Blue Cross employees volunteer thousands of hours each year with nonprofits in the communities we call home.
In 2017, we launched the Blue Corps Pro Bono program to deepen the impact of the time we share. Through this program, we offer nonprofits the opportunity to get pro bono consulting from high-performing employees across a number of business service areas.
Pro bono publico, or “for the public good,” is a way for our talented employees to use their professional skills in legal, marketing, IT, financial, planning and other areas to benefit a cause they care about.
We’ve moved Blue Corps online in partnership with the Taproot Foundation.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is partnering with Taproot Foundation to make virtual pro bono volunteering available to all Louisiana nonprofits and volunteers.
Nonprofits can build capacity by partnering with skilled volunteers from Louisiana and beyond for pro bono marketing, IT, HR, strategy, finance projects and more on Taproot Plus.
Volunteers can team up with nonprofits they care about and use their professional skills to make a difference — safely and remotely.
- What is Taproot Plus? Blue Cross has partnered with Taproot Foundation, a globally recognized leader in business pro bono, to provide our employees with access to Taproot Plus, an online platform that matches nonprofits in need of help with volunteers who have useful professional skills. Their team is on-hand to support your pro bono work through the platform every step of the way.
- How is pro bono different from traditional volunteering? Traditional volunteering, such as a beach cleanup or serving at a soup kitchen, typically addresses the need for “extra hands” – a nonprofit needs people to help deliver a program. Pro bono service, however, uses specific professional skills to focus on addressing an organization’s internal strategic and infrastructure needs (often referred to as capacity building). For example, an HR professional could engage in traditional volunteer opportunity by planting a community garden, but could also provide pro bono professional services by helping an organization draft an employee handbook.
- What types of volunteer opportunities can I access through Taproot Plus? Nonprofits and volunteers can connect for one-hour virtual consultation sessions where you’ll brainstorm together or do some quick problem-solving. They can also connect for pro bono project opportunities where volunteers work 2-10 weeks to help nonprofits tackle a larger-scale, discreet challenge. These projects can be anything from conducting a SWOT analysis, crafting a communications plan, or revamping financial forecasting models.
Whether you’re a nonprofits or a volunteer, sign up today at Louisiana.taprootplus.org!