Welcome to the Bay Area Capacity Building Collective
Strengthen your organization with the help of pro bono volunteers
Connect With Talented and Engaged Professionals
This program connects you with talented professionals looking to give back, allowing you to access expertise in areas such as marketing, web development, operations, strategy, and more.
Catchafire's menu of 120+ pre-scoped projects, each with specific deliverables and project steps, makes it easy to find what you need and match with a volunteer with the right skills for the job. And if you aren't sure where to begin, start by talking to a volunteer to get advice and explore ideas.
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from Christen for a Merchandising project.
Lotus Bloom received an application from Jon for a Fee-For-Service Strategy Sessions project.
Lotus Bloom received an application from Lizi for a Fee-For-Service Strategy Sessions project.
Angela from Lotus Bloom listed a Fee-For-Service Strategy Sessions project.
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from David for a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Susana matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Translation project!
Athiraj matched with Mari from At The Crossroads for a Talent Recruitment consultation call!
826 Valencia received an application from Tambri for a Compensation Plan project.
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from Kate for a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from Akena for a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Jon matched with Susan from The Crucible for a Data & Analytics consultation call!
Bita from 826 Valencia listed a Compensation Plan project.
Cristina matched with Carson from At The Crossroads for a Storytelling project!
Jennaka from Read-Aloud Volunteer Program listed a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Gbemisola Anne matched with Lara from The Mosaic Project for a Marketing Strategy Consultation project!
Ruth matched with Lara from The Mosaic Project for a Flexible Marketing Strategy Support project!
Margarita matched with Meghan from End Hep C SF, SF Public Health Foundation for a Translation project!
Maria matched with Taunu'u from Pacific Islander Taskforce for a Tech Systems consultation call!
Amber matched with Whitney from Food as Medicine for a Logo Design project!
Alexander matched with Meghan from End Hep C SF, SF Public Health Foundation for a Website Copywriting project!
Grace matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
ODC received an application from Rawaa for an Online Survey project.
ODC received an application from Jennie for an Online Survey project.
Martin matched with Erin from Food as Medicine for a Time Management Coaching project!
ODC received an application from Mary for an Online Survey project.
Lidia matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Ida matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Presentation Creation project!
Rose matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Christin matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Flexible Graphic Design Support project!
Fiona matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Akshara matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project!
Grace matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from Jam for a Merchandising project.
Alexander matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Flyer Graphic Design project!
Alexander matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Flyer Graphic Design project!
Erik matched with Lyle from Coaching Corps for a (Short) Animation Creation project!
Akshara matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Chatterjee matched with Josh from The Lost Church for a Proposal Cover Letter project!
Linda matched with Crystal from Read-Aloud Volunteer Program for an Employee Handbook project!
Lidia matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Document Template Design project!
Minghao matched with Danielle from Lotus Bloom for a Translation project!
Mohamed matched with Danielle from Lotus Bloom for a Translation project!
Julia matched with Lyle from Coaching Corps for a Social Media consultation call!
Michelle matched with Danielle from Lotus Bloom for a Translation project!
Margarita matched with Yesenia from DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF for a Translation project!
Jackie from Read-Aloud Volunteer Program listed a Merchandising project.
Read-Aloud Volunteer Program received an application from Edyta for a Merchandising project.
Mikayla matched with Steve from Blue Bear School of Music for a Learning Management System Set Up project!
Gabrielle matched with Danielle from Lotus Bloom for a Translation project!
Rami matched with Danielle from Lotus Bloom for a Translation project!
How It Works
1. Explore Available Projects
Browse through over 120 pre-scoped projects and post your own.2. Find Your Pro Bono Professional
Review applications from interested professionals and choose who you want to work with.3. Get The Help You Need
Kick off your project and start making progress.Two ways to connect!
Consultation Calls
Projects
What Do You Need Help With?
Select from 120+ pre-scoped projects or post a consultation call to get started.
Great Connections Are Made Here
Matched Jul 29th, 2020
How Susana M. helped DeLIVER Care Van, UCSF
Translation
Matched Jul 28th, 2020
How Athiraj B. helped At The Crossroads
Talent Recruitment
Matched Jul 22nd, 2020
How Gbemisola Anne O. helped The Mosaic Project
Marketing Strategy Consultation
Matched Jul 10th, 2020
How Amber H. helped Food as Medicine
Logo Design
Matched Jul 10th, 2020
How Alexander Y. helped End Hep C SF, SF Public Health Founda...
Website Copywriting
Matched Jun 18th, 2020
How Chatterjee P. helped The Lost Church
Proposal Cover Letter
Matched Jun 16th, 2020
How Linda J. helped Read-Aloud Volunteer Program
Employee Handbook
Matched Jun 3rd, 2020
How Mikayla P. helped Blue Bear School of Music
Learning Management System Set Up
Matched May 14th, 2020
How Erika D. helped Expecting Justice
Impact Report Graphic Design
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS
Work With Talented Professionals From Around the World
Finding the right match is important. Each of the 100+ pre-scoped projects contains prerequisite skills and experience, core deliverables, and time estimates, so volunteers know exactly what is required when they apply to work with you.
The rigorous application process, which includes work experience, portfolios, and statements of interest, limits applicants to those who are serious about working with you. It's not a one-click application, and it shouldn't be.
You can review up to three applications at a time, and interview candidates before deciding. The decision is yours.
What Other Organizations are Saying
Frequently Asked Questions
New around here? Start with the basics.
Catchafire is an online platform for virtual, skills-based volunteering. Through Catchafire, professionals are able to directly support causes they care about by helping nonprofits with projects that match their skill sets. And because projects can be completed from anywhere, Catchafire makes it possible for nonprofits and skilled volunteers to connect for good, from all around the world!
Skills-based volunteering is a high impact form of volunteering that allows an individual to donate his or her professional skills and expertise, which in turn allows a nonprofit to build its capacity and focus more efficiently on its mission.
Skilled volunteers help nonprofits fill critical knowledge and staffing gaps, they work as thought partners on strategic projects, and they complete specific projects that require specialized skills, training, or experience. Very often, the relationships between volunteers and nonprofits extend far beyond the scope of the initial project that brought them together.
A specific example of skills-based volunteering is a marketing professional who volunteers to help a nonprofit create a marketing strategy.
We are partnering with Catchafire to provide grantees with access to virtual, skilled volunteers. We believe that by providing this valuable resource for capacity building and strategic project work, we can help our grantees amplify and accelerate the impact they have on the communities and beneficiaries they serve.
No. Your access to Catchafire is sponsored through this program, so it’s completely free for your organization.
In order to participate, you must first register your organization and then post your first project or consultation call. Get started by visiting the Project Menu to browse through over 120 detailed project types.
You can work on an unlimited number of projects and calls throughout your membership. Once you finish a project, just mark sure to mark it “complete”.
Your posted projects are visible to Catchafire’s entire skills-based volunteer community of 40,000+ talented professionals on the platform, and millions more via Catchafire's partnership with LinkedIn. Those who are interested in your organization’s cause area and who have the skills required for your project will be able to apply.
Skills-based volunteers may apply to your projects from all across the country and around the world. We encourage you to engage with virtual skills-based volunteers. If you prefer to work with somebody local, please expect it to take longer than normal to receive applications from a professional in the area.
On average, projects are matched within two weeks. If you are not seeing the response you hoped for, please reach out to help@catchafire.org, and one of Catchafire's Nonprofit Advisors will get in touch to troubleshoot with you.
After the interview, you can log into your account dashboard and ACCEPT or PASS on the match. Once both parties accept, you are officially matched and can begin the project! If you need to exchange any materials or have follow-up conversations to determine if it is a good fit after the interview, you are encouraged to do so.
Absolutely! Schedule a call, or email your questions to help@catchafire.org and one of Catchafire’s Nonprofit Advisors will be in touch within 24 business hours.
About This Program
The San Francisco Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, East Bay Community Foundation’s ASCEND:BLO Initiative and the Hellman Foundation have joined together to launch the Catchafire Bay Area Collective. This program provides capacity building resources to local nonprofit organizations working to build stronger, more equitable communities.
The participating foundations have partnered with Catchafire to support nonprofit organizations by making connections to pro bono professionals here in the Bay Area and across the world. Through these connections, the Collective maximizes the impact organizations are able to make on the communities they serve.
Catchafire is the largest, online tool that connects social good organizations with talented professionals looking to donate their skills. This resource provides organizations with expert support in areas like marketing and communications, web development, operations, strategy and much, much more.
Learn more about The San Francisco Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, East Bay Community Foundation’s ASCEND:BLO Initiative, and the Hellman Foundation.
Have more questions? Drop us a line.
Email the Catchafire team at help@catchafire.org, or schedule a Catchafire introduction call to learn more about how your organization can build capacity with help from skilled pro bono professionals
