For Nonprofits

Have a potential project idea?

Fill out our Project Interest Form by June 4, 2021 in order to be considered for our Summer Project Cycle (starting in late July 2021). Proposals submitted after this deadline will be considered for the following project cycle.

What can a Develop for Good team do for my group or organization?

Our teams of university students and recent graduates work closely with you to conduct development and design work. We offer a range of services, including developing web & mobile applications, creating data visualizations, and designing websites & user-facing tools. 

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It's important to keep in mind that the quality of our products are of volunteer university students' best efforts. Nonetheless, we've found that our former nonprofit clients have been been extremely satisfied by the final deliverables handed over to them. Check out the Nonprofit Testimonials left by some of our former and ongoing clients to read about their experiences in their own words!

Is my organization eligible for Develop for Good's services?

All eligible nonprofits or organizations must be able to present the following if requested:

  • U.S.-based nonprofits: letters of determination indicating 501(c)3 tax-exempt status

  • Non-U.S.-based nonprofits: proof of registered charity/nonprofit status in home country

  • Governing agencies/international organizations: proof of status
     

Although we resonate with the missions of social good start-ups and companies, we do not match volunteer developers and designers with for-profit organizations. If you are a for-profit group interested in recruiting our university talent, please reach out to maryzhu@developforgood.org to feature your opportunities on our website, newsletter, and our alumni group!

How much does this service cost?

We charge a small fee to cover our operational costs. Our services fees are a small fraction (~2%) of the real-world costs of these projects*, and are thoroughly discussed beforehand with you based on your proposed project’s complexity and your nonprofit’s budget/financial situation. 100% of these fees go towards covering Develop for Good’s operational expenses, including but not limited to subscriptions for tools needed by volunteers, a CRM/Applicant Tracking System, legal services, financial and accounting services, PR services, fellowships for first-generation, low-income students, and tokens of appreciation to our active volunteers. Read more about Our Nonprofit Model here. 

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*Our research has shown that outsourced design projects traditionally cost $12,000-$100,000, web apps $20,000-$150,000, and native mobile apps $80,000-$250,000.

What is an example of an ideal project?

An ideal project is well-defined, high-impact, and well-scoped. This ensures that our teams know what to work on, why its important, and how to implement it. You can take a closer look at our past projects here.

What skills do the volunteers have?

Our student & recent grad volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and experiences. Typically, we most often see these skills and frameworks:​

Product Manager ​

  • Responsibilities:​

    • Main point of contact between the team, nonprofit client, and all other stakeholders.

    • Organizes internal team meetings and check-ins with the client.

    • Proposes and maintains a project timeline.

    • Scopes out technical approach and design requirements of project.

    • Organizes resources and ensures documentation of all work.

    • Able and willing to contribute potentially more than a 5-10 hr/wk baseline commitment for at least a full project cycle.

  • Skills desired:

    • Leadership​ and management; strong coordinating/organizational skills and initiative.

    • Strong technical skills required of the specific project.

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​Frontend Developer

  • ​Skills desired (any of):​
    • ​HTML, CSS, JavaScript
    • Frameworks like React, Angular, JQuery, Vue, AngularJS
    • Knowledge in responsive design

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Backend Developer

  • Skills desired (any of):​

    • Python, Java, Ruby, PHP

    • Express.js, Node.js, Django

    • Databases like MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite

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Product/UI/UX Designer

  • Skills desired (any of):

    • User experience investigation with data analytics

    • User research + interviewing

    • User flow diagramming

    • Prototyping with tools like Figma and Sketch

    • Building with content management systems

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Data Engineer/Analyst

  • Skills desired (any of):

    • Excel, Python, Java, Scala

    • Knowledge of database systems

    • R, D3, and experience with data visualization tools like Tableau

    • Background in AI/ML

What is the timeline of a typical project?

We aim for our engagements to last around 14 weeks, depending on the scope of the project. If the project goes beyond this timeline, we'll make sure to add new volunteers to get things completed during the following cycle(s).

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We kick off a new cycle of projects every three months (Spring - March, Summer - July, Winter - November). Regardless, we welcome nonprofits to submit project interest forms year-round. Please submit by the following deadline if you would like to have your nonprofit project included in the upcoming round. Otherwise, we'll include you in the following round, or whenever works best on your end!

**Note: Timeline may be subject to change.

What is expected from our nonprofit group during project development?

We usually encourage having a point of contact from our clients to answer any questions the team may have, and keep track of progress through weekly or biweekly check-in meetings.

How will Develop for Good ensure a smooth project handover?

At the end of the project, we make sure to document all work before the handover. For nonprofits with their own in-house tech teams, we'll provide all code to enable smooth integration into existing infrastructure. For nonprofits with non-technical teams, we'll typically use content management systems and guide you through how to maintain the product and make changes in the future.

Can our group continue our partnership with Develop for Good?

We would love to stay connected! If there's anything you would like changed or added to a product, we'd be happy to look into it (however, this may incur additional service fees depending on the scope of the request). Furthermore, if there are any future project opportunities that we can work on within other teams at your organization, please let us know!

Can I share this opportunity with my colleagues or other organizations?

We would really appreciate it if you were able to share the opportunity with anyone at any nonprofit organization or agency, as we have overwhelming interest from volunteers and our only bottleneck is the number of projects we can source.