Africa Volunteer Corps (Public Relations Plan)
Arts in Action (Brand Identity)
Arts to Grow (Press Release)
Black and Latino Filmmaker’s Coalition (Event Planning)
Blind Project/Be A Biographer (Media Day)
Champion Access (Public Relations Plan)
ClassWish.org (Press List)
Cool Culture (One-Pager)
Cool Culture (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Drive-In Film Festival (Public Relations Plan)
Eco Africa Social Ventures (Media Day)
Eco Africa Social Ventures (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Educate! (Brand Identity)
ESB Group (Brand Identity)
For A Day Foundation (Social Media Campaign)
Forsaken Generation (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Foster Parent Advocacy Foundation (Brand Identity)
Fundacion Alas (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Gift of Living Donation (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Girls Who Rock (Brand Identity)
Givology (Media Day)
Global Cocoa Project (Brand Identity)
Global Cocoa Project (Logo Design)
Hole in the Wall Gang (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Hollaback (Media Day)
iFOSSF (Brand Identity)
InVenture Fund (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Jose Limon Dance Foundation (Social Media Campaign)
LIFT (Public Relations Plan)
Muslim Consultative Network (Public Relations Plan)
New York City Coalition Against Hunger (Social Media Strategy Plan)
OutNest (Public Relations Plan)
PandoProjects (Brand Identity)
Pencils of Promise (Public Relations Plan)
People’s Garden NYC (Public Relations Plan)
People’s Garden NYC (Social Media Strategy Plan)
PoverUP (Media Day)
PoverUP (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Public Allies New York (Social Media Campaign)
Root For Trees (Print Materials Design)
She’s the First (Event Planning)
She’s the First (Event Publicity)
South Asian Youth Action (Social Media Strategy Plan)
Stars for Students/K5NOLA (Event Publicity)
Stars for Students/K5NOLA (Social Media Campaign)
The Picture House (Print Materials Design)
Waves for Development (Event Publicity)
Working In Support of Education ( Public Relations Plan)
Young Women’s Leadership Network ( Social Media Strategy Plan)
Youth Challenge America (Social Media Strategy Plan)

CATCHAFIRE’S 50 PROJECT KICKOFF EVENT

50 Nonprofits & Social Enterprises + 50 Professionals Volunteering Their Skills =
50 Projects that will produce 2,000 volunteer hours and over $300,000 in value

MON, JUNE 28, 7:30-10:00 PM at the Puck Building (295 Lafayette Street)

RSVP: http://catchafire50.eventbrite.com/

SPEAKERS:

Rod Arnold, Charity:Water
Adam Braun, Pencils of Promise
Soraya Darabi, Drop.io
Cindy Gallop, ifwerantheworld.com
Nathan Heleine, Crush+Lovely
Jaime Soper, Pepsi Refresh
Deanna Zandt, Author of “Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking”

Who’s invited:
50 Selected New York Nonprofits & Social Enterprises. 50 Selected Catchafire Volunteers. And a crew of curious organizations & professionals who want to get to know us.

What’s going down:
We’re launching 50 projects that showcase how our volunteers will use their expertise to make a huge impact: 2,000 volunteer hours contribute over $300,000 worth of value!

Featured Speakers will discuss how social media, marketing, public relations, and design can help nonprofits and social enterprises take their organizations to the next level to make a bigger impact.

As an added bonus, all proceeds raised from our RSVPs will be donated to the nonprofit or social enterprise that gets the most votes at our event.

Want to volunteer your professionals skills?
Sign up at Catchafire & pick your projects so we can match you with an amazing nonprofit.
http://catchafire.org/registration/volunteer.php

Know a nonprofit or social enterprise organization that needs help? Pass this along and tell them to sign up today.
http://catchafire.org/registration/nonprofit.php

RSVP NOW http://catchafire50.eventbrite.com/

The hottest technology company in New York City with a social mission is expanding! Want to join a fast-paced, nimble, and hard-working team hungry to change the world? Look no further!

Catchafire is located in New York, NY. All positions are open immediately.
Please don’t apply unless you meet all of the following criteria:

-You are motivated by the opportunity to make your mark on an early-stage start-up
-You are team-oriented and can be a team leader
-You are an independent worker and thinker
-You want to make the world a better place
-You are honest, hardworking, and have a sense of humor (we don’t care if it’s warped)

Summer Associate-Nonprofit Outreach
This position is an unpaid, full-time volunteer position. Must be able to commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. The position is open immediately and will last through the end of August.

Responsibilities include:

-Help implement Catchafire’s outreach to NYC nonprofits and social enterprises
-Build relationships with nonprofits and social enterprises in the NYC area
-Identify common organizational needs and work with Catchafire’s team of industry & nonprofit experts to develop projects that meet these needs and fit the Catchafire model
-Identify new nonprofit and social enterprises in the NYC area which need skilled volunteers
-Assist with outreach to nonprofit & social enterprise networks

Qualifications:

-College grads and current grad students interested in gaining great experience at a startup more than welcome! Current undergraduates may also apply
-Must be organized, self-motivated, reliable, professional
-Experience in a professional office environment required (with a desire to work in a much more laid-back environment welcome)
-Must have a professional telephone manner and strong attention to detail in written communications
-Computer proficiency with standard office applications required.
-Knowledge of the nonprofit and social enterprise space necessary; passion for doing good and changing the world required!

Summer Associate-Volunteer Recruitment

This position is an unpaid, full-time volunteer position. Must be able to commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. The position is open immediately and will last through the end of August.

Responsibilities include:

-Help implement Catchafire’s volunteer recruitment efforts to professionals in various industries
-Build relationships with professional associations in the NYC area whose members might be potential volunteers
-Work with Catchafire’s team of industry experts to identify new outreach and recruitment strategies
-Attend networking events to recruit volunteers
-Help plan and manager events for Catchafire volunteers

Qualifications:

-College grads and current grad students interested in gaining great experience at a startup more than welcome! Current undergraduates may also apply.
-Must be organized, self-motivated, reliable, professional
-Experience in a professional office environment required (with a desire to work in a much more laid-back environment welcome).
-Must have a professional telephone manner and strong attention to detail in written communications.
-Computer proficiency with standard office applications required.
-Knowledge of the nonprofit and social enterprise space necessary; passion for doing good and changing the world required!

To apply, please email Jane Slusser at jane@catchafire.org with your resume and a cover letter letting us know why you’re both qualified for and interested in the position. Jane likes humor, good stories, and people who read instructions, so please include your funniest/worst/most moving/craziest volunteer experience.

The hottest technology company in New York City with a social mission is expanding! Want to join a fast-paced, nimble, and hard-working team hungry to change the world? Look no further!

Catchafire is located in New York, NY. All positions are open immediately.

Please don’t apply unless you meet all of the following criteria:
-You are motivated by the opportunity to make your mark on an early‐stage start‐up
-You are team-oriented and can be a team leader
-You are an independent worker and thinker
-You want to make the world a better place
-You are honest, hardworking, and have a sense of humor (we don’t care if it’s warped)

Back End Web Developer
Responsibilities
You will be the primary back end developer and responsible for everything that goes with it, including our matching algorithm, community tools, and corporate solution API.

Qualifications
- Highly experienced in back end technologies. You must know your basic LAMP stack technologies down cold and others are a plus. You have your own philosophy on how back end environments should be organized, structured, and accessed.
- Expert in creating, optimizing, and maintaining a scalable, data-heavy back end.
- Strong working knowledge in web architecture, object-oriented software, and design patterns.
- Strong working knowledge of html, css and javascript.
- Mastery of the Linux environment.
- You have, or will quickly develop, an in-depth understanding of scalability and the challenges that fast-growing web applications experience.
- You believe in rapid prototyping and fast-paced development.
- You have the experience, knowledge and confidence to be a leader and own your own work. You have a passion for excellence and getting things right.
- You are customer oriented and have a passion to build things that are easy and enjoyable to use. You enjoy a UI challenge.
- You are an independent worker and creative thinker. You will not be handed specs. You will be expected to help develop these specs.
- When you are engaged in a project, you have a vision for success and a plan to execute on it.
- You are hungry to learn new things and develop new skills.
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in computer science or equivalent preferred.

Compensation & Benefits
- Highly competitive package for a early-stage, angel-funded start-up
- Generous healthcare benefits
- Unlimited vacation days
- Casual and fun work environment (bring your dog to work!)
- Flexible hours

To apply, email Rachael Chong at rachael@catchafire.org with your resume and a cover letter letting us know why you’re both qualified for and interested in the position.

Front End Web Developer
Responsibilities
You will be the primary front end developer and responsible for everything that goes with it, including a vision for success, a plan to execute on this vision, spec development, usability testing, and analytics.

Qualifications
- Highly experienced in front end technologies. You have at least 3 years of experience in javascript development as well as the ability to read, write and build using HTML, CSS and JS by hand. You have your own philosophy on how front end code should be organized and structured.
- Experienced in the use of one or more common javascript frameworks. (e.g. Prototype or JQuery)
- You are comfortable working in a Linux environment.
- Strong working knowledge of web architecture, object-oriented software, and design patterns
- You have a very strong understanding of UI design. You have your own philosophy on how to build and design pages that are extremely user friendly.
- You have experience managing website designers and enjoy it.
- You enjoy and are proficient in user testing.
- You have, or will quickly develop, an in-depth understanding of scalability and the challenges that fast-growing web applications experience
- You believe in rapid prototyping and fast-paced development.
- You have the experience, knowledge and confidence to be a leader and own your own work.
- You have a passion for excellence and getting things right.
- You are customer oriented and have a passion to build things that are easy and enjoyable to use. You enjoy a UI challenge.
- You are an independent worker and creative thinker. You will not be handed specs. You will be expected to help develop these specs.
- When you are engaged in a project, you have a vision for success and a plan to execute on it.
- You are hungry to learn new things and develop new skills.
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in computer science or equivalent preferred.

Compensation & Benefits
- Highly competitive package for a early-stage, angel-funded start-up
- Generous healthcare benefits
- Unlimited vacation days
- Casual and fun work environment (bring your dog to work!)
- Flexible hours

To apply, email Rachael Chong at rachael@catchafire.org with your resume and a cover letter letting us know why you’re both qualified for and interested in the position.

Catchafire’s Public Relations & Communications projects help connect big-mouths who know how to stir up attention with nonprofits and social enterprises who do good, but are too busy/shy/modest to talk themselves up!

Learn more about our current projects and those we’re rolling out in the next few days. You’ll see that what’s good for an organization is also good for a volunteer!

Public Relations Plan

If no one knows about an organization, does it exist? Certainly, and they still do good. But wouldn’t it be great if everyone knew a little more about the great things that organizations like Global Cocoa Project, Scout Banana, or Africa Volunteer Corps do every day? Help these organizations and many more gain more exposure with a strong PR plan in place!

As a Catchafire volunteer, you can help a great organization identify its target audiences, key messages, and outreach channels. You can also teach the organization a thing or two about the tactics to achieve their public relations goals, such as media kits, press lists, and press releases (all of which are offered as separate Catchafire projects)!

Press List

How will nonprofits tell the world about all the amazing things they do if they don’t know who can help spread the word?
Classwish.org connects teachers with the supplies their classrooms need. But who will connect Classwish.org to the media outlets that can carry their message to a broader audience?

As a volunteer, this is not about passing over a list of your valuable contacts. It’s about getting the opportunity to reconnect or introduce yourself to some awesome folks in the media to let them know about some of the amazing work an organization is doing. Impress your contacts with the fact that you’re a do-gooder

Press Release

Great, we’ve got a plan, and we know who to talk to, but what is a nonprofit or social enterprise supposed to say? All this hard work won’t matter if an organization doesn’t have a compelling way to present the exciting and newsworthy things that it does. Help an organization by crafting a press release and getting media outlets to pick up their stories to secure some of that that ever-elusive “buzz.”

Spruce up your pitching skills, and do it in a fun way! Getting bored pitching the same things every day at work? Maybe you’d rather pitch Arts to Grow, a nonprofit offering children the chance to explore the visual, literary and performing arts in communities that don’t have the resources to do this. Not only will you feel better, it might be a bit more fun than pitching the “exciting” launch of a new gum flavor.

One-Pager

Did you make it this far? I’m surprised, because let’s face it, everyone’s got a short attention span when it comes to written documents! To stand out, every organization needs a clear, concise one-pager to describe itself. iFOSSF wants to accelerate the development and usage of open technology and open standards for sustained and social development, especially for the socially disadvantaged. You can help them describe all the things they do to achieve that mission…in just one page!

As a Catchafire volunteer, learn everything about an organization, and rise to the challenge of describing it in a clear concise document! Everyone who comes into contact with the organization will be reading your words to understand the amazing work the organization does!

Coming soon!
Event Planning That’s right, nonprofits and social enterprises like to party, too! Help them plan their events!

Event Publicity Someone else will plan all the nitty gritty details. You just use your big mouth to spread the word about the amazing event! Want to practice event publicity early? Spread the word about Catchafire’s 50 Project Kickoff!

Media/Press Kit Help a nonprofit or social enterprise organize all of its amazing media collateral into one easy-to-disseminate press kit.

Media Day What’s more fun than reconnecting with your contacts, making some new ones, and introducing them to the amazing organization you’re volunteering with?

Annual Report New Year’s resolutions fade by mid-January. Annual reports last at least 365 days! Help organize this powerful communications tool & learn everything you wanted to know and more about the organization you’re volunteering with.

Catchafire is planning an exciting service event for late June to kick off 50 projects with professionals who want to volunteer their skills with some outstanding NYC nonprofits that need their help.

Catchafire is revolutionizing the way people volunteer by helping them give what they’re good at. We’re also providing nonprofits with access to professional services they would otherwise be unable to find and/or afford. Our skilled service event will showcase the impact of this powerful and revolutionary volunteering model.

We’re looking for an incredibly organized Event Planner to help us manage some of the logistics for this event. Our event committee is full of amazing professionals who can connect us to a number of amazing resources (free space, food, drink, music, etc.). All we need is a great Event Planner (who is passionate about our mission) to help coordinate these details and manage the overall planning.

This 1 month project starts ASAP. If interested, please email jane@catchafire.org by Friday, May 28th.

If you’re not an event planner, but would like to help (whether it’s by providing food, music, drinks, your photography/video/AV skills), we’d love to have you involved. Please email jane@catchafire.org and indicate how you’d like to help us with this amazing event.

Volunteering should never leave you feeling like you’ve just eaten a slice of cafeteria mystery meatloaf.

That’s a fundamental belief here at Catchafire. Whether you’re a volunteer, a nonprofit, or a social enterprise, you should know what you’re getting into before you start a volunteer project. Catchafire’s Project Menu makes sure that’s the case.

Why does volunteering sometimes suck and sometimes not? The success or failure of a volunteer experience can almost always be traced to the very beginning. If both parties share clear expectations, projects usually succeed; if they don’t, projects often end in disappointment for both the volunteer and the nonprofit. The best volunteer groups know they need to set expectations, and they do this for many volunteer projects which are unrelated to a volunteer’s professional skills.

An outstanding organization like New York Cares connects New Yorkers to one-time, one-day volunteer experiences. If I want to join a group to clean up my neighborhood park, New York Cares makes sure I know what that entails. I need to show up at the park one Saturday to work from 9-3, wearing comfy shoes and clothes that I don’t mind getting dirty. Our goal is to pick up trash and plant trees. At the end of the day, when the park is clean and green, I’m satisfied to see concrete results, which clearly match what New York Cares told me to expect.

When people try to volunteer their professional skills, unfortunately, expectations are rarely set and projects are almost never scoped out in advance. Volunteers don’t know what they’re committing to, nonprofits don’t know what they’re getting, neither party is clear on the timeline of the partnership, and neither agrees to what will be delivered. It’s no wonder so many skills-based volunteering experiences end in disappointment: the nonprofit feeling it invested too much time and resources in a volunteer who didn’t stick around to finish a project, and the volunteer feeling as though she signed up for a project that morphed into something entirely different.

Over the past year, we have worked tirelessly to get to the root of why nonprofits struggle to use people who want to volunteer their professional skills (like public relations, marketing, finance, and IT). We found that most nonprofits don’t do a great job of breaking down their needs into concrete projects and deliverables that a volunteer can complete. Either nonprofit staff lack the expertise (in marketing, public relations, technology, etc.) to determine what these projects should look like, or they lack the time to do it (they are busy changing the world, after all). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all nonprofits had someone to scope out the projects that meet their needs AND recruit the volunteers who are willing and able to complete those projects? We thought so, and created the Project Menu.

Catchafire’s Project Menu presents and structures skills-based volunteer projects in a way that sets nonprofits and volunteers up for success. After spending countless hours talking to nonprofits over the past year, we noticed they expressed the same needs over and over again: “I need marketing help,” “I want to develop an online social media presence,” or “I hear Twitter can help my organization, but how?” These needs are common to nonprofits (and social enterprises) big and small, whether they’ve been around for a hundred years or 6 months, and whether they help the environment or raise awareness about domestic abuse. We consolidated common nonprofit needs and created project templates around them, which free up the nonprofit’s and volunteer’s time to actually get the work done.

Our projects are designed to make it easy for a busy professional to volunteer and deliver a good product, to minimize the amount of time a nonprofit spends managing a project, and to maximize the results of the volunteer partnership. All projects in our Project Menu are defined by three important characteristics:

1. Short-term: Catchafire projects take no more than 5 hours a week of a volunteer’s time, and are completed in less than 2 months.

2. Discrete: Catchafire projects produce a concrete deliverable, and outline the steps a nonprofit and volunteer need to take to achieve it.

3. Individual: Catchafire projects can be completed by one individual with the right skills.

Each project also contains a list of nonprofit and volunteer requirements, so it’s easy to know what each party must bring to the table to ensure a project’s success. As an added bonus, we’ve estimated the time each project requires from a volunteer, and the value of the project at-market prices.

Whether you’re a volunteer or a nonprofit, we want to get your projects off to a great start so that you can come back to tell us all your success stories. Sign up at Catchafire and then check out our Project Menu, to see what projects we currently offer.

If you don’t see what you want, keep in mind that we’re rolling out new projects constantly. If you have an idea for a project we can add, email jane@catchafire.org. We’ll be rolling out more based on those most often requested!

What a big day. Catchafire’s first birthday. My baby’s growing up. She (I think she’s more a she than a he) now has two other parents. She’s had a lot of nannies over the past year, who have all been great and still come and visit; but now, I’m glad that I’ve finally found her stability in Kevin and Jane. Three parents, yeah. Three’s better than two, I think. We’re a progressive family, and we’d like to add more to the mix when we’re ready.

Catchafire’s grown A LOT in her first year. She’s outgrown her first logo, her first set of wireframes, and her first crib. We’re excited to see how she develops over the next year. She’ll take her first steps, cut her first tooth, speak her first word, and so I’ve been told, with greater independence, she’ll “begin to show defiant behavior, recognize herself in pictures, and imitate the behavior of others.”

We’ll be sure to catch all of this on video so you can share the joy with us.

Happy Birthday Catchafire! We’re so proud of you!

Last Tuesday, we held our first Catchafire Meetup over at Local in Soho. We drew a nice crowd of professionals from a wide range of industries and amazing nonprofits.

For a little over two hours, our professionals and nonprofit do-gooders networked, discovered some unexpected Catchafire connections (two discovered that they’re attending the same wedding this summer), talked about the joys of volunteering (with one of our very own Pilot volunteers!), and discussed some great nonprofits and their missions (including one that made a rather squeamish Jane faint: promoting blood donation).

All in all it was a wonderful evening and we look forward to these weekly meetups as a way for our online corps of do-gooders to connect with each other offline for a mix of networking and socializing. So mark your calendars for Wednesdays with Catchafire!!

Our next meetup will be Wednesday, April 21, at Local (Sullivan St. between Prince & Houston). We’ll be celebrating National Volunteering Week, so come ready to share your most inspiring, life-changing, hilarious, or disastrous volunteer experience! Of course, we’ll also be talking about the great volunteer opportunities Catchafire will be able to provide you!

Please RSVP on Facebook

Have a great idea for a meetup theme? Email loretta@catchafire.org who’s helping us make these events as fun and meaningful as they can be for our volunteers!

Hope to catch with you on Wednesday!

In less than one week, we’re opening up registration for nonprofits and volunteers. Be the first to join the skills-based volunteer movement we’re going to ignite!

Rachael, Jane, and an amazing team of media and nonprofit professionals are putting the finishing touches on our menu of projects. Wanna hear more about our experts and the amazing work they’re doing? Look for a post on Monday!

Kevin is deep in code, getting the site ready for the groundswell of volunteers and nonprofits who want to be the first to register!

You are counting down the days till you can make an impact!

Register on the 15th and watch as Catchafire rolls out interesting ways for you to get involved:

Volunteers will sign up for projects that allow you to volunteer your skills for the causes you’re passionate about!

Nonprofits will sign up to access professional skills that you never imagined you could find or afford!