Social Impact Innovation and Volunteering
By volunteering on social impact innovation projects and attending dozens of innovation conferences, I have transformed my career, met amazing people, and helped the community. This is a rough list of opportunities I recommend.
I copied this text from an email I've been sending people since 2014. Please suggest additional resources, and feel free to ask me for introductions to these organizations.
Social Impact Innovation Volunteer Opportunities
- EPIC: Branding/marketing/design pro bono consulting. Selective teams; superb experience and networking. I've never done it, but my friends have.
- Moving Design: The leader (Rick Valicenti) assembles a team of designers roughly once per year, to inspire social change through the power of design. I co-facilitated in 2013. Superb experience and networking.
- Taproot: Pro bono consulting in various fields. I've never done it, but I believe it's great experience and networking.
- Massive Change Network's design thinking workshops: Led by Bruce Mau, once per month on a Saturday. I haven't done this yet, but I think it's design thinking focused on community issues.
- Barnraise at IIT Institute of Design: 2 day impact design conference where you engage with a team at one of Chicago's top innovation firms, helping solve a problem for a local nonprofit. If you want to cram social impact innovation into a workshop/conference, this is the best way I've found to do it. I participated in 2014. The ~$700 is worthwhile (at least once) for the experience, networks, impact, and knowledge.
- Archeworks Design Sprints: Appears to break down human-centered design among its phases over the course of multiples sprints. Led by top-notch design firms. I'm unfamiliar with Archeworks and their sprints, but this appears very promising. Maybe similar to BarnRaise but even more paced.
Additional Sources for Social Impact Innovation
- http://www.openideo.com/ - Find, discuss, contribute to, and join social innovation projects (Global)
- http://www.pinterest.com/greatergoodpin/social-impact-experts/ - An excellent listing of social impact organizations (mostly USA; includes some Chicago groups)
- http://plusacumen.org/ - Social change group: education, networking, and projects (has Chicago chapter)
- http://ideactioncorps.com/ - Social change agency: connects talent with needs (Chicago-based)
Other Volunteering
- Chicago Cares: Creates volunteer experiences that connect people and communities to meet critical needs and build a stronger Chicago. Easily find a 3-hour project to try out, any day of the year, in nearly any Chicago neighborhood, across 100+ nonprofit and city groups. Mostly hands-on volunteering; some skills-based. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chicago Cares. If you have any questions about Chicago Cares please ask me :)
- http://www.catchafire.org/ - Skills-based volunteering database.
- Volunteering databases, with various opportunity types:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://www.idealist.org/
http://www.allforgood.org/
Innovation Event Listings:
- Interaction Design Assc
- Blue Sky Innovation
- Technori (start-up pitch nights)
- The Comradery - Their website appears inactive, but I think The Comradery is still up and running.
- CreativeMornings/Chicago
- Building the Best Starter Community in the World
- Attend an Event | Segal Design Institute
- Acumen Plus, Chicago
- IIT ID
- Creative Pulse Chicago Upcoming Events »
- Events - Foresight Design Initiative
- Comfort Station
- AIGA Chicago | Upcoming Events - look for AIGA's Chicago Design Week, in June
- Ignite Chicago
- Net Impact Professional, Chicago
- Events | 1871
- Coalition Impact
- Service Design Meetup
- Project Prospera - Cultural craft workshops and discussions, taking an asset-based approach to social innovation: appreciating skills that already exist in communities and examining how they might connect to more current/formalized efforts in social innovation. I haven't attended, but I trust it's a good group based on my friend who is part of it :)