At IT4Causes, we’re re-inventing IT volunteerism while we’re serving local nonprofits. All it takes is a few hours a month, either short term or on-going. Check out the new opportunities for you to consider!
Ongoing Opportunities
Marketing and Branding Committee
The all-volunteer Marketing and Branding Committee works to get out the IT4Causes’ message about our mission to provide stable, secure, and sustainable IT solutions that enable other nonprofit organizations to focus on their missions and serve their clients better, with lower total cost to their organization and the community. We do this through social media, marketing collateral, event organizing, and fundraising.
The committee meets for one hour each week in the evening (currently it’s Monday 6-7 PM, but open to change after the holidays), and attendance at all meetings is not required. We break up the work into manageable tasks that leverage each person’s availability, skills, and comfort zones. It’s always a vibrant discussion and a great way network and learn new skills while helping a great cause!
We are always looking for people with experience or interest in working with the public, social media, and/or fundraising.
Technical Advisory Group
The all-volunteer Technical Advisory Group is works actively to identify, evaluate, and select each component of the IT4Causes’ solution set. They meet as needed.
Project-specific Opportunities
Business Systems Analysts
We have a 3 – 4 month project starting in December which will implement a social services case management system using a cloud-based process management tool. This work will benefit a group of 10 agencies who provide support for early education, family self-sufficiency, and physical and behavioral health for children in Richmond’s Northside, as well as around the state.
We are seeking assistance in documenting current business process, identifying reporting requirements, mapping those processes to built-in capabilities in the tool, and strategizing how to configure the tool to implement the process. The specific tool is the ETO product from Social Solutions, so experience with that system would be amazing but is not at all necessary.
This work will occur in 2-4 hour blocks primarily during the business day. We are seeking people who can provide 8-16 hours per month for the 3-4 month timeframe starting in December.
WordPress Site Migration
We have a small scope project with the Central Virginia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. They have small WordPress website dedicated to National Philanthropy Day (www.RVANPD.org) that’s currently hosted on GoDaddy but needs to be migrated to our shared hosting option to save them a couple of hundred dollars a year.
It’s a straight-forward backup/import/test, so it would take a WordPress guru an hour or two, or someone with intermediate WP skills 2-4 hours.
Mac Equipment Configuration, Setup, and User Migration
One of our clients, Art180, is updating the Apple computers in their shop. ART 180 gives young people the chance to express themselves through art, and to share their stories with others. They create and provide art-related programs to young people living in challenging circumstances, encouraging personal and community change through self-expression…
We’re looking for a couple volunteers to come out for an afternoon/early evening during the first week of January to set up the new machines, configure them and load appropriate software, and migrate user accounts to the new machines.
If you’re the person the Mac owners in your family call when they buy a new computer, then you are exactly the person we’re looking for to help lead this. If you aspire to be that person, then you should consider helping with this one as a learning experience.
New Client System Assessments
We’re working with a new client (our largest to date), and we need to learn what IT solutions they currently have, what their needs are, and gaps between actual and desired states.
IT4Causes could really use a couple of seasoned IT consultants to join us in a series of conversations to understand this agency and work with us to improve their strategy, identify the areas of biggest concern, propose solutions, and estimate the work (including how much volunteer involvement we use).
We have an assessment framework that we used a few dozen times with our nonprofit clients; we’ll give you an overview of that so you’re not starting from scratch.
If you know what ITIL is, and you’ve used it or similar models to assess capabilities and needs, and you can spare 6-10 hours spread over the month of January (50% on-site in Richmond during normal business hours, 50% whenever/wherever you choose), then please reach out to us about this opportunity! We can probably support 2 or 3 people in this capacity, or one person who is able to really throw their back into this engagement.
Mentoring in Basic Computer and Programming Skills
The Daily Planet is doing a “Know The Code” program to help residents in their Safe Haven program learn more about computers and technology. Each resident is given a computer kit to assemble, and then works with a couple local high school students to build some simple programs. We are looking for 4-6 volunteers, preferably with some programming experience, to come to help them for a few hours on 3-4 Saturday mornings, starting in January. If this sounds like something that would interest you, sign up below!
Interested?
Then please go to http://www.it4causes.org/volunteer-form/ and complete our sign-up form today, and we’ll contact you in the very near future! Already registered? Then let Rebecca.Keller@IT4Causes.org know!