The Work Involved
As an intermediary facilitating skills-based volunteering (SBV), Empact was on the search for a technology platform to scale our impact, and make our internal processes more efficient.
The Taproot+ platform was tested and implemented between Aug 2017 - Aug 2018. It was discontinued upon the change in strategic direction of Taproot Foundation (owner of Taproot+) and considerations of the nascent stage of the non-profit sector in Singapore. A comparative study was also conducted on the Giving.sg platform (by NVPC) and Taproot+, and recommendations were made to include an enhanced SBV module on the Giving.sg platform.
Results of our Work
40 SBV projects were submitted for matching. These attracted 109 volunteers sign up. 12 projects were matched.Â
92% (i.e. 11) projects were completed, and an estimated $29,274 of pro bono value was channelled to these organisations
Key Learnings from the Pilot
Projects requested are largely operational/ task-based (e.g. proofreading and report writing, data cleaning of Excel files for fundraising campaign, content development for direct mailers, interview members and craft personal stories, create bilingual information kit). This differed from the US context where projects were more strategic in nature, and attracted more skilled volunteers.
Relatively low capacity & capability of the organisations in assessing their needs, and scoping these into projects suitable for skills-based volunteers. During the pilot, approximately 50% of the projects required interventions, such as the clarification of scope, clarification on how to use the system, reminders to respond. In contrast, only 10% of the US non-profit users required such support.Â
Platform is designed to support efficient operations for an intermediary at scale. Once a matched was found, minimal efforts were required from the EMPACT team to monitor a successful project completion. Cost savings are evident in US context, where 2 programme managers service 40,000 users.Â