Taproot Foundation To Host 2nd Annual Pro Bono Awards Gala in Chicago

October 15, 2014 /3BL Media/ - On Thursday, October 23, 2014, Taproot Foundation will host its 2nd Annual Pro Bono Awards Gala at the Mars Gallery (1139 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL). The gala will bring together leaders, advocates and practitioners in Chicago’s pro bono arena to recognize the accomplishments of two pro bono heroes: local nonprofit Chicago Architecture Foundation and Taproot Pro Bono Consultant Kate Sheehy. 

Pro bono—short for pro bono publico, “for the public good”—refers to professional services delivered without expectation of a fee to organizations serving the social good. Taproot’s Pro Bono Awards gala aims to celebrate innovative approaches in securing and providing pro bono support by hosting guests from corporate, nonprofit and philanthropic institutions in Chicago. This will provide various stakeholders in volunteerism and pro bono service an opportunity to acknowledge their impact. The gala will be held during Pro Bono Week, a global initiative to celebrate pro bono service by highlighting nonprofits like Chicago Architecture Foundation and individuals like Kate Sheehy. 

Through volunteer-led tours, exhibits and youth education programs, the Chicago Architecture Foundation celebrates Chicago as a center of architectural innovation and inspires people to discover why design matters. The Chicago Architecture Foundation has diversified resources through pro bono support by working with project-based consultants to manage volunteer training and engagement and establishing program measurement and evaluation – all with no financial cost. 

Kate Sheehy, a Taproot pro bono consultant since 2011, has completed four strategic planning projects with Chicago-based nonprofits, volunteering more than 400 hours of her own time. She also led Taproot’s pilot strategic impact campaign to develop HR support materials on behalf of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, an innovative approach bringing tangible HR support to a cohort of domestic violence nonprofits. 

Pro Bono Week is made possible with support from BMO Harris Bank. The event is sponsored with a beverage donation from Revolution Brewing. Buy your tickets for the Pro Bono Awards Gala here. Taproot’s national Pro Bono Week efforts are generously supported by Deloitte.

ABOUT TAPROOT 

Since 2001, Taproot Foundation has proven that pro bono service is a viable and reliable tool for strengthening nonprofit organizations. Today, Taproot continues to lead nationally by acting locally, and seeks to build a pro bono marketplace that, like philanthropy, is large, accessible, professional and transparent. By taking lessons learned from our award-winning Service Grant Program and applying them to our innovative new program areas, we work to stimulate the supply of pro bono resources through our corporate Advisory Services practice, as well as demand for these services by giving nonprofits the tools and training that sets them up for successful pro bono engagements. Our work has evolved to include thought leadership and international field-building, convening global leaders in the social sector to guide the design and direction of the pro bono movement while focusing on infusing a pro bono ethic into business professions, professional schools, companies and nonprofits in communities across the country and around the world. Visit www.taprootfoundation.org to learn more.  

ABOUT PRO BONO SERVICE 

Pro bono—short for pro bono publico, “for the public good”—refers to professional services delivered without expectation of a fee to organizations serving the social good. It is both a form of support for community organizations as well as an increasingly core part of the ethic of business professionals from design to HR and technology, who believe that high-quality professional services are too important to only be available to those who can afford them.