Bringing tech knowledge to nonprofits through HandsOn Tech

Community service has always been important to us. When thinking of ways we can give back, we often focus on where our strengths lie—namely, in technical knowledge. More and more frequently, Googlers who volunteer note that many incredible nonprofits around the U.S. lack the tech knowledge or resources that could immensely help their operations and their cause.

With this in mind, we got together with the HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute, to create HandsOn Tech, an initiative designed to help nonprofits effectively use technology to further their missions. Our funds will create 24 new AmeriCorps*VISTA positions, which you can apply for online now at HandsOnNetwork.org.

These AmeriCorps*VISTA members will work full-time for one year developing introductory seminars and involved in-person trainings for smaller nonprofits that are working to lift people out of poverty. HandsOn Tech will start in September with a one-week training at our campus in Mountain View, learning about both our nonprofit tools and cloud-based offerings from other technology companies like Salesforce.com and LinkedIn. Once they are armed with tech know-how, they’ll spend the rest of the year in three-person teams serving nonprofits in the Bay Area, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

Placing AmeriCorps members around the country for in-person support provides a much-needed complement to programs like Google for Nonprofits, which makes it easy for nonprofits to take advantage of offers like $10,000 a month in advertising on Google AdWords to reach more donors and free or discounted Google Apps to cut IT costs.

If you’re passionate about both technology and giving back, then we hope you’ll apply to be part of HandsOn Tech.

Posted by Matt Dunne, Head of Community Affairs