SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 10, 2003 -- The Taproot Foundation announced today that it is awarding service grants valued at $1,020,000 to 26 Bay Area nonprofit organizations in need of marketing and technology support. Teams of volunteers from the business community will deliver these services to these vital direct services organizations.

After the successful completion of its pilot program in 2002, the Taproot Foundation is looking to aggressively grow grant making in 2003 in order to match the high level of demand from nonprofits and volunteers in the Bay Area. In 2002, over 150 nonprofits applied for Service Grants and over 200 business professionals submitted volunteer applications.

"We are pleased to be able to expand our reach and support more organizations in the Bay Area,” said Aaron Hurst, president and founder of the Taproot Foundation. “The feedback from our grant recipients and volunteers has been overwhelmingly positive and has inspired us to further invest in our infrastructure and seek more talented volunteers so we can grow our Service Grant program more quickly.”

In addition to increasing the number of organizations served, the Taproot Foundation is extending its giving into Marin County. During the first half of 2003, the organization will launch projects with four nonprofit organizations in Marin.

“We are honored and excited that the Taproot Foundation will help us assess our technology requirements and select and implement an effective software solution that will enable us to manage our growing volume of data,” said Maria Edelstein, Marin Breast Cancer Council board member. “This grant and the project it enables are critical to enable MBCC evolve into a more efficient, effective and focused community-supporting organization.”

The Taproot Foundation provides nonprofit organizations with grants of capacity building marketing and technology services that are staffed and managed by skilled volunteers from the business community. The Foundation’s marketing services help nonprofits expand their efforts and better articulate their benefits and value to potential donors and clients. The Taproot Foundation also offers database and information management services to help increase the efficiency of nonprofit agencies.

The 26 new service grants will be launched at a rate of 5 per month for the next five months. The grant recipients include:

Community Development
First Place Fund for Youth, Marin Continuum of Housing and Services, Shelter Network, East Oakland Community Project, Oakland Butterfly and Urban Gardens, Computer Technologies Program, Fair Housing of Marin, LIFETIME, East Palo Alto Micro-Business Initiative, The Women's Building, Equal Rights Advocates, Women's Initiative for Self Employment

Education
Seven Tepees, Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo, The Imagine Bus Project, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts

Environment
San Francisco Beautiful, Greenbelt Alliance, Resource Renewal Institute, Aquatic Outreach Institute

Health
Early Childhood Mental Health Program, The Iris Center, Rehabilitation Services of Northern California, Tenderloin Aids Resource Center, The Hawkins Center, Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center, Marin Breast Cancer Council

About the Taproot Foundation
The Taproot Foundation is an innovative new foundation that provides nonprofits with grants of capacity building services. The Foundation's Service Grants support organizations focused on the environment, education, community development and health by providing marketing and technology services.

The Taproot Foundation is one of three organizations across the country awarded the Draper Richards Foundation fellowship for social entrepreneurship in 2002. The foundation also receives support from community members, corporations and other foundations. The Taproot Foundation was founded in 2001 by a leadership team that includes executives with experience at the Bridgespan Group, Peninsula Community Foundation, Business for Social Responsibility and Landor & Associates. For more information, please visit www.taprootfoundation.org.