Hack for Social Impact

Name

Hack for Social Impact

Legal name

Hack for Social Impact

Website

https://hackforsocialimpact.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Hackathon Events

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Social impact hackathons
• Nonprofit technology events
• Civic technology community
• Pro bono tech talent
• AI for good events

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Event Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors fund hackathon events through tiered sponsorship packages (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum ranging from non-monetary to $10,000). Sponsorship funds cover prizes, venue, food, refreshments, and travel support for nonprofit partners.
2. Donations: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, HSI accepts tax-deductible donations. Funds are used for prizes, grants, venues, food, and travel support for nonprofit partners.
3. Prize Grants: Winners receive project grants to continue working with organizations to deploy solutions, funded by sponsorship proceeds

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hack for Social Impact is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes annual hackathon events connecting engineers, data scientists, and product thinkers with nonprofits, NGOs, and civic organizations to build technology prototypes addressing real-world social challenges. Winners receive project grants to continue work with partner organizations for real-world deployment, and a pro-bono network connects tech talent with nonprofits beyond the hackathon events.

Product overview

Hack for Social Impact is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects engineers, data scientists, and technologists with nonprofits, NGOs, and civic organizations through hackathon events. Rather than offering a traditional software product, the organization curates high-impact problem statements from mission-driven organizations and facilitates collaborative hackathon events where participants build prototypes and solutions. Key event offerings include the annual San Francisco hackathons (2024 inaugural, 2025, and upcoming 2026) and the expanding Seattle 2026 event in partnership with WIT Regatta. The organization does not appear to offer a standalone software platform, SaaS product, or developer API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• San Francisco 2024 Hackathon (Inaugural Event) A two-day hackathon event held November 9-10, 2024 at Digital Garage US in San Francisco for engineers, data scientists, and technologists to tackle real-world challenges presented by mission-driven nonprofit organizations including UNCCD, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, and CLSEPA.
• San Francisco 2025 Hackathon Second annual hackathon event held November 8-9, 2025 in San Francisco with five expanded challenge areas covering homelessness, youth services, conservation, journalism, justice, and local news for engineers, data scientists, and technologists working with nonprofit partners.
• Seattle 2026 Hackathon (AI for Social Impact) A full-day hackathon event scheduled for April 26, 2026 at AI House in Seattle, held in partnership with WIT Regatta, for engineers and technologists to build solutions for nonprofit challenges including Boys & Girls Club, Hopelink, Hope Strategic, WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife, and Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Pro-Bono Tech Talent Network An ongoing network that connects nonprofit organizations with volunteer technologists, data scientists, and product thinkers beyond the hackathon events. Nonprofits and technologists apply via Google Forms to join and are matched for pro-bono consulting engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Green Policy Agent project was presented at UN COP16 in Saudi Arabia as part of the Arboren initiative
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Women in Tech (WIT) RegattacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Key partner for Seattle 2026 expansion. WIT Regatta provides venue access, conference tickets for Platinum sponsors, and week-long sponsor table during the week-long conference.
• AI HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Seattle venue partner for April 26, 2026 hackathon event located at 2801 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121.
• Boys & Girls Club (Smilow Rainier Vista)coreOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle 2026 challenge: Designing low-cost outreach tools to help families find after-school programs serving nearly 2,300 Rainier Valley kids.
• HopelinkcoreOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle 2026 challenge: Making the path to transportation assistance simple enough that no one abandons it before getting help.
• Hope StrategiccoreOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle 2026 challenge: Building secure, real-time multilingual tool for caseworkers in high-stakes moments (domestic violence, child protection, recovery).
• WA Dept of Fish & WildlifecoreOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle 2026 challenge: Creating tools to help private shoreline owners picture future risk and explore nature-based alternatives as seas rise.
• Electronic Frontier FoundationcoreOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle 2026 challenge: Turning Privacy Badger tracking data into visualizations, narratives, or tools that make tracking legible to anyone.
• Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech)minorOthers · 1 January 2026Seattle chapter team member Jane Bove is a cloud service specialist at WaTech.
• Project Homeless ConnectcoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Building unified fundraising hub to close 92% funding cliff and keep critical services running.
• California Homeless Youth ProjectcoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Designing trauma-informed AI intake tools so young people can share their needs once and access care faster.
• Point Blue Conservation SciencecoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Unlocking biodiversity datasets with natural-language tools and impact tracking to steer habitat funding.
• Center for Investigative ReportingcoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Surfacing hidden ownership webs inside terabytes of real estate filings through network analysis.
• The Innocence CentercoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Automating structured case files so advocates can accelerate exonerations for the wrongfully convicted.
• Mission LocalcoreOthers · 1 January 20252025 challenge: Fusing civic datasets to flag anomalies, surface accountability stories, and expand public access.
• UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)coreOthers · 1 January 2024Nonprofit partner providing real-world problem statements for land degradation analysis and AI translation of UN documents. Green Policy Agent project was presented at COP16.
• Terner Center for Housing InnovationcoreOthers · 1 January 2024Nonprofit partner for building code analysis challenge. Comply.ai (later bild.ai) won second place for automated architectural plan review system.
• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA)coreOthers · 1 January 2024Nonprofit partner for tenant rights empowerment challenge. Tenant Case Navigator won third place for searchable legal records database.
• SF Tech 4 GoodminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Community partner supporting 2024 SF event.
• MilestoneXminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Community partner supporting 2024 SF event. Co-founders James Church and John Church are part of HSI marketing team.
• Stanford CodeXminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Community partner supporting 2024 SF event.
• FastForwardminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Community partner supporting 2024 SF event.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catchafire: Catchafire is a pro-bono skills-based volunteering platform that matches professionals with nonprofits for project-based engagements, supported by corporate partners. It is directly comparable to HSI's pro-bono network arm and nonprofit capacity-building model.
• Random Hacks of Kindness: Random Hacks of Kindness is a hackathon-for-good community that brings developers together with nonprofits and humanitarian organizations to build software solutions. It is directly comparable to HSI's hackathon-to-nonprofit model with a similar social-impact focus.
• NetSquared: NetSquared is a global nonprofit-tech community of local chapters hosting events and gatherings for nonprofits and technologists. It is comparable to HSI as a community-led, volunteer-run civic tech organizer that runs events to bridge the nonprofit-technical divide.
• Major League Hacking: Major League Hacking is the largest student hackathon organization in North America, running hundreds of events and powering developer engagement for major sponsors. It is directly comparable to HSI as both operate hackathon-driven developer communities that monetize through corporate sponsorships.
• Code for America: Code for America is a civic tech nonprofit that connects technologists with government and nonprofit partners to deliver digital public services, including via local brigades (volunteer-run civic hacking groups). It is directly comparable in mission and volunteer model to HSI, though focused more on government services.

Broad incumbents

• Taproot Foundation: Taproot Foundation is an established nonprofit that powers pro-bono service through corporate volunteer programs and skilled volunteer matching. It is a broader incumbent in the same pro-bono-for-nonprofits space that HSI's network addresses.
• Points of Light: Points of Light is a large, established nonprofit that mobilizes millions of volunteers globally and convenes corporate volunteer programs. It is a broader incumbent in the volunteer-mobilization space, comparable to HSI's volunteer-recruitment and engagement motion.

Emerging players

• Design for America: Design for America is a Stanford-originated student network that uses design and human-centered approaches to address local social challenges through studio projects and events. It is an emerging peer with overlapping use of cross-disciplinary teams to tackle civic problems.
• All Tech Is Human: All Tech Is Human is a nonprofit that convenes a multidisciplinary community to address the societal impacts of technology through events, content, and working groups. It is an emerging peer with overlapping AI-and-society / tech-for-good community-building activities.

Others

• Devpost: Devpost is the leading hackathon hosting and management platform used by sponsors and organizers to run online and in-person hackathons. It is an enabling infrastructure peer that powers much of the hackathon ecosystem, including events similar to HSI's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hackforsocialimpact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hack-for-social-impact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Hack for Social Impact