The Need

Unity Parenting and Counseling provides safe and caring foster homes for abused or neglected children, housing and supportive services for homeless youth, and permanent supportive housing for homeless adults with disabilities.

Unity first sought pro bono support a few years ago when they were looking to expand and diversify their Board of Directors. Through the intermediary organization, Taproot Foundation, Unity was connected with a group of skilled volunteers who developed a board recruitment plan that resulted in four dynamic professionals joining Unity’s Board, and is still in use to this day.

Due to the success of this first project, Unity became a regular user of Taproot Plus, Taproot Foundation’s online matching platform that connects organizations with qualified volunteers to tackle discrete projects.

The Solution

This year, Unity was in the midst of a Taproot Plus digital content strategy project when their youth emergency shelter was struck by a serious fire. Their skilled volunteer immediately pivoted focus right along with them and threw himself into developing a GoFundMe campaign to assist the shelter in recuperating from the severe fire damage. The volunteer’s efforts paid off; this initial social media campaign raised over $20,000 from new donors within two months.

The Impact

Unity’s vision is that through our programs and services, there will no longer be any homeless youth in South Side Chicago. Their youth emergency shelter is a key part of making sure that goal comes to fruition. Their Taproot volunteer helped raise awareness through the media and laid the groundwork for Unity to raise $100,000 (and counting) to repair their damaged shelter from individual donors, corporations, congregations, and foundations.