This month our friends at Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) led a global hack for humanity, bringing together close to 1,000 people to hack for social good in over 28 cities including Warsaw, where they worked in close collaboration with NetSquared and Fundacja TechSoup. Technologists teamed up with subject-matter experts to solve a wide range of social and environmental problems by building software applications.

You got a problem with something? Great, because we want it! No, we’re not kidding.

These days the need for technical talent could not be greater in the social benefit sector. In tough economic times, many nonprofits trying to build their capacity remain in need of technology solutions that are beyond their budgets. Pro-bono services from technology volunteers are a great way to put some serious talent to work for you. 

The NetSquared mission is to mix new technologies and social change. How? By connecting people, ideas and enabling discussion. Sounds reasonable and easy, doesn’t it? After all, this concept has its roots in the same idea as many innovation driven offline events have -- camps, hackathons and unconferences – it aims to facilitate discussion rather than to impose certain thoughts and topics on a community. Although these new innovative models seem open, natural, and undefined, they actually call for a lot more planning. 

Here on the Net2 blog we have been writing about how nonprofits can leverage limited-term and high-skills based human capital to accelerate their mission-driven work.  But nothing is better than a real-world example -- and we've got a great one from right here at TechSoup Global!

In the summer of 1998, I signed up for a three-week long volunteer project on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. As part of a small team, I helped refurbish a house that was home to about 15 Native American children (ages 13 months to 16 years). They were facing issues ranging from fetal alcohol syndrome to abuse and neglect. 

Daniel James Paterson is a social entrepreneur and innovator who founded the recently launched ManufacturingChange.org. ManufacturingChange.org is an NGO that enables volunteers with specific skills to solve problems online for manufactures in developing countries. I have been closely watching the launch of the site and would like to shine a light on the organization’s innovative approach to social change. Take a look at the interview below to learn more about Daniel, ManufacturingChange.org’s activities, and how to support their work.

This post was authored by Becky Band Jain, a TechSoup guest blogger and volunteer.

TechSoup is launching a new micro-volunteering initiative called Donate Your Brain. It allows anyone, anywhere, to help nonprofits and other community organizations with quick answers and suggestions for their Internet, software, and other tech needs.

VolunteerMatch.org is a California based public benefit corporation using technology to make it easier for good people and good causes to connect. We support a diverse community of individuals, nonprofits and business leaders committed to volunteering. As a platform for engagement we find ourselves regularly collaborating to support social initiatives that cut across the traditional business/nonprofit/governmental spheres.

After Graduating in 2008, like many fellow graduates, Lucy Nightingale from Manchester University struggled to find employment and with graduate unemployment rates hitting all time highs, Lucy dreamed of escaping the UK to leave the doom and gloom behind. The idea of idly travelling the globe, hopping from beach to beach did sound tempting, but Lucy feared it would not make her employment situation any better when she inevitably returned. After researching opportunities abroad, volunteer teaching seemed ideal, as it offered her the opportunity to experience another culture and at the same gain experience and skills.

Before I begin writing about my experiences volunteering in Sri Lanka, I thought I would give a little background to my involvement with these projects. 

Since volunteering in 2005, in Sri Lanka, I have been planning my return trip. So with University out of the way, I got back in touch the society I volunteered with for 6 months. They were happy to hear that I was interested in coming back to teach English and volunteer at the orphanages. I slowly learnt that there enthusiasm for my return was partly because they had not received as much volunteer help for the past few years and in the past 8 months they have had no one come to continue previous volunteers work.