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.
Marin Shakespeare Company received an application from Pelumi for a Transcription project.
Performing Stars of Marin received an application from Jide for a Website Content Plan project.
MAN 2 MAN - URBAN YOUTH ADVOCATE, INC received an application from Chatterjee for an Organizational Executive Summary project.
MAN 2 MAN - URBAN YOUTH ADVOCATE, INC received an application from Sheikh for a Social Media Content Calendar project.
CHIOMA matched with Diana from Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates for an Online Survey project!
Lesley from Marin Shakespeare Company listed a Transcription project.
Felecia from Performing Stars of Marin listed a Website Content Plan project.
Marin Shakespeare Company received an application from Rapheal for a Transcription project.
Marin Shakespeare Company received an application from Hilda for a Transcription project.
Performing Stars of Marin received an application from Brian for an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
Gretchen from Children for Change listed a Branded Digital Assets project.
Linda matched with Stephanie from North Marin Community Services for a Marketing Materials consultation call!
Stewart from MAN 2 MAN - URBAN YOUTH ADVOCATE, INC listed a Social Media Content Calendar project.
Stewart from MAN 2 MAN - URBAN YOUTH ADVOCATE, INC listed an Organizational Executive Summary project.
Morgan matched with Jack from Downtown Streets Team for a Google Ads Set Up project!
Performing Stars of Marin received an application from Mark for a Social Media consultation call.
New Beginnings Law Center received an application from Adebayo for a Social Media Content Calendar project.
Brittney matched with Sonia from YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley for an Infographic project!
Sheila from Conservation Corps North Bay listed an Organizational Chart Creation project.
Darla matched with Sonia from YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley for a Data Visualization project!
Grace matched with Sonia from YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley for an Infographic project!
Caroline from Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California listed a New Employee Recruiting project.
Turning Green received an application from Lujain for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
New Beginnings Law Center received an application from Portia for a Social Media Content Calendar project.
Performing Stars of Marin received an application from Kristopher for an Organizational Strategy consultation call.
New Beginnings Law Center received an application from Shivani for a Social Media Content Calendar project.
Turning Green received an application from Rob for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Turning Green received an application from Ali for a Logo Design project.
Turning Green received an application from shahzad for a Logo Design project.
Turning Green received an application from Randy for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Turning Green received an application from Barha for a Logo Design project.
Turning Green received an application from Randy for a Logo Design project.
Turning Green received an application from Adeoye for a Logo Design project.
Aundraya matched with Jillian from Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California for a Talent Recruitment consultation call!
Heather matched with Fern from Breastoration Ink for a Social Media Set Up project!
Alan matched with Gretchen from Children for Change for an Organizational One-Pager project!
Turning Green received an application from Fadi for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Payam matched with Jack from Downtown Streets Team for a Website Minor Update project!
Judi from Turning Green listed a Logo Design project.
Judi from Turning Green listed a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Juice matched with Gretchen from Children for Change for a Branded Digital Assets project!
Liz matched with Jillian from Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California for a Social Media consultation call!
JIM matched with Kaer from West Marin Senior Services for a Thank You Letter project!
Megan matched with Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center for an Email Marketing Copywriting project!
Megan matched with Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center for an Email Marketing Copywriting project!
Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center listed a Social Media Content Calendar project.
Chatterjee matched with Elissa from New Beginnings Law Center for an Online Research project!
Joshua from Opening the World listed an Event Concept & Plan project.
Austin matched with Jillian from Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California for a Website consultation call!
Juice matched with Jillian from Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California for a Visual Branding consultation call!
How It Works
1. Explore Available Projects
Browse through over 150 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 150+ pre-scoped projects or post a consultation call to get started.
Great Connections Are Made Here
Matched Sep 29th, 2022
How CHIOMA K. helped Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates
Online Survey
Matched Sep 21st, 2022
How Linda F. helped North Marin Community Services
Marketing Materials
Matched Sep 20th, 2022
How Morgan O. helped Downtown Streets Team
Google Ads Set Up
Matched Sep 15th, 2022
How Brittney H. helped YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley
Infographic
Matched Sep 6th, 2022
How Juice H. helped Children for Change
Branded Digital Assets
Matched Aug 31st, 2022
How Megan K. helped New Beginnings Law Center
Email Marketing Copywriting
Matched Jul 25th, 2022
How Elysmar B. helped Youth Transportation Organization
Translation
Matched Jun 25th, 2022
How Mark A. helped Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership
Event Slideshow Creation
Matched Jun 2nd, 2022
How Shianne H. helped Estuary & Ocean Science Center, SFSU
Flyer Graphic Design
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 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 [email protected] and one of Catchafire’s Nonprofit Advisors will be in touch within 24 business hours.
About this Program
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 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 [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
