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 150+ 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.
Michael from Southern Marin Heat .Org listed a Visual Branding consultation call.
Edd matched with Michael from Alcohol Justice for a Social Media consultation call!
Patrick matched with Shelley from Gallery Route One for a Change Management Coaching project!
Charles matched with Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center for a Presentation Creation project!
Homeward Bound of Marin received an application from Edwin for a Video Editing project.
Turning Green received an application from Lisa for a Salesforce Training project.
Homeward Bound of Marin received an application from Niya for a Video Editing project.
Jill matched with Bruce from Book Exchange for an Online Research project!
West Marin Community Services received an application from Eren for a Finance consultation call.
Marin LGBTQ+ Center received an application from Erica for an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
Elicia matched with Robert from Gaines-Jones Scholars for a Public Relations consultation call!
Saqib matched with Robert from Gaines-Jones Scholars for a Public Relations consultation call!
MC Arts and Culture received an application from Alicia for a Flyer Graphic Design project.
Vytautas matched with Daniela from On the Margins for a Search Engine Optimization Audit project!
Turning Green received an application from Nazia for a Salesforce Training project.
Turning Green received an application from Olly for a Salesforce Training project.
Scott from West Marin Community Services listed a Finance consultation call.
Farhana matched with Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center for an Online Research project!
Maura from Homeward Bound of Marin listed a Video Editing project.
Julia matched with Daniela from On the Margins for a Website Audit project!
Marin LGBTQ+ Center received an application from Katharine for an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
Marin LGBTQ+ Center received an application from Jason for an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
William from Marin LGBTQ+ Center listed an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
Craig matched with Daniela from On the Margins for a Brochure Graphic Design project!
Klein matched with Tia from Side By Side for a Translation project!
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from pratibha for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Victoria matched with Tia from Side By Side for a Translation project!
Sonali matched with Margot from West Coast Arts Foundation for a Social Media consultation call!
Advokids received an application from Dominic for a Social Media consultation call.
Heidi matched with Jordan from Halleck Creek Ranch for an Online Research project!
Mark matched with Kellye from Our Sisters Keeper for an Event Management consultation call!
Kimberly matched with Rochelle from Transformative Justice Institute 501 (c) 3 for an Online Research project!
Turning Green received an application from Shannon for a Salesforce Training project.
Turning Green received an application from Sai Sudhir for a Salesforce Training project.
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Gcotyiswa for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Jan matched with Lori from Sanzuma for a Finance consultation call!
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Nandini for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Sue from Turning Green listed a Salesforce Training project.
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Savannah for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Alexandra matched with Maura from Homeward Bound of Marin for a Social Media consultation call!
Mark matched with Maura from Homeward Bound of Marin for a Social Media consultation call!
Transformative Justice Institute 501 (c) 3 received an application from Amy for an Individual Donor Letter project.
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Manish Goud for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Alban for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Marin City Community Development Corporation received an application from Anil kumar for a Customer Database (CRM) Set Up project.
Alex matched with Kellye from Our Sisters Keeper for an Event Management consultation call!
Edd matched with Margot from West Coast Arts Foundation for a Social Media consultation call!
M-Jo matched with Sally from Karma Club for a Finance consultation call!
Femi Temitope matched with Sally from Karma Club for a Finance consultation call!
Suzanne matched with Sally from Karma Club for a Finance consultation call!
When you join, you get unlimited access to a suite of services...
On-demand project support
Access expert pro bono consultants to fill every skill and staffing gap
On-site volunteers
Recruit in-person volunteers for your next community event
Technical training
Get technical advice and training on new software
Coaching
One-on-one coaching and professional development
Custom work, at no expense to you
Get specific deliverables done for every need including translation, website creation, donor letters, HR handbook, and more
What Do You Need Help With?
Select from 150+ pre-scoped projects or post a consultation call to get started.
Great Connections Are Made Here
How Edd C. helped Alcohol Justice
How Patrick F. helped Gallery Route One
How Charles S. helped New Beginnings Law Center
How Jill S. helped Book Exchange
How Vytautas A. helped On the Margins
How Klein W. helped Side By Side
How Bryan S. helped Marin Foster Care Association
How Blaise M. helped Marin Center for Independent Living
How Catherine B. helped 10,000 Degrees
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS
Work With Talented Professionals From Around the World
Finding the right match is important. Each of the 150+ 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 organizations 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 150+ detailed project types.
You can work on an unlimited number of projects and calls throughout your membership. Once you finish a project, just make 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 [email protected], and one of Catchafire's Nonprofit Advisors will get in touch 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 [email protected] and one of Catchafire’s Nonprofit Advisors will be in touch within 24 business hours.
About this program
Marin Community Foundation, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, 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 Marin Community Foundation, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and the Hellman Foundation.
Have more questions? Drop us a line.
Email the Catchafire team at [email protected], or schedule a Catchafire introduction call to learn more about how your organization can build capacity with help from skilled pro bono professionals