the wealth of knowledge and expertise you brought to our small but mighty startup.
PEOPLE OF PRO BONO: TAMANNA VASWANI, BIGS & LITTLES NYC MENTORING
After 116+ years of transforming the NYC community through their mentorship programs, Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring and their Director of Development Tamanna Vaswani were eager to expand their reach and impact. Now, after teaming up with Taproot skilled volunteers, their organization has been able to serve more children and families across the five boroughs.
Mentoring can make all the difference
In today’s climate, mentoring is more important than ever in shaping the next generation. Founded in 1902, Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring has been transforming the lives of children for over 116 years through one-on-one mentoring.
An effective tool proven to help youth overcome risk factors like dropping out of school, gang crime, and drug abuse, great mentoring is contingent on three main ingredients: the mentee, the mentor, and the relationship. With this in mind, our organization recognized that in order to serve more children and families, we needed to boost our online presence to reach a larger pool of potential volunteers and donors.
Knocking out organizational needs with pro bono support
Tasked with developing a supporter recruitment plan, we turned to Taproot Foundation for support – and, wow have they delivered! The professional expertise we received from our pro bono digital marketing consultant has been instrumental in attracting new mentors and supporters to our organization. Using their awesome expertise, we not only re-booted our social media efforts, but also were able to develop new strategies and implement collaborative tools that we’re still utilizing and building on.
Our pro bono experience didn’t stop there! Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring completed and implemented two additional Taproot Plus projects. This time, we looked to build on our marketing and communications work and focused on finding support for our re-branding and copywriting needs:
Our organization needed a group of volunteers to help us re-brand in way that better reflected our long philosophy of inclusion, while also placing mentors and mentees at the forefront of our brand. As a result of this pro bono team effort, our refreshed brand now supports opportunities for growth and allows us to serve more children by attracting a diverse group of mentors, families, and supporters across New York City.
Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring’s next goal: to design a compelling and inspiring annual report that would be delivered as a hard copy and clickable PDF on our website. After linking up with another great Taproot Plus volunteer, we’re able to use our beautifully designed annual report to showcase our impactful programs and powerful outcomes.
My pro bono experience? Fantastic!
The pro bono projects we’ve completed continue to have a positive, long term impact on our organization. To our phenomenal volunteers—we cannot thank you enough, and we hope you will stay a part of the Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring for many years to come. We also want to thank the Taproot team for all that you do to connect the right pro bono volunteers to nonprofit organizations like mine.
Discover the impact pro bono can have on your organization by joining the pro bono movement.