How You Can Help Nonprofit Organizations

Analytics professionals like you have helped corporations transform data into insight for making better decisions, saving costs and enhancing revenue. Now here’s your chance to bring those same skills to the nonprofit world. We invite you to work in partnership with organizations that assist underserved communities, alleviate social injustice, protect the environment, and serve a host of other worthwhile missions. Helping nonprofits with data analytics is an excellent way to guarantee that our work is able to yield positive social impact in addition to boosting companies' bottom lines.

Wherever you are in your career, you’ll find many benefits in volunteering your time and talent through Pro Bono Analytics (PBA). You will:

Make a contribution and a difference to underserved communities
Expand the depth and breadth of your CV
Interact with people who are passionate about the work of their organizations and appreciative of the contributions you bring
Be exposed to new analytics problems, different from what you may have encountered in your education and work
Demonstrate your soft skills in facilitation and communication
Take a project through the full cycle of problem definition to solution
Continue to usefully apply your skills in society, even after retirement
Raise the profile of analytics in this important sector

Volunteer Process Overview

Our steps are designed to meet you where your availability and commitment to volunteering resides. We’ve done our best to optimize the process of getting the right volunteer skill sets in front of nonprofit organizations with analytics problems. Many of our projects are done remotely so you can fit a project into whatever time you have available each week, although in-person visits may be possible if you are located near a project organization.

For tips on how to build productive relationships with nonprofit clients and more information about the PBA process in general, please read this document from Pro Bono Analytics Committee member Michael Johnson.

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Step 1: Apply for Project

PBA will notify you when a project becomes available. Similar to a job posting, you can apply by filling out an online form (including a brief statement of your experience and expertise related to the project's needs, and whether you'd prefer to work alone or with a team) and uploading a resume/CV.

Step 2: Interview Stage

Interview calls will be set up with applicants who are selected by the project organization, a PBA committee member, and the nonprofit staff. Like any interview, this can give a better understanding of the nonprofit’s goals and define the problem and project. This is also the time to discuss the time commitment expected of you (typically three to five hours per week, but subject to negotiation) and whether you would be required to sign any legal documents.

Step 3: Team Created

The final decision of who will work on a project rests with the nonprofit organization. They will assemble a team between one or more volunteers and their staff.

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Step 4: Project Commences

Once any required legal documents have been signed, you, your fellow volunteers, and the project organization work together directly to complete the project. Pro Bono Analytics steps back from direct involvement but we maintain contact with everyone to check on progress and serve as a resource if needed.

Would you be a good fit?

Here is a list of questions that a potential volunteer might ask themselves when considering joining PBA:

Do I have a few hours available each week to dedicate to a project?
Am I looking to add more experience and examples of my skills to my resume or CV?
Do I want to find a way to give back to a community that utilizes my particular skill set?
Do I have a level of knowledge to confidently serve as an expert for a non-analytics audience?
Am I looking to keep my analytics and operations research knowledge sharpened?

Sound like you? Great! Please note: We accept volunteers regardless of citizenship or visa status. To our knowledge, PBA projects do not interfere with visa status, but it is up to the volunteer to verify with their immigration lawyer if there is a need for additional documentation prior to engaging in a PBA project.

Interested in what projects we’ve already completed?

Click here to view case studies that can be sorted by nonprofit sector, the analytics problem the organization started with, and what method was used to solve their problem.

Wondering if any PBA projects are currently recruiting volunteers?

Click here to view any available projects. Be sure to check back periodically and follow our social media feeds on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for new project announcements.

Consider joining our volunteer pool!

Filling out the form below will enter you into our volunteer pool and ensure you receive notifications of new Pro Bono Analytics projects and other updates. You can resubmit/update your information at any time using the same form.

If you are located in the United Kingdom, you might also be interested in a parallel Pro Bono OR volunteer program conducted by the UK's Operational Research Society.

The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, which has a partnership with INFORMS, is encouraging its members to be PBA volunteers.

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