Expanding Taproot Plus
Expanding Taproot Plus
Expanding Taproot Plus
Expanding Taproot Plus
May-September 2020
May-September 2020
Taproot Plus is a pro bono platform by Taproot Foundation a national nonprofit that connects organizations with volunteers sharing their professional expertise pro bono. The platform streamlines the process of matching volunteers to impactful projects, fostering collaboration and community growth.
Taproot Plus is a pro bono platform by Taproot Foundation a national nonprofit that connects organizations with volunteers sharing their professional expertise pro bono. The platform streamlines the process of matching volunteers to impactful projects, fostering collaboration and community growth.
9 minutes to read
9 minutes to read
Overview
A platform expansion with limited resources.
To help small businesses in need.
My Role
UX Designer
led Product Strategy, Research, Ideation, Prototyping, Visual Design, Launch, Testing
Impact
As a result this expansion allowed hundreds of small businesses to access professional help, strengthening the community and ensuring sustainability during a crisis.
Problem Statement
Small businesses were struggling to access professional expertise during the pandemic, yet many skilled volunteers were eager to contribute their knowledge to help them survive.
How might we bridge this gap without disrupting our existing nonprofit support model?
User research
We conducted around 30 user surveys and 15 user interviews to gauge volunteer willingness to support small businesses and to confirm that our corporate and nonprofit users were aligned with this shift. It was essential for us to not only make informed decisions based on their feedback but also to reinforce that their voices mattered and that we were committed to maintaining a platform that served their needs.
Insights
Many volunteers welcomed the idea of extending support to small businesses, as long as it did not negatively impact nonprofit projects.
Several respondents emphasized the need to clearly differentiate small business projects from nonprofit initiatives to preserve Taproot’s mission.
Some worried that expanding to small businesses could divert volunteer resources from nonprofits, which already struggle to secure support.
Volunteers wanted to better understand the criteria for small business eligibility, including how financial need would be assessed and whether businesses could use Taproot services instead of hiring paid professionals.
Transparency about which types of small businesses qualify was seen as essential.
Actions
Introduced a dedicated page for small business projects to ensure clear differentiation from nonprofit initiatives, preventing any confusion in project listings.
Added detailed information on the eligibility criteria for small businesses, reassuring volunteers that the organizations they support are genuinely in need and unable to afford professional services. These refinements helped build trust among users while maintaining the integrity of the platform’s mission.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
With user insights in hand, I engaged with key teams: Product, Engineering, and Marketing to align on implementation. Given our constraints, we needed a low-effort, high-impact approach, so we explored how to leverage existing infrastructure.
Design
For the design process, I focused on reusing existing components and interaction patterns to streamline implementation and reduce engineering effort. The platform already had a structured system in place for nonprofits to apply for support, and I recognized that small businesses followed a similar yet slightly distinct flow. By adapting this existing framework to accommodate small business needs, I was able to build the new experience using modular elements, ensuring consistency while minimizing the need for custom development.
Leveraging the Design System
Prior to this project, I had worked on developing Taproot’s design system, which became a critical asset for this initiative. While working on the Design System, I conducted research and identified that only the essential elements were necessary for an efficient design system. Instead of overcomplicating, I focused on building a streamlined, scalable system that simplifies development and enhances consistency.
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Overview
A platform expansion with limited resources.
To help small businesses in need.
My Role
UX Designer
led Product Strategy, Research, Ideation, Prototyping, Visual Design, Launch, Testing
Impact
As a result this expansion allowed hundreds of small businesses to access professional help, strengthening the community and ensuring sustainability during a crisis.
Problem Statement
Small businesses were struggling to access professional expertise during the pandemic, yet many skilled volunteers were eager to contribute their knowledge to help them survive.
How might we bridge this gap without disrupting our existing nonprofit support model?
User research
We conducted around 30 user surveys and 15 user interviews to gauge volunteer willingness to support small businesses and to confirm that our corporate and nonprofit users were aligned with this shift. It was essential for us to not only make informed decisions based on their feedback but also to reinforce that their voices mattered and that we were committed to maintaining a platform that served their needs.
Insights
Many volunteers welcomed the idea of extending support to small businesses, as long as it did not negatively impact nonprofit projects.
Several respondents emphasized the need to clearly differentiate small business projects from nonprofit initiatives to preserve Taproot’s mission.
Some worried that expanding to small businesses could divert volunteer resources from nonprofits, which already struggle to secure support.
Volunteers wanted to better understand the criteria for small business eligibility, including how financial need would be assessed and whether businesses could use Taproot services instead of hiring paid professionals.
Transparency about which types of small businesses qualify was seen as essential.
Actions
Introduced a dedicated page for small business projects to ensure clear differentiation from nonprofit initiatives, preventing any confusion in project listings.
Added detailed information on the eligibility criteria for small businesses, reassuring volunteers that the organizations they support are genuinely in need and unable to afford professional services. These refinements helped build trust among users while maintaining the integrity of the platform’s mission.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
With user insights in hand, I engaged with key teams: Product, Engineering, and Marketing to align on implementation. Given our constraints, we needed a low-effort, high-impact approach, so we explored how to leverage existing infrastructure.
Design
For the design process, I focused on reusing existing components and interaction patterns to streamline implementation and reduce engineering effort. The platform already had a structured system in place for nonprofits to apply for support, and I recognized that small businesses followed a similar yet slightly distinct flow. By adapting this existing framework to accommodate small business needs, I was able to build the new experience using modular elements, ensuring consistency while minimizing the need for custom development.
Leveraging the Design System
Prior to this project, I had worked on developing Taproot’s design system, which became a critical asset for this initiative. While working on the Design System, I conducted research and identified that only the essential elements were necessary for an efficient design system. Instead of overcomplicating, I focused on building a streamlined, scalable system that simplifies development and enhances consistency.
Add a new scene modal
Scene with all lines added mode
Teleprompter mode. Script reader with controls and AI voices
More Projects
Overview
A platform expansion with limited resources.
To help small businesses in need.
My Role
UX Designer
led Product Strategy, Research, Ideation, Prototyping, Visual Design, Launch, Testing
Impact
Services Delivered: $15M+
Organizations Supported: 950
Volunteer Community Members: 8,750+
Donated Volunteer Hours: 95,000+
By integrating small businesses into Taproot Plus, we contributed to a platform that continues to offer free expert guidance to organizations that otherwise couldn’t afford it.
The program has connected small businesses with skilled volunteers in marketing, finance, technology, and business strategy, helping them navigate unprecedented challenges. By integrating this expansion into Taproot Plus, we created a scalable solution that remains in place today, continuing to support businesses in need.
Problem Statement
Small businesses were struggling to access professional expertise during the pandemic, yet many skilled volunteers were eager to contribute their knowledge to help them survive.
How might we bridge this gap without disrupting our existing nonprofit support model?
User research
We conducted around 30 user surveys and 15 user interviews to gauge volunteer willingness to support small businesses and to confirm that our corporate and nonprofit users were aligned with this shift. It was essential for us to not only make informed decisions based on their feedback but also to reinforce that their voices mattered and that we were committed to maintaining a platform that served their needs.
Insights
Many volunteers welcomed the idea of extending support to small businesses, as long as it did not negatively impact nonprofit projects.
Several respondents emphasized the need to clearly differentiate small business projects from nonprofit initiatives to preserve Taproot’s mission.
Some worried that expanding to small businesses could divert volunteer resources from nonprofits, which already struggle to secure support.
Volunteers wanted to better understand the criteria for small business eligibility, including how financial need would be assessed and whether businesses could use Taproot services instead of hiring paid professionals.
Transparency about which types of small businesses qualify was seen as essential.
Actions
Introduced a dedicated page for small business projects to ensure clear differentiation from nonprofit initiatives, preventing any confusion in project listings.
Added detailed information on the eligibility criteria for small businesses, reassuring volunteers that the organizations they support are genuinely in need and unable to afford professional services. These refinements helped build trust among users while maintaining the integrity of the platform’s mission.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
With user insights in hand, I engaged with key teams: Product, Engineering, and Marketing to align on implementation. Given our constraints, we needed a low-effort, high-impact approach, so we explored how to leverage existing infrastructure.
Design
For the design process, I focused on reusing existing components and interaction patterns to streamline implementation and reduce engineering effort. The platform already had a structured system in place for nonprofits to apply for support, and I recognized that small businesses followed a similar yet slightly distinct flow. By adapting this existing framework to accommodate small business needs, I was able to build the new experience using modular elements, ensuring consistency while minimizing the need for custom development.
Leveraging the Design System
Prior to this project, I had worked on developing Taproot’s design system, which became a critical asset for this initiative. While working on the Design System, I conducted research and identified that only the essential elements were necessary for an efficient design system. Instead of overcomplicating, I focused on building a streamlined, scalable system that simplifies development and enhances consistency.
Add a new scene modal
Scene with all lines added mode
Teleprompter mode. Script reader with controls and AI voices
