Pro bono pioneer, the Taproot Foundation, today announced the launch of its new program platform that will serve as a one-stop shop for nonprofits and businesses engaged in the pro bono marketplace, already valued at $15 billion. The Taproot Foundation looks to expand the market by increasing accessibility and professionalization of pro bono services.

Research conducted by FTI Consulting and the Taproot Foundation in 2011 indicated that the use of and confidence in pro bono service is increasing, but nonprofit organizations continue to struggle to define their needs and gain access to the pro bono providers to meet those needs.

With support from Microsoft and HP, Taproot has developed a groundbreaking new resource to help nonprofits define their pro bono needs. Located on the taprootfoundation.org website, the interactive tool allows nonprofit users to browse the 120 most common pro bono projects and learn about the scope of each project as well as the benefits, risks, and skills necessary to ensure successful engagements.

Partnership with LinkedIn

To help nonprofits meet the needs they identify, Taproot has for the first time enabled nonprofits to search more than 300 pro bono providers, from companies to universities to intermediaries to consulting firms. To make it easier for a nonprofit to approach a provider, Taproot has partnered with LinkedIn to train nonprofit leaders to harness LinkedIn to make the connections they need to secure the pro bono resources they seek.

“LinkedIn is the ideal partner to help nonprofits secure high-quality pro bono resources,” said Aaron Hurst, President and Founder of the Taproot Foundation. “The combination of Taproot’s experience and learning from the last dozen years and the largest network of professionals on the web will make pro bono resources accessible to thousands more nonprofits each year.”

In addition to these powerful new online tools, Taproot has worked with Jossey-Bass to publish “Powered by Pro Bono: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Scoping, Securing, Managing, and Scaling Pro Bono Resources.” The book shares Taproot’s advice for nonprofits garnered from serving 1,600 nonprofits, training 13,500 professionals, and designing 20 corporate pro bono programs.

The Pro Bono Pledge

To expand the pool of quality pro bono resources available to the nonprofit sector, Taproot has boosted its investment in advocacy, both for pro bono programs and for the adoption of the pro bono ethic by key professions to best support nonprofits.

At the core of this effort is The Pro Bono Pledge, a web-based advocacy campaign to enlist professionals not just to donate their talents through the Taproot Foundation but to flex their social entrepreneurial muscle, help build pro bono programs, and challenge their professions to adopt pro bono service as a core value.

The new campaign builds off the success of Billion + Change, an earlier Taproot-sparked campaign that has already secured an estimated $2 billion in pro bono resources from companies. The Pro Bono Pledge takes a grassroots approach to empower professionals, not just companies, to lead the effort to make pro bono a core part of business.

About the Taproot Foundation

Since its founding in 2001, the Taproot Foundation has led the development of the pro bono movement. Through award-winning programs, pioneering thought leadership, and partnerships with companies to develop and scale corporate pro bono programs, Taproot works to engage the nation’s millions of business professionals in pro bono services. Taproot’s website, taprootfoundation.org, is the premier destination for doing, getting, supporting, and learning about pro bono. The Taproot Foundation’s mission is to lead, mobilize and engage professionals in pro bono service that drives social change.