Hack for LA

What Hack for LA does

Hack for LA is a volunteer-driven civic technology nonprofit founded in 2013 and based in Los Angeles. It recruits civic-minded volunteers — including coders, designers, researchers, testers, business analysts, project and product managers, data scientists, dev ops engineers, writers, and marketers — who commit 6-15 hours per week to build pro bono digital products, programs, and services in collaboration with local government agencies and nonprofit organizations serving the LA region. The organization operates as a project under Civic Tech Structure, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as the legal and financial umbrella, and is a member of the Code for America Brigade Network. All operations are conducted remotely via Zoom, and the organization has 1-10 employees, with delivery capacity coming from its volunteer base.

The organization's technical portfolio is built on standard open source web technologies, managed through GitHub version control with mandatory two-factor authentication for contributors. Its product ecosystem comprises the main HackforLA.org informational website, a Design Systems initiative providing reusable components, styles, templates, and code standards, a Projects Platform for project listing and coordination, an Events Platform integrated with Meetup for Onboarding Nights, Workshops, Happy Hours, and Project Team Meetings, Communities of Practice for cross-project collaboration in Data Science, Engineering, DevOps, Project/Product Management, and UI/UX, and a Toolkit of guides and templates for open source civic tech development. Integrations include Slack for communication, Figma for design, SoGoSurvey and Otter.ai for research and transcription, and Google Analytics, Mixpanel, and Hotjar for usage analytics.

Hack for LA's business model is donation-based and non-commercial. It does not sell products or services. Revenue consists of tax-deductible donations processed through Civic Tech Structure, Inc. via Stripe, corporate sponsorships (Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, Carbon Five, and Sip and Sonder), and in-kind software and services donations from partners that largely cover infrastructure costs. The organization has no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no equity structure; ownership is nonprofit with volunteer participation. The addressable "customer" base comprises local government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the LA region, while civic-minded volunteers constitute the operational core.

Name

Hack for LA

Legal name

Civic Tech Structure, Inc.

Website

https://hackforla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hack for LA is a volunteer-driven civic technology nonprofit that builds pro bono digital products, programs, and services for Los Angeles-area government agencies and nonprofit organizations, operating as a project under Civic Tech Structure, Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Technology Software

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

Keywords

• Civic technology
• Open source software
• Volunteer tech services
• Community development
• Nonprofit software projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: Hack for LA accepts donations through Civic Tech Structure, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible. The organization also receives support from corporate sponsors including Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, Carbon Five, and Sip and Sonder. Infrastructure costs are covered through in-kind software and services donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hack for LA brings together civic-minded volunteers to build open source digital products, programs, and services in collaboration with local government agencies and nonprofit organizations to address civic issues in the Los Angeles region. Deliverables include civic technology products, shared design systems, volunteer onboarding infrastructure, and curated open source development resources — all provided pro-bono. The organization operates as a project of Civic Tech Structure, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that processes tax-deductible donations on its behalf.

Product overview

Hack for LA is a civic tech volunteer organization that builds digital products, programs, and services with community partners and local government to address issues in the Los Angeles region. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected products and resources: the HackforLA.org Website serves as the main public-facing platform; the Design Systems project provides shared components and standards across all projects; the Projects Platform showcases and coordinates civic tech initiatives; the Events Platform manages volunteer onboarding and workshops; Communities of Practice foster cross-project collaboration in Data Science, Engineering, DevOps, Product Management, and UI/UX; and the Toolkit provides guides and templates for open source development. This is not a single software product but rather an ecosystem of volunteer-driven civic tech initiatives supported by shared infrastructure and standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HackforLA.org Website The main public-facing website for Hack for LA, providing information about events, projects, volunteer opportunities, partner resources, and the organization's mission for volunteers, government partners, nonprofit partners, and the general public.
• Design Systems A centralized open source design system providing reusable components, styles, templates, and code standards with documentation for Hack for LA projects. It serves as a single source of truth for designers and developers to create consistent, accessible, and responsive design deliverables across all civic tech projects.
• Projects Platform A project listing and coordination platform that showcases Hack for LA's portfolio of civic tech projects. It enables volunteers to browse, filter, and find projects matched to their interests, skills, and availability, supporting onboarding and engagement across the volunteer community.
• Communities of Practice Cross-project professional communities spanning Data Science, Engineering, DevOps, Project/Product Management, and UI/UX. They provide networking, mentorship, practice standards, and guides for Hack for LA volunteers, enabling skill development and knowledge sharing across civic tech projects.
• Events Platform An event coordination system that manages Hack for LA's Onboarding Nights, Workshops, Happy Hours, and online project team meetings. It is integrated with Meetup for event registration, scheduling, and community engagement, supporting volunteer recruitment and ongoing participation.
• Toolkit A curated collection of open source guides, templates, and tools for civic tech development. It covers 2FA setup, Kanban project boards, Figma usage, GitHub workflows, survey reporting dashboards, and other practical resources used by volunteers on Hack for LA projects.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Code for America Brigade NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHack for LA was incubated within the Code for America Brigade Network and continues under Civic Tech Structure, Inc. The network provides civic-minded technologists who contribute toward using the web as a platform for local government and community service. Code for America provides proven methodologies and community support.
• Civic Tech Structure, Inc.coreOthersHack for LA is a project of Civic Tech Structure, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This is the parent organization that manages Hack for LA and processes donations. All legal, financial, and organizational governance flows through this entity.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• DataKind: Nonprofit that mobilizes volunteer data scientists to work with social-impact organizations. Comparable volunteer-with-NGO model and civic-tech adjacency, though DataKind focuses specifically on data science projects.

Direct peers

• OpenOakland: Oakland-based Code for America Brigade chapter that organizes volunteer technologists to build civic apps for the local community. Same volunteer-driven, open-source civic-tech model as Hack for LA, just in a different city.
• BetaNYC: A New York City-based civic-tech volunteer brigade in the Code for America network. Closely comparable to Hack for LA as a peer city chapter building open-source tools with local government and community partners.
• Code for Boston: Boston-area civic-tech brigade in the Code for America network. Comparable as a volunteer chapter pairing skilled technologists with municipal and nonprofit partners to ship open-source civic projects.
• Open Seattle: Seattle civic-tech volunteer group affiliated with the Code for America Brigade Network. Directly comparable in mission, structure, and reliance on volunteer labor to serve local government.

Broad incumbents

• Code for America: National civic-tech nonprofit and parent of the Brigade Network of which Hack for LA is a chapter. Directly comparable as it convenes technologists to build digital services for government, but operates at a national scale with paid staff and foundation funding.
• US Digital Response: National nonprofit that connects pro-bono technologists with state and local governments. Comparable in pairing skilled volunteers with government tech needs, but operates with paid staff and a broader national footprint.
• Microsoft Tech for Social Impact: Microsoft's nonprofit and civic-tech program offering discounted cloud and tools to NGOs and governments. Comparable at the customer level (serving civic-tech and nonprofit digital transformation needs), though delivered as a commercial vendor program.

Regional players

• Civic Innovation Toronto: Toronto-based civic-tech community fostering collaboration between residents, technologists, and city staff. Comparable mission and volunteer/open-source ethos, but focused on the Canadian municipal market.

Others

• GitHub Social Impact: GitHub's program supporting nonprofits and civic-tech communities with free tooling and credits. Comparable ecosystem player — provides the infrastructure (repos, CI/CD) that Hack for LA's open-source civic projects run on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HackForLA
• GitHubgithub.com/hackforla
• Facebookfacebook.com/hackforla

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hack for LA