Nonprofit Open Source Partnership 2026: Get 800 Hours of Free Technical Support for Your Nonprofit
Nonprofits often develop technology solutions to solve real-world problems, but turning those tools into sustainable, well-documented open-source projects can be challenging. Limited budgets, technical capacity and staff time can make it difficult for organizations to maintain software or prepare it for use by other nonprofits.
The Nonprofit Open Source Partnership 2026 aims to address this challenge by providing selected nonprofits with free technical support from student developers and experienced industry mentors.
The partnership brings together Bloomberg, Develop for Good, CodeDay and Fast Forward to help a small group of technology-focused nonprofits convert existing tools into open-source projects, improve documentation or contribute to open-source software they already use.
What Is the Nonprofit Open Source Partnership?
The Nonprofit Open Source Partnership is a 16-week technical assistance program designed to help nonprofits strengthen and open-source their technology projects.
Participating organizations will receive a dedicated team of eight vetted and trained college student volunteer developers. Each team will provide approximately 800 hours of technical work during the program.
The goal is not simply to build software. The program is designed to help nonprofits create technology that is properly licensed, documented, publicly accessible and potentially useful to other organizations.
This makes the opportunity particularly valuable for nonprofits that already have a technology project but lack the resources or expertise required to take it to the next stage.
What Does the Program Provide?
Selected nonprofits will receive a comprehensive package of technical and professional support at no cost to the organization.
Key benefits include:
- A team of eight college student developers
- Approximately 800 hours of technical work
- Sixteen weeks of dedicated project support
- Weekly student check-ins through Develop for Good
- Technical and project management support
- Team coaching to help keep development on track
- Open-source best-practice guidance from CodeDay
- Weekly guidance from experienced Bloomberg employee volunteers
- A completed project that is publicly accessible, licensed and documented
The finished work could help participating nonprofits maintain their technology more effectively while also making their solutions available to other organizations.
Who Can Apply?
The program is intended for nonprofits with an existing technology project that would benefit from additional development or open-source support.
Applicants should have either:
- A software tool or project that they are ready to make open source; or
- An existing open-source project that they would like support contributing to.
This means organizations do not necessarily need to start a completely new technology project. Instead, the program focuses on helping nonprofits improve and expand technology they already have.
Nonprofits should also be prepared to assign a staff member or point of contact to work with the student development team throughout the program.
What Commitment Is Required?
Although the technical support is provided free of charge, participating nonprofits will need to invest some staff time.
The organization’s point of contact should expect to dedicate approximately 2–3 hours per week for 16 weeks.
This time will be used for project check-ins, providing feedback, answering questions and collaborating with student developers and industry mentors.
Organizations should therefore ensure that they have someone available to support the project consistently from the program kickoff through final delivery.
Program Timeline
Applicants should pay close attention to the important dates.
Nonprofit application deadline: September 9, 2026
Selected nonprofits notified: October 2, 2026
Program kickoff: October 25, 2026
Final delivery: February 20, 2027
Because the application deadline is approaching, eligible nonprofits should begin preparing their project information and application as early as possible.
Why This Opportunity Matters
Open-source technology can help nonprofits reduce duplication, encourage collaboration and make useful digital tools available to a wider community.
For a nonprofit with limited technical resources, receiving hundreds of hours of development support could make a significant difference. Organizations may be able to improve existing software, strengthen documentation, increase accessibility or prepare their technology for wider adoption.
The partnership also provides an opportunity for nonprofits to work with emerging developers while receiving guidance from experienced professionals.
How to Apply
Eligible nonprofits interested in participating can submit their application through the official application form.
Application deadline: September 9, 2026
Organizations should make sure they clearly explain their existing technology project, what support they need and how open-sourcing or improving the project could benefit their organization and wider community.
The Nonprofit Open Source Partnership 2026 offers a rare opportunity for nonprofits to access substantial technical support without paying for development services.
For organizations ready to strengthen their technology and contribute to the open-source ecosystem, this program could provide the expertise, development capacity and mentorship needed to turn an existing tool into a sustainable public resource.
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Disclaimer: Remote Job Opportunities (RJO) is not the organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the responsible organization directly. Please do not send your applications to RJO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.
