HandsOn San Diego

What HandsOn San Diego does

HandsOn San Diego is a 501(c)(3) volunteer center founded in November 2013 and operating as a program of Mission Edge San Diego, a fiscal-sponsor nonprofit. Its functional role is to act as an intermediary that connects individual and corporate volunteers with nonprofit organizations, schools, and parks across San Diego County. The organization does not directly deliver social services; instead, it curates volunteer opportunities, supplies trained Volunteer Leaders to run projects, and verifies service hours. It is affiliated with the Points of Light Global Network, which spans roughly 40 countries.

The core operational asset is the HandsOn Connect platform — a web-based volunteer-management system with accompanying iOS and Android mobile applications that support volunteer sign-up, opportunity browsing, QR-code check-in at project sites, and hour tracking verified by Volunteer Leaders (typically within 48 hours). Nonprofit partners access a dashboard for managing signed-up volunteers, communications, and reporting. An online Volunteer Opportunity Calendar filters opportunities by availability, location, age requirement, and cause area.

HandsOn San Diego's revenue model is a hybrid nonprofit structure combining individual donations (one-time, monthly, quarterly, or annual, with suggested tiers of $25–$1,000), a one-time $25 lifetime volunteer membership donation (waivable), a $65 mandatory non-refundable administrative fee for the Court Referral Program covering court-ordered community service, corporate sponsorships (including Apple, Cisco, Synopsys, Korn Ferry, Vuori, Xylem, Allegis Global Solutions, CarMax, Autodesk Foundation, and KPBS), and private grants. Go-to-market is community-led: individuals self-register through the website or mobile app, corporate partners are engaged through business-membership programs and custom team projects (typically groups of 25–1,000+), and nonprofit partners go through a formal onboarding process (application, MOU, project submission). Distribution also includes signature branded programs VolunBEERS (quarterly events at local breweries) and VolunCHEERS (annual volunteer appreciation in April).

Name

HandsOn San Diego

Legal name

Mission Edge San Diego

Website

https://handsonsandiego.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HandsOn San Diego is a 501(c)(3) volunteer center founded in 2013 that connects individual and corporate volunteers with 100+ nonprofit partners across San Diego County through its HandsOn Connect platform, mobile apps, and curated volunteer opportunities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer Management Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Volunteer management
• Community engagement
• Nonprofit coordination
• Corporate volunteering
• Volunteer matching

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Volunteer Membership Donations: One-time $25 membership donation for individuals to gain full access to the volunteer calendar. Youth memberships are lifetime $25. Donation waivers available for individuals.
2. Court Referral Program Fees: $65 mandatory non-refundable administrative fee for court-ordered community service participants, covering verification services and compliance documentation. Not tax-deductible.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners sponsor the organization with financial support. Includes companies like Allegis Global Solutions, Synopsys, Xylem, Cisco, Autodesk Foundation, CarMax, Apple, KPBS, Korn Ferry, Vuori, and others.
4. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the organization. Donations can be one-time or recurring (monthly, quarterly, annually). Processed through Mission Edge San Diego.
5. Grants: Funding from private grants as part of sustainable funding model for the volunteer-powered organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

HandsOn San Diego operates a volunteer management platform (HandsOn Connect) that connects individual volunteers, corporate teams, and court-referred participants with over 100 nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies across San Diego County. The organization facilitates volunteer sign-ups, hour verification, project coordination, and impact reporting through its web platform and mobile apps. It also designs custom corporate volunteer projects and hosts signature community events like VolunBEERS and VolunCHEERS.

Product overview

HandsOn San Diego operates primarily through the HandsOn Connect platform, a comprehensive volunteer management software system. The platform includes a mobile app (available on iOS and Android) for volunteers to sign up for opportunities, view project locations, and check in using QR codes. Key features include an online Volunteer Opportunity Calendar for browsing and registering for projects, and a Verified Hours System for tracking and confirming volunteer service hours. HandsOn San Diego also facilitates group volunteering through corporate team projects, youth and family volunteering programs, court referral services, and organizes signature events like VolunBEERS (quarterly service projects at local breweries) and VolunCHEERS (annual volunteer appreciation celebration).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VolunBEERS: A quarterly service project hosted at local breweries or restaurants where volunteers gather for hands-on projects for local nonprofits.
• VolunCHEERS
• HandsOn Connect

Products and services

• HandsOn Connect Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 69,628 volunteers engaged and 202,201 hours served since 2013
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• Dreams for ChangecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Partnership to support Safe Sleeping program for individuals experiencing homelessness. Volunteers assist with site cleanup, meal service, pet walking, and community events. Launched July 2023.
• Mission Edge San DiegocoreOthersFiscal sponsor - HandsOn San Diego is a program of Mission Edge San Diego, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit CA corporation (Tax ID # 27-2938491). All donations are made to Mission Edge San Diego for the benefit of HandsOn San Diego.
• Points of Light Global NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliation with the world's largest volunteer network spanning nearly 40 countries. Part of global movement to inspire, equip, and mobilize people to create positive change through volunteering.
• Allegis Global SolutionsminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• SynopsysminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• XylemminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• CiscominorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• Autodesk FoundationminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• CarMaxminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations through CarMax Foundation.
• AppleminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• KPBSminorOthersMedia partner sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• Korn FerryminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• VuoriminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting HandsOn San Diego programs and operations.
• 211 San DiegomoderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferral partner connecting spontaneous volunteers during disasters and ongoing community needs. Part of volunteer and board connectors network.
• United Way of San Diego CountymoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner during COVID-19 pandemic to launch San Diego COVID-19 Volunteer Hub for virtual volunteer opportunities.
• PATH (People Assisting the Homeless)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for meal service, welcome home kits, and winter warmth items (hats/scarves) for homeless clients. Multiple volunteer projects coordinated throughout year.
• VolunteerMatchminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferral resource for organizations needing long-term volunteer commitments beyond HandsOn San Diego's one-time project focus.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Volunteer Fairfax: Regional volunteer center serving the Washington, D.C. metro area, similar in mission and structure (one-time and ongoing projects, corporate engagement, partner network). Direct operational analogue in a different geography.
• Hands On Nashville: Nashville-area volunteer center with a near-identical operating model — calendar-based sign-ups, nonprofit partner network, corporate days of service. Closest U.S. peer with explicitly overlapping brand naming and program structure.
• Big Sunday: Los Angeles-based nonprofit running community-wide volunteer days, corporate projects, and an annual signature event — a near-clone of HandsOn San Diego's operating model, but in a different geographic market. Strong operational analogue for replication and peer benchmarking.

Emerging players

• All for Good: Volunteer opportunity aggregation platform originally built by Points of Light, indexing listings from across its affiliated volunteer centers. Comparable as a discovery/funnel layer that sits above organizations like HandsOn San Diego.
• Catchafire: Skills-based volunteer marketplace connecting professionals with nonprofits for virtual, project-based engagements. Comparable in mission and volunteer/nonprofit marketplace model but differentiated by skills-based virtual focus rather than in-person day-of service.
• VolunteerHub: Volunteer management software vendor providing sign-up, scheduling, and hour-tracking for nonprofits. Competes directly with HandsOn Connect's product functionality and could become the platform layer beneath similar volunteer centers.
• GivePulse: Volunteer management and civic engagement platform used by universities, nonprofits, and companies to track hours and impact. Overlaps directly with HandsOn Connect's functionality as a SaaS-style volunteer management tool.

Direct peers

• VolunteerMatch: National online volunteer-matching platform that aggregates opportunities across the U.S. HandsOn San Diego already refers long-term-recruitment demand to VolunteerMatch, making it the most direct competitive analogue for one-off and ongoing volunteer sign-ups.
• Idealist: Nonprofit and volunteer opportunity aggregator with listings for volunteering, jobs, and internships. Targets the same individual-volunteer and nonprofit-partner segments as HandsOn San Diego across a national footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Points of Light: The parent global volunteer-service network of nearly 40 countries that HandsOn San Diego is affiliated with. Operates as a much larger umbrella organization running similar volunteer-center programs and convening efforts nationally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkfT7BHazz_ittITdk2i8cg
• Facebookfacebook.com/handsonsandiego
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/handsonsandiego
• Instagraminstagram.com/handsonsandiego
• TikToktiktok.com/@handsonsandiego

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 HandsOn San Diego