Taproot Commitments

 

  • We build the framework in which communities and their leaders are engaged, supported, and respected.

  • We provide the space for communities to identify their strengths, build on their connections and draw on their resilience to fully explore opportunity.

  • We develop resources that allow leaders in rural and urban communities to maximize their opportunities and achieve sustained success.

  • We are committed to enduring, long-term success for communities.

 
 
 

Featured Client Projects

 

Global Growers: Sales Enterprise Development & Expansion (2020-2021)

At a critical juncture in the growth of urban agriculture and this innovative enterprise that links metro Atlanta’s diverse international farmers to farming and market opportunities, Taproot managed a multi-year project to plan for growth. Taproot conducted an organizational management analysis, cooperative governance case studies, and the assessment of staff, board, and constituent perspectives across multiple cultures and languages. Ultimately this project provided key guidance on how best to strengthen market opportunities, balance power between a farming organization and the farmers themselves, and support a sustainable, expansive co-farming initiative in metro Atlanta.

 

the Norcross market (2019-2020)

Taproot’s report explores the creation of a sustainable, food-focused community destination in Norcross - the Norcross MARKET. The vision for the Norcross MARKET was driven by its diverse community, with input from community leaders, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders across 18 cultures/countries of origin. This report includes an initial review of potential locations, financial investment and operational costs, resource development, and potential collaborative partners. It proposed a collaborative, community-driven action plan to refine the concept, develop the design, and lead to the realization of the Norcross MARKET.

 

Artwork by Sadio Diallo

aKAZI Business Development (2019-2020)

As the innovative aKAZ! art gallery in Atlanta came to life, Taproot supported the design of a foundational business and operational plan. Through a collaborative series of business planning sessions, the founding team defined its concept, built financial models and market strategies, and developed its business objectives. Today, aKAZ!’s gallery showcases the complexity and beauty of contemporary art from a diversity of artists from Africa and the African Diaspora, and hosts unique salons to explore the multiplicity of voices from the African continent.

 

Chattahoochee Hills : When Nature Calls Home (2019)

In a community with a wealth of resources and opportunities, Taproot supported the creation of a vision for place-based economic development that would engage the whole community. From sustainable agriculture to ecotourism to conservation land policies, this project crafted a wide array of interests into a community-based strategy for development.

Services We Offer

 

Project Feasibility Analysis and Planning

To determine project feasibility, we start by listening and getting to know the unique nature of the local environment, and to fully engage local leadership from a cross section of the community. The first step in the Taproot process is to listen and observe. This step is vital for determining project steps, ensuring successful outcomes, and laying a foundation for funding applicants. 

  • Strategic and Operational Planning

  • Market and Operational Feasibility 

  • Organizational Development

  • Environment and Situational Research and Analysis 

  • Program Design

Strategy & Development

Taproot’s action blueprints are so much more than a plan. Depending on the nature of the project, we incorporate a full operating plan and budget, a sound organizational structure, funding mechanisms, and measures of accountability to keep things on track. This also includes assisting with grant or loan applications at any, or all, steps. Our expertise lies within XYZ grants/programs. 

  • Funding and Resource Development 

  • Executive Coaching: Advancement, Operation, and Entrepreneurship

  • Grant Writing Management & Strategy

  • Donor Communications Strategy

  • DEI Stategy Development

  • Project Management

Assessment

Using personalized assessment tools and our teams’ expertise we carry out equity analyses to determine opportunities for improvement within project spaces and organization operations. Stakeholder interviews and facilitated group discussions, blended with hard research, are designed to reveal actionable vision, goals, and community connections. We map a community’s complex historical and present context, needs, and the very real - and sometimes underlying - challenges that must be addressed. 

  • Project Equity Analysis

  • Organizational Equity Analysis

  • Program Evaluation

  • Policy Review 

Community Building

Over the years, we have cultivated partnerships and led projects that are committed to community prosperity and sustainability practices all over the world. We utilize community-driven blueprints to lead the process of centering power, developing effective communication strategies, and advancing economic investment. We utilize asset mapping, informed policy design and engagement, leadership engagement, and community organizing.

  • Placemaking/ Placekeeping Initiative & Project Design

  • Community Organizing & Investment Planning

  • Asset Mapping

  • Informed Policy Design & Engagement

  • Leadership Engagement

  • Strategic Partnerships