Getting Started

Setup

You'll need Redis, Postgres, and Elasticsearch installed locally.

python -m venv .venv

source .venv/bin/activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

cd web

./manage.py migrate auth
./manage.py migrate registration --fake-initial
./manage.py migrate user_profile --fake-initial
./manage.py migrate_users
./manage.py migrate --fake-initial

Note: we use Black for formatting.

Run

python manage.py runserver

Run front-end

npm install -g pnpm
cd web/frontend && pnpm install && pnpm run dev

Taproot Plus Application Overview

Core Functionality

Taproot Plus is a platform that connects nonprofits and small businesses with skilled volunteers who provide pro bono professional services.

Key Components

User Roles

Three main user types:

1. Nonprofits
2. Small Businesses
3. Volunteers

The main user model is called CustomUser. Users have a UserProfile (which is tied to a "users" table for legacy reasons).

Service Types

1. Projects

Multi-week partnerships where volunteers commit 2-5 hours per week for 2-10 weeks. Projects have specific deliverables and goals across various categories:

• Software Engineering Projects
  • Website Development & Maintenance
  • Mobile Development
  • Feature Development
  • Technical Planning
  • Implementation Support
• HR & Leadership Projects
  • Leadership Coaching
  • HR Policy Development
  • Organizational Development
• Marketing & Communications
  • Brand Strategy
  • Social Media Planning
  • Content Development
• Operations & Analytics
  • Data Analysis
  • Process Improvement
  • Survey Development
  • Operations Audits

2. Sessions

One-hour virtual consultation calls designed for:

• Quick problem-solving
• Brainstorming
• Project planning
• Professional advice
• Preparing for larger initiatives

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Onboarding Flow

The onboarding process is differentiated between nonprofits and small businesses:

1. Initial Welcome

• Custom welcome messages for each user type
• Profile setup taking approximately 10 minutes
• Progressive save functionality

2. Resource Access

Users get access to different skill categories:

• Marketing & Communications
• Software Engineering
• Writing
• Operations & Analytics
• HR & Leadership
• Business Planning

3. Demographics Collection

• Collects user demographic information
• Data used for program improvement
• Optional fields beyond basic requirements
• Data shared only in anonymized aggregate form

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Technical Stack

Frontend

• Uses Vite for build tooling
• React integration
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Custom fonts (Avenir and Newsreader)

Backend

• Django-based application
• Template-driven views
• URL routing with Django's URL patterns

Analytics

• Google Tag Manager integration

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Key Features

Resource Matching

• Skill-based matching system
• Pre-scoped project templates
• Customizable project scopes

Support System

• Documentation and resources
• Webinar recordings
• Contact team options

Impact Tracking

• Project outcome measurements
• Data analysis capabilities
• Impact visualization tools

This platform emphasizes accessibility to professional services while maintaining structured engagement formats (Projects vs. Sessions) to ensure effective outcomes for both service recipients and volunteers.