A group of millennial leaders in Chicago wants to make it easier for everyday Chicagoans to connect with volunteer causes they care about -- and it just launched a free, tech-powered platform to help facilitate these connections.
Chicago Leadership Alliance (CLA) has partnered with 1871-based philanthropy tech platform and charitable giving app uBack to launch GoCivic, a centralized, mobile-accessible tech platform that presents categorized volunteer opportunities on a geocoded map and allows under-resourced organizations to access data and insights in order to boost civic involvement.
GoCivic is the first big CLA initiative on a citywide scale, and it's six months in the making. The platform hopes to address an existing need for a centralized citywide directory and database of volunteering opportunities, according to Jeff Rosset, founder of CLA. It serves as a one-stop destination for information on civic projects, nonprofits, as well as vacancies on nonprofit boards and neighborhood coalitions.
“While we care about issues impacting Chicago on a macro level, we also recognize the need to partner with community-driven organizations working at the neighborhood level. You can consider [CLA] to be kind of like a pro-bono social impact consulting firm, and GoCivic to be like our nonprofit tech startup,” said Rosset in an interview with Chicago Inno.
The platform is powered by uBack, the first iteration for which was deployed at TechweekGives. The open platform is free for both citizens and organizations to use, and is searchable by type of volunteer commitment (community event, town hall, religious, social event), specific cause (arts & education, animal welfare) or geographic location (covering all 77 Chicago neighborhoods), with an easy social media plug in for amplification. For example, citizens can search for “town hall meetings” in Lincoln Park or “citywide STEM education programs.” While it is free for nonprofits to list their projects on the platform (or for citizens to recommend them), all projects have to be approved by GoCivic platform admin before going live.
GoCivic also hopes to use uBack’s robust analytics platform to work with nonprofit partners and the City of Chicago in identifying under-resourced neighborhoods, causes and nonprofits. Anna Valencia, the City Clerk of Chicago, noted at the launch event of the platform that her office is already working to integrate the platform in collecting ordinances for civic engagement.
Kristi Dula, Network Relationship Manager at Pritzker Group and CLA board member for GoCivic, added in an email, “At the CLA, we feel it is our responsibility to help strengthen and grow the connective tissue of our collective networks to drive more civic, philanthropic and business engagement. GoCivic has allowed us to hone in on this, work with all of the amazing organizations already doing great for the city, and contribute by doing what we do best – connecting and problem solving.”
The CLA first launched in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) membership-based nonprofit platform for young entrepreneurial and civically engaged Chicagoans to connect, network and give back to the city. As a referral-based network, the CLA acquired 75 members in its first year, and 45 additional members this year so far – individuals from across various professional spheres “who want to roll up their sleeves and make an impact,” according to Rosset.
CLA members have to be referred by at least 4 existing members, and are required to participate in at least one of eight CLA subcommittees. CLA’s own revenue model is based on membership dues, corporate sponsorships and grant money. The organization has raised close to $70,000 for Chicago-focused charitable causes till date, been involved with advocacy efforts alongside the Small Business Advocacy Council, and built an active social community among its members, according to Rosset.
“Chicago’s challenges aren’t insurmountable. We don’t necessarily need officials in City Hall or Springfield to solve them for us -- solutions can come from the ground up, from the people living those challenges every day. Technology has given us a way to connect folks who want to make an impact more efficiently with education and awareness,” said Rosset.
Update: This article has been updated to reflect that the CLA has raised closer to $70,000, and not $7,000, for partner nonprofits till date. The error is regretted.
