A hacker is an inventor with creative technology skills. Our model empowers hackers to help the disadvantaged, educate the community, and protect the environment. We envision a world where any student can become a hacker, access career advancement opportunities in the creative economy, and save the world with their inventions.
We proudly serve all 50 states in the U.S.
Technology professionals from 150+ companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft volunteer their time to design our certificated S.T.E.A.M. programming used by high school CTE programs nationwide.
We provide millions of dollars in donated hardware, software, and services thanks to our partners from tech companies at all funding stages, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and more!
We build high tech hackerspaces to be the home base for entrepreneurship in S.T.E.A.M. with the help of our partners like TOMS, the i.am Angel Foundation, and the Make Yourself Foundation.
Mentors are vetted industry professionals who have been trained to inspire and support the next generation of hackers who will save the world at the 6th-12th grade and collegiate levels of education.
Your commitments to innovation, learning and development have been of great benefit to our City."
— Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (2014 - 2022)
Think of us as a nationwide Army Reserve and our members are employees from the top technology companies in the world, including Disney, Amazon, Microsoft, & SpaceX. Our members form chapters around the United States and serve their communities through the following activities:
Our members serve the nonprofits and government agencies that request our services. We have featured several of our clients below:
THINKING ABOUT STARTING A CHAPTER?
What is a Hacker Fund chapter?
Hacker Fund Chapters are local organizations that are made of volunteers who inspire the next generation of technologists. Chapters work to engage the local community through hackathons, workshops, innovation centers, career fairs, open source project development, and economic development activities.
What do I do as a member?
As a member, you will work with your chapter to organize activities and engage the local community. Many chapter members spend their volunteer time designing and teaching technical workshops such as "Intro to Unity" or "Intro to Swift". The sky is the limit! Many members also build open-source projects.
How can my company support my chapter?
We are in the nonprofit programs of many technology companies including Apple, Google, & Microsoft. For every hour that you volunteer, your company can donate to your chapter. We can set this up for you!
How much do I have to participate?
It's totally up to you. Start with one event and see if you like the experience. We have members volunteering between 1 and 100 hours per month.
Can I raise money for my chapter?
Right away! Chapter leaders will receive access to a restricted fund through Hacker Fund's 501(c)(3) legal entity that they can use to receive contributions for chapter activities. The more chapters raise, the more members can do! Each chapter leader will receive all the tools they need to transact business, including paying vendors.
Does my location matter?
No - however we recommend that you work to engage your local community. We have an online Mentor Reserve database that you can tap into as you get your chapter off the ground.
What kind of resources do I have available to me?
Hacker Fund provides chapters with the ability to raise tax-deductible contributions via sponsorship, grants, and donations. Members will have access to fundraising tools, software subscriptions, makerspace memberships, and more.
How do I report my volunteer time and impact?
We have a tech platform called MentorDash that volunteers can use to interact with students, record volunteer time, and submit impact reports.
Invention education is a pedagogical approach based on problem identification through empathy and collaborative problems solving that results in novel solutions by integrating the process of invention into teaching and learning.
Key components include collaboration, empathy, problem identification and refinement, research, accessing sources of expertise and capacities, continuous learning including self-directed study, prototyping, user input, iteration, intellectual property literacy and its application to the creation and protection of inventions, community engagement, entrepreneurial exploration, go-to-market evaluation, and consideration of sustainability.
(From A Framework for Invention Education by the Lemelson Foundation)
In alignment with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), invention education drives inclusive American innovation -- including expanding access to the innovation ecosystem in every community, including underserved areas, and ensuring every American can fully realize their inventive potential.
(From USPTO)
What does this mean? We are the original architects of fiscal sponsorship for hackers and have been leading the game as a member of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors since 2014. Hackers use our 501(c)(3) infrastructure to create a restricted fund from which they can operate their chapters and build projects that create social change.
Members receive the tools to inspire the next generation of hackers in their community. These include:
Chapter leaders can raise funding, recruit members, and scale programs in their communities. You'll receive:
Want to launch open source or social impact projects in your community? We have what your founding team needs.
FEATURED PROJECTS & OPERATORS
Over the last decade, we have developed a chapter framework that scales. With the power of fiscal sponsorship, our chapters empower 60,000+ students through invention-based learning while we handle the administrative paperwork.
If you work in tech, we welcome you to apply to be a member of a Hacker Fund chapter. Not all members of Hacker Fund Chapters are software engineers, designers, or data scientists.
Once you submit your application, a senior member of our onboarding team will reach out to discuss your volunteering goals, your experience with mentorship, and any questions you may have about the program.
Once you're approved to start a chapter and you sign your agreement with Hacker Fund, you will receive access to the resources you need to plan your chapter activities. Think hackathons, workshops, career fairs...the possibilities are endless!
Do you have coworkers who share in your passion for inspiring the next generation? We will help you recruit them to your chapter.
Our dashboard and resources will help you and your chapter members serve the community, track your impact, and report it to your stakeholders. Let's grow together!
AS FEATURED IN
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS!
PROUD MEMBERS
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Your contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law and will help us empower the next generation of inventors to save the world.
3435 Ocean Park Blvd. #107 PMB 124 Santa Monica, CA 90405
email us: team [at] hacker.fund
501(c)(3) PUBLIC CHARITY (EIN: 47-2485464)
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