Intended audience: DataKind Volunteers
Volunteers are the lifeblood of DataKind! Our volunteers strategically apply their expertise to critical issues such as poverty, healthcare access, and mitigating the impacts of climate change, while working directly with both DataKind staff and our social impact partners.
If you are interested in volunteering, start by creating a volunteer profile so we can review your skills and experiences and let you know when projects arise that may be a good fit. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and join our Slack community to stay in the loop about upcoming volunteer opportunities and events.
Types of volunteer opportunities
There are a few ways in which you can volunteer at DataKind:
- Join a Chapter: Chapters are groups of local volunteers that organize events and connect with local mission-driven organizations to complete Data Science and AI for Good projects. We are constantly learning; the Playbook is designed to be continuously updated as our processes and recommendations evolve.
- Volunteer for a DataDive® event: DataDive events are high energy, marathon-style happenings where mission-driven organizations work alongside teams of volunteer data scientists, developers, and designers to use data to gain insight into their programs, the communities they serve and more - all in 48 hours or less!
- Volunteer for a DataCorps® project: DataCorps projects bring together teams of pro bono data scientists with social change organizations on long-term projects that use data science to transform their work and their sector.
- Additional volunteer opportunities: Sometimes we will invite volunteers to apply for specific one-off volunteer roles. When this happens, we will send an email and share about it in our community Slack. These roles often require specific skills and experience and are detailed in the application process.
To learn more about real DataKind volunteers and the types of work they do, check out the “volunteer spotlight” series in our blog.
Volunteer Requirements
If you have little to no data science experience, that’s ok! We highly recommend volunteering for our DataDive events. They are a great way to learn or test new skills, and all skill levels are welcome.
For more specialized volunteer roles like a DataCorps® project, we typically look for volunteers with specific skills in data science, statistics, coding, data engineering, data visualization, and/or project management.
Benefits of volunteering with DataKind
Besides the warm fuzzy feeling you get from helping others, benefits of volunteering with DataKind include:
- Engaging with your local community, leaders and volunteers toward impact.
- Networking with peer DataKind Chapter members, volunteers, and staff globally.
- Presenting on behalf of DataKind at data science and social sector conferences.
- Learning lots of cool data solutions.
- Contributing to DataKind’s mission of positive social impact locally and globally.
- You may be able to double or even triple your impact! Some companies match their employees’ financial donations and/or volunteer time to nonprofit organizations.
Questions about volunteering?
Feel free to email us at community@datakind.org or schedule time with our office hours to discuss.
Contributer(s): Shanna Lee
Contact us
If you would like to learn more about us, partner with us, or get in touch, email us at community@datakind.org
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