It Takes A City
Accelerate your impact with help from skilled volunteers
An Unrestricted Resource to Empower Baltimore Nonprofits
Our capacity building program is designed to extend your team and expand your skill set with a massive pool of skilled volunteers who complete tangible projects and provide expert consultation in areas such as marketing, finance, and web development so you can spend more time focusing on your mission.
We are proud to launch Catchafire Baltimore, a project supported by The Catchafire Foundation. This initiative is more than a technology tool — it provides the framework and skills to support equity across Baltimore by empowering nonprofit leaders like yourself to decide what you need to sustain your work over time, giving you more control of your organization's growth and overall impact. This program is free to all nonprofits in Baltimore — simply sign up!
Dent Education received an application from William for an Operating Budget project.
Smalltimore Homes received an application from Jessika for an Elevator Pitch Coaching project.
Smalltimore Homes received an application from Aatika for an Elevator Pitch Coaching project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Nnaemeka for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Yehloi for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Lily for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Freda matched with Randi from Metallic Luxury for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project!
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Rebecca for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Ricky for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Heaveninder for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Bill from LET'S GO Boys and Girls listed a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
LET'S GO Boys and Girls received an application from Gideon for a Logo Design & Visual Brand Identity project.
Smalltimore Homes received an application from Ted for an Elevator Pitch Coaching project.
LaQuida from Smalltimore Homes listed an Elevator Pitch Coaching project.
Dent Education received an application from Priyanshi for an Operating Budget project.
Hiral matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for a Market Analysis project!
Dent Education received an application from Cynthia for an Operating Budget project.
Dent Education received an application from Hiral for an Operating Budget project.
Dent Education received an application from Angelina for an Operating Budget project.
Micky from Dent Education listed an Operating Budget project.
Sydneigh matched with Bill from The Level Place for a Merchandising project!
Judny M. matched with Kimberley from The Joy of Living, INC for a Website Major Update project!
Greenmount East Leadership Project received an application from IRADUKUNDA for a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Greenmount East Leadership Project received an application from Ashrack for a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Lucy matched with Jessica from Caroline Center for a Website consultation call!
Amy matched with Kimberley from The Joy of Living, INC for a Brand Messaging consultation call!
Isaiah from Greenmount East Leadership Project listed a Marketing Strategy consultation call.
Harshwardhan matched with Kimberley from The Joy of Living, INC for a Storytelling project!
Chatterjee matched with Sade from Win in STEM Inc. for a Presentation Creation project!
Ben matched with Kimberley from The Joy of Living, INC for a Marketing Strategy consultation call!
Ezekiel matched with Jessica from Caroline Center for a Website consultation call!
David matched with Lynn from Baltimore Green Justice Workers Cooperative (BGJWC) for a Tech Systems consultation call!
Jan matched with Lynn from Baltimore Green Justice Workers Cooperative (BGJWC) for a Finance consultation call!
Aidan matched with Jacqueline from GOD'S TREASURES, Inc. for a Finance consultation call!
Lara matched with Lynn from Baltimore Green Justice Workers Cooperative (BGJWC) for an Organizational Strategy consultation call!
Ruanne matched with Bill from The Level Place for a Presentation Creation project!
Hannah matched with Brandy from BioTechnical Institutes Of Maryland for a Social Media consultation call!
Leigh matched with Brandy from BioTechnical Institutes Of Maryland for a Social Media consultation call!
Kelsey matched with Christine from Weekend Backpacks for Homeless Kids, Inc. for a Flyer Graphic Design project!
Stann matched with Jacqueline from GOD'S TREASURES, Inc. for a Finance consultation call!
Ashaka matched with Beth from Asylee Women Enterprise for an Individual Donor Letter project!
SESUGH matched with Esther from Sankofa Children's Museum of African Cultures, Inc for a Website Set Up (CMS-Based) project!
Alisa matched with Beth from Asylee Women Enterprise for a Leadership Coaching project!
Abigail Awisi matched with Amanda from Leadership - Baltimore County for a Flexible Graphic Design Support project!
Krystal matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for a Brochure Writing project!
Chatterjee matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for an Organizational One-Pager project!
Chantal matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for a Google Workspace Set Up project!
John matched with Michele from SPAN for a Brochure Graphic Design project!
Gabrielle matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for a Social Media Content Calendar project!
Krystal matched with David from HOPE4U20/20 for a Flyer Graphic Design project!
How It Works
1. Explore Available Projects
Browse through over 150 proven projects and post your own.2. Find Your Pro Bono Professional
Review applications from interested professionals and choose who you want to work with.3. Get The Help You Need
Kick off your project and start making progress.Two ways to connect!
Consultation Calls
Projects
Great Connections Are Made Here
How Hiral D. helped HOPE4U20/20
How Sydneigh V. helped The Level Place
How Judny M. J. helped The Joy of Living, INC
How Chatterjee P. helped Win in STEM Inc.
How David D. helped Baltimore Green Justice Workers Cooperati...
How Kelsey S. helped Weekend Backpacks for Homeless Kids, Inc.
How Alisa J. helped Asylee Women Enterprise
How Abigail Awisi B. helped Leadership - Baltimore County
How Yalambar R. helped SHARE Baltimore
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS
Work With Talented Professionals From Around the World
Finding the right match is important. Each of the 150+ proven projects contains prerequisite skills and experience, core deliverables, and time estimates, so volunteers know exactly what is required when they apply to work with you.
The rigorous application process, which includes work experience, portfolios, and statements of interest, limits applicants to those who are serious about working with you. It's not a one-click application, and it shouldn't be.
You can review up to three applications at a time, and interview candidates before deciding. The decision is yours.
What Baltimore Organizations are Saying
Frequently Asked Questions
New around here? Start with the basics.
Catchafire is an online platform for virtual, skills-based volunteering. Through Catchafire, professionals are able to directly support causes they care about by helping nonprofits with projects that match their skill sets. And because projects can be completed from anywhere, Catchafire makes it possible for organizations and skilled volunteers to connect for good, from all around the world!
Skills-based volunteering is a high impact form of volunteering that allows an individual to donate his or her professional skills and expertise, which in turn allows a nonprofit to build its capacity and focus more efficiently on its mission.
Skilled volunteers help nonprofits fill critical knowledge and staffing gaps, they work as thought partners on strategic projects, and they complete specific projects that require specialized skills, training, or experience. Very often, the relationships between volunteers and nonprofits extend far beyond the scope of the initial project that brought them together.
A specific example of skills-based volunteering is a marketing professional who volunteers to help a nonprofit create a marketing strategy.
No. Your access to Catchafire is sponsored through this program, so it’s completely free for your organization.
In order to participate, you must first register your organization and then post your first project or consultation call. Get started by visiting the Project Menu to browse through over 150+ detailed project types.
You can work on an unlimited number of projects and calls throughout your membership. Once you finish a project, just make sure to mark it “complete”.
Your posted projects are visible to Catchafire’s entire skills-based volunteer community of 40,000+ talented professionals on the platform, and millions more via Catchafire's partnership with LinkedIn. Those who are interested in your organization’s cause area and who have the skills required for your project will be able to apply.
Skills-based volunteers may apply to your projects from all across the country and around the world. We encourage you to engage with virtual skills-based volunteers. If you prefer to work with somebody local, please expect it to take longer than normal to receive applications from a professional in the area.
On average, projects are matched within two weeks. If you are not seeing the response you hoped for, please reach out to [email protected], and one of Catchafire's Nonprofit Advisors will get in touch with you.
After the interview, you can log into your account dashboard and ACCEPT or PASS on the match. Once both parties accept, you are officially matched and can begin the project! If you need to exchange any materials or have follow-up conversations to determine if it is a good fit after the interview, you are encouraged to do so.
Absolutely! Schedule a call, or email your questions to [email protected] and one of Catchafire’s Nonprofit Advisors will be in touch within 24 business hours.
About Our Approach
For a little over a decade, Catchafire has provided its platform to thousands of nonprofit organizations throughout the globe, bringing equitable systems of support to help local nonprofits maximize their impact and meet the needs of residents.
At Catchafire, we believe in inclusive capacity building that is more accessible and responsive, more deeply rooted in mutual trust, and more scalable to reach the widest range of nonprofits — with a special focus on communities that have been under-resourced and underrepresented. Because of our particular approach, we were provided the opportunity, alongside The Catchafire Foundation, to launch our platform in any city within the United States.
Through interviews with nonprofits and community members, it was clear Baltimore and its surrounding area already has all the changemakers (you!) it needs. The surest path forward to strengthening Baltimore neighborhoods is by bridging the gap to expert talent through consistent access to critical capacity building projects and operational support. You are the experts in your neighborhood and by no means do we want to change the way you advocate for your city, we simply want to exist as a resource to help you grow.
Get Started by Signing Up Today
If you have more questions, email the Catchafire team at [email protected]. We also encourage you to share this offering with any 501c3 in Baltimore.
