Turning Tech Skills into Social Change: A Guide to Finding Tech Volunteer Opportunities at Nonprofits


Posted by Noah Hart | Job Seekers

At Tech Jobs for Good, we connect software engineers, data analysts, designers, and product managers to paid job opportunities at innovative nonprofits and impact-driven organizations across the US.

We only list paid jobs with salary ranges on Tech Jobs for Good. However, we occasionally hear from people who are interested in volunteering their tech skills and time to nonprofits or cause-based open source projects instead of finding a full time job.

This can be a great way to give back to your community, further develop your skillset, and add experience on your resume.

To help you get involved, we’ve compiled a list of resources to find volunteer opportunities at nonprofits and impact-driven open source projects.

  1. US Digital Response - USDR partners directly with governments and organizations at the state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal level as they work to deliver critical services to their communities. 
  2. Catchafire - Catchafire is a network of volunteers, nonprofits, and funders working together to solve urgent problems and lift up communities.
  3. Radical Engineers - Radical Engineers connects organizations working on bringing about post-capitalist economies, communities of care, or waste eradication with our growing community of software developers and designers. Our aim is to provide those who best understand the problems with the technological resources they need to successfully implement the solutions.
  4. Ovio - Ovio is a community platform designed to help developers find open source projects that align with their skills and values.
  5. Develop for Good  - Develop for Good recruits and manages teams of talented product, engineering, and design students to build products for nonprofits. Student volunteers gain valuable technical experience and nonprofits get greater access to digital services.
  6. Hack4Impact  - Hack4Impact was created in 2014 by a group of passionate students and friends with a dream to help nonprofits through technology. Since then, they've become experts on how to do so with a community of 11 other chapters. 
  7. Idealist - Idealist is a platform to explore volunteer opportunities and other resources related to nonprofits and social change.
  8. VolunteerMatch - VolunteerMatch matches inspired people with inspiring causes. 
  9. FFWD - Fast Forward is a tech nonprofit incubator. Volunteer with one of their portfolio organizations here with opportunities in engineering, marketing, finance, sales, and more.
  10. Viz for Social Good - Viz for Social Good's volunteers create informative and impactful data visualizations for mission-driven organizations across the globe.
  11. Democracy Lab - Democracy Lab connects tech-for-good projects with skilled volunteers and socially responsible companies.
  12. Bluebonnet Data - Leverage your skills to help progressive campaigns and causes.
  13. Data Kind - DataKind harnesses the power of data science + AI in the service of humanity.
  14. Center for New Data - The Center for New Data cares about measuring and addressing disparities and inequities in our society. We bring together data scientists, data engineers, and academic researchers to tackle policy issues at the core of our democracy.
  15. Solve for Good - Solve for Good is a platform for social good organizations to post data projects they need help with, for volunteers to help scope those projects into well-defined problems, and to help solve those problems.
  16. Taproot - Taproot Plus connects nonprofits and skilled volunteers to build stronger organizations.
  17. Prometheus - Prometheus connects private sector talent with social good organizations in need of technology and data support.
  18. Digital Defense Fund - The Digital Defense Fund is looking for volunteers interested in using their digital security, programming, software engineering, or IT skills to help the abortion access movement.
  19. Red Cross Code4Good - The American Red Cross Code4Good Project is a volunteer workforce that gives software engineers and engineering leaders an opportunity to support the Red Cross Mission by contributing their talents to the development of Redcross.org and Redcrossblood.org platforms.
  20. Ragtag - Ragtag is building a movement of technologists to amplify progressive organizing in innovative and high-impact ways. Ragtag's volunteers include developers, content creators, strategists, designers, data scientists, organizers, and managers.
  21. Digital Aid Seattle - Digital Aid Seattle is a volunteer community building free, open-source modern tech for nonprofits.

Additionally, if you find a local organization you’re interested in working with, send them an email to see if they could use tech, data, or design help.

We hope this list will give you some ideas and resources to get you started finding tech volunteer opportunities at nonprofits and impact-driven open source projects. With these resources, you can make a difference and give back to your community!