How it works
We have met many tech companies in which the decision makers (often C-level management) are truly and personally invested in making a meaningful impact. In such scenarios, they assign a Special Projects Team to work on impactful projects as a part of their “regular business”. While the pro-bono program is ongoing, the team composition can vary, allowing more employees to participate in impactful projects depending on the specific technology needs. By providing a space for the Special Projects Team to develop non-commercial projects and fostering a creative, friendly environment, these tech companies report unexpected business benefits as a by-product of these cooperations: new business ideas can emerge, that have the potential to be developed into the company’s business offerings. This approach benefits all parties involved.
What is the typical scale of engagement in this model?
This is an ongoing commitment
Benefits for your company:
- Special teams focused on completing impactful projects provide the opportunity to employees to boost their sense of agency and creativity;
- Employees get familiar with different perspectives beyond doing “business-as-usual”, as well as enjoy a boost of energy that can prove beneficial across all projects;
- It can help the company to create new ideas and solutions that can be commercialized in the future;
- It can boost your brand value perception and become a unique value proposition within your market / competitive landscape.
Tech To The Rescue recommended process to work with this model:
Step 1
Establish the goals of the Special Projects Team: what values do you stand for and what kinds of causes do you want to get engaged in?
Step 2
Define the area of work for the team. This can be done by targeting projects from a specific country or region, or you might want them to explore specific tech requirements.
Step 3
Decide on the size, skills, and bandwidth of the team, so you know what your capacity is in terms of project length and complexity.
Step 4
Pick the right nonprofit organization and project that fits all your above criteria. You can also contact one of our Matching Managers to help you select your nonprofit partner.
Risks management:
Once you have the bandwidth of your team defined, make sure that you have a clear roadmap and another impact project in the pipeline to avoid empty mileage. This can also help your team to avoid unproductive time and ensure that the group is achieving its goals.
DareIT invited mentees of the DareIT Mentoring Program to support projects proposed by Tech To The Rescue (TTTR). The mentees, most of whom are on the path of re-skilling to IT professions, formed teams and selected projects to be implemented. The mentees showed remarkable responsibility and demonstrated well-developed skills – both technical and soft (e.g. communication). The cooperation with TTTR enabled us to offer them a way to gain practical experience, the lack of which they mentioned as one of the main obstacles to getting a job in a new industry. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Tech To The Rescue and further support doing good while developing the skills of women in IT.
Anna Miler, project manager at Dare IT
