Making an impact, together
The GitHub Social Impact Team connects the social sector to the GitHub community and GitHub employees as they shape the future of technology. We pledge to provide resources for people to make lasting change—in their communities and around the world.
Programs for the social sector
How we’re making a difference
From conducting research to investing in social good organizations, our programs help teams amplify their impact.
Program
Open Source for Good
We created the Open Source for Good program to help decision-makers understand the power of open source. Our work focuses on four areas.
Research
We uncover open source challenges in the social sector, and drive research to help organizations.
Guides and tools
We create case studies and resources to highlight open source solutions for organizations.
Community-building
We bring together experts and communities around topics that are relevant in the social sector.
Sponsorship
We support community events that promote Open Source for Good mentorship and projects.
Report New
Open Source in the Social Sector
The most comprehensive report exploring opportunities and barriers the social sector faces using open source.
- Insights from 55 interviews, two conferences, and more than 350 survey respondents working at the intersection of open source and social good
- Research showing how open source software increases operational efficiency through better collaboration and reduced redundancy
- Practical steps the social sector can take to increase open source adoption
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Watch our Open Source for Good talk from GitHub Satellite
Learn about how open source is being used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Featured organizations
Learn about these organizations working with our Open Source for Good program.
Chayn is an intersectional organization working to reduce domestic and gender-based violence. We’re working with them to collect insights about the social sector. Check out their Soul Medicine project and consider sponsoring their work.
Hikaya is an organization that helps nonprofits understand, define, and use metrics for better programming in resource-constrained areas. We’re working with them on a case study about their open source work. Consider sponsoring their projects.
We were a sponsor of MERL Tech DC, a conference dedicated to technology in monitoring and evaluation (M&E;). Together, we’re building tools to help M&E; professionals understand and use open source solutions.
Want to build a better future?
Explore open source projects that could use your help with our volunteer partner, Ovio, and start making a difference today.
Program
Tech Pipeline
To make sure the next generation of developers includes the most underserved communities in the world, we partnered with seven organizations to create the Tech Pipeline. We’re helping in three major ways.
Education
We help employees educate more communities about Git, GitHub, and open source.
Mentorship
We create opportunities for GitHub employees to mentor new developers and young professionals.
Community
We host events for students from under-represented communities at GitHub HQ and around the world.
Featured organizations
Learn about these organizations working with our Tech Pipeline program.
Code Tenderloin helps bring economic equity and a sense of community to the marginal populations in and around San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. We recently brought a group of aspiring developers to meet employees at GitHub HQ for mentorship and job preparation.
By providing LGBTQ+ youth with the tools to create innovative technology solutions, Maven Youth inspires a new generation to advocate for social change. We partner with Maven on events like their free Summer Tech Camp for LGBTQ+ youth.
Get started free
Free GitHub tools for social good projects
Thousands of organizations use GitHub to build solutions for the world’s most pressing problems. We’re happy to give qualifying teams the tools they need to work on social good projects for free.
How GitHub employees get involved
We believe in sharing our time, resources, and platform to help improve our local and global communities.
Volunteering
Every year, GitHub employees get a full week of paid time off to volunteer in their communities.
Matching
When an employee donates to a cause they care about, we match it dollar for dollar, up to $15,000.
Building awareness
We host events to connect GitHub employees with leaders from social good organizations.