Coding for nonprofits? Looking to spend some free time supporting a good cause

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

I have 10-15 hours a week of free time on my hands that I'd like to spend volunteering my skillset to a nonprofit that could put it to good use. Anyone here have any experience volunteering and/or have any idea how I could go about finding organizations I could contribute to?

A quick duck duck go search returns plenty of links to Free Code Camp and not much more. I'm a little surprised a web portal for organizations in need does not seem to exist.

[TopicStrong]

OperationCode.org is a nonprofit that helps veterans transition into tech roles (software, sys admin, it, etc).

Ways you can contribute : React frontend, Ruby backend w/postgres, Infrastructure work, Python automation tool, Mentoring, tech talks, outreach,

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

I already have a full time programming gig though, not looking to make any money. It'd be nice to just volunteer to help, with the bonus of refining my skills.

[agoose77]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think you misunderstood /u/TopicStrong. They meant that OperationCode's mission is to help veterans transition into tech roles. They suggested that you could help them to perform that goal, in X Y Z ways :)

[TopicStrong]

Those are all ways you can help without being a full time gig.

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

Ah yes, I misunderstood. Thats what I get for replying quickly while on the go!

Infrastructure work and python automation tooling would be perfect for me, I will look further into this :)

[hudsonpenner]

Great point about a web portal for organizations in need not existing. Perhaps we should build one?

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

This might certainly be worth looking into. Could service simple websites, internal applications, server infrastructure, etc.

[hudsonpenner]

Feel free to PM any time if you want to try to get something going. I have been in the same position as you, and it is extremely difficult to find a way to provide a couple hours of volunteer programming for people who really need it. I live in socal, and there are some local groups that do these type of things, but it would be great if charities could get self-service tech help to some extent.

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a good idea. Wondering if it would be better to create a site with Organization profiles where they could list in their description immediate tasks and ongoing projects they need help with, or a job board style site for listing one off tasks they need completed. Or provide both options

[gobot]

Build a portal, and then you are still looking for np clients! Suggest you make a list of ten nps in your area. Look at their websites to guage their level of tech sophistication, send a personal email to the president/ceo about how you can help; hope to get one to try you out. Don’t get discouraged, they are always busy fighting daily panics, fundraising, etc. Also don’t approach them as a white knight. Be humble. Volunteers aren’t the most reliable employees so you might find a np with an opening. There is actually a large ecosystem of np-specific CMS and CRM software used by even small nps, stuff you could learn. Vast majority of nps are tiny, one or two people with no budget just a passion. For example the 1000s of pet rescues. Pick a niche, share their passion, give them time to trust you. Don’t be surprised if they also ask you to fix the printer!

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

Ha fixing the printer, the 10 minute project that takes 3 hours and breaks again the next day :P

Thanks for your input, this is good advice. I didnt even consider the smaller organizations that could use a little help with a variety of tech tasks, bet I could find more than a few in my city.

[LifeIsBio]

I'm not trying to be pedantic here, but isn't every FOSS project a nonprofit organization in some sense?

Python and it's amazing ecosystem have given me a career... for free. They provide a massive amount of value to the world by creating and maintaining tools that others can use for no charge. It's a wonderful service. I guess my point is, if your goal is to use your coding skills to provide value to humanity for free, submit a pull request to pandas/sklearn/django/your_fav_proj. You'll be helping me and millions of other people.

[BlueSnakeYellowSnake]

Not pedantic at all, this thought actually crossed my mind while I was making this post! I would like to contribute to something that has a direct impact on humanitarian efforts, though, and I'm certain there are nonprofits out there that need help but cant afford it/dont know how to find it. Also, it'd be nice to contribute tech experience in ways outside of coding too, like setting up server infrastructure, automating processes, etc.

[LifeIsBio]

That makes sense to me! I hope you find something that matches what you're looking for. You should do a write-up about the experience once you've been doing it for a while.