People of Pro Bono: Randy Rollison, Intersection for the Arts

Randy had no idea what to expect upon diving into his organization’s first experience with pro bono service. Now, armed with a messaging strategy and fresh insight from Taproot’s pro bono volunteers, this  pro bono newcomer service is already looking ahead to his next project.

Changing the world, one artist at a time

I pull my inspiration from seeing the impact of an artist’s work on another community member. My organization, Intersection for the Arts, is a nonprofit that has been empowering Bay Area artists and arts organizations to achieve their creative potential for 50+ years. A deeply committed, knowledgeable, San Francisco-based team supports each member’s artistic pursuits by delivering a suite of personalized services that include fiscal sponsorship, professional development & space programs. Changing the world one artist at a time can mean long hours, but the hard work is all worth it when through our help, artists and art organizations become sustainable and can continue serving communities and working for social justice.

A fresh perspective

We approached Taproot for pro bono services because we recently updated our business model to focus on artist resources and services. Intersection for the Arts has been serving the Bay Area community for decades but because of this shift, we needed a new kind of messaging to tell our story. We participated in Taproot’s newly designed team projects and can describe the results of our pro bono experience in just one word: impactful.

The work that our team of pro bono consultants did in their research and thoughtful approach to messaging is a gold mine for us! The fact that our team of volunteers was backed by Taproot staff members made a great deal of difference as well. We were lucky and experienced no challenges during our very first foray into pro bono because Taproot provided us with a team of skilled professionals that were smart, organized and really committed. We knew we could count on them.

A piece of advice for other nonprofit leaders deciding whether to use pro bono: doing a project through Taproot does not mean a 50/50 relationship. You need to come to the table at 100% because that’s what the Taproot team brings.

We’re looking forward to beginning our next Taproot Team Project soon for the second phase of revamping our branding, visual identity, and online presence. These team projects are such a great contribution to the nonprofit field. They organize pro bono service in a very effective and impactful way.

Drive social change in your own community by giving or receiving pro bono service through Taproot’s new team projects. Click here to get started.