DC Metro Nonprofits Gain $150,000 in Pro Bono Services from Taproot Foundation and Project Management for Change on MLK Day

WASHINGTON, January 11, 2016 /3BL Media/ – On January 18^th, as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service, Taproot Foundation and Project Management for Change will lead the second annual Project Management Day of Service Pro Bono Lab. This pro bono volunteer event will bring critical resources in strategic planning, marketing, IT, finance, and HR to local nonprofit organizations. Facilitated by the Taproot Foundation and Project Management for Change, in partnership with 5 local Project Management Institute (PMI) chapters, this one-day event will connect over 300 seasoned project managers and subject matter experts with 100 nonprofit organizations. This intensive event will provide each of the participating nonprofit with nearly $2,000 in consulting services at no fee.

At the 2015 MLK Day Project Management Day of Service Pro Bono Lab, project managers and marketing professionals put the groundwork in place so that today, Dreaming Out Loud, an organization focused on building economic opportunity and more resilient communities through an equitable food system, has a comprehensive set of key messages ready for online use. Similarly, Black Student Fund, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance and support services to African-American students, spent their time at the 2015 event working through data measurement challenges, which set the foundation for them to build a high-functioning Salesforce database with a team of Taproot volunteers later in the year.

“We are very excited to bring this day of service to the DC Metro area in partnership with Project Management for Change for the second year. In Dr. King’s words, ‘Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?‘ Pro bono service taps not just the time, but also the talent of seasoned professionals who have so much to give to their own communities,” says Liz Hamburg, President and CEO of the Taproot Foundation. “Project managers bring their own unique skills and we’re so proud to have such high-caliber professionals, from both the private and nonprofit sectors, participating at this event.”

“The Project Management Day of Service Pro Bono Lab is a great way to raise the profile of the project management profession and show the value of business people using their business skills to support the community on our national day of service. We have created a model that will help generate demand for similar outreach events around the world, and redefine project management as the ‘intentional’ profession. We are changing the world, one project at a time!” says Laura Barnard, CEO and Co-founder of Project Management for Change.

During each consultation session at the event, project management subject matter experts will individually meet with representatives of the participating nonprofits to review prepared “problem statements,” identify potential roadblocks, develop clearly defined scope statements, and create actionable, customized project plans that will serve as blueprints for business sustainability. Each participating nonprofit will be invited to post a project summary on Taproot+, Taproot’s online marketplace for pro bono service. By posting on Taproot+, nonprofits can connect to additional skilled volunteers to execute on the scoped projects after the event. This event is generously hosted by the University of Maryland Project Management Center for Excellence at College Park. Sponsors include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, CharityEngine, Constellation, and Morgan Franklin.

About Taproot Foundation

Taproot Foundation is a national nonprofit that connects nonprofits and social change organizations with skilled volunteers through pro bono service. Taproot is creating a world where organizations dedicated to social change have full access—through pro bono service—to the marketing, strategy, HR, and IT resources they need to be most effective. Since 2001, Taproot’s skilled volunteers have served 3,700 social change organizations providing 1.5 million hours of work worth over $147 million in value. Taproot is located in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and leads a network of global pro bono providers in over 23 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.taprootfoundation.org. facebook.com/TaprootFoundation/, twitter: @taprootfound

About Project Management for Change

Project Management for Change is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to raise the profile of the Project Management profession by creating positive impact in our community.

Project Management for Change recruits volunteer project managers to donate their time and attention to serve those who help others. Project Management for Change has received outstanding support from the five Project Management Institute (PMI) chapters from the D.C.-Baltimore metro areas. These chapters and the local project management community at-large believe that PMDoS is an extremely high impact and meaningful way for project managers to give back to the community using their hard-earned project management skills.

Join us in changing the world, one project at a time! For more information, visit http://www.pmdos.org/, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.