The skilled volunteering ecosystem

Not long after the Scottish Tech Army was launched in April 2020, we were contacted by a new organisation, Social Good Connect, a not-for-profit volunteer matching enterprise based in Dundee. They had been planning to launch their new organisation later in 2020 but, seeing the urgency of the situation as we had when forming the STA, they brought forward their plans when the lockdown started, in order to help funnel help to where it was needed. We helped them out by undertaking software testing, with volunteer Andrew Bassett of Agenor Technology stepping forward with all his skills and expertise to help them get their platform ready quickly.

Since then, the organisation has gone from strength to strength, providing businesses from many different sectors with a platform for their staff to volunteer with organisations who need their multi-disciplinary skillsets. From drivers to accountants, sports coaches to marketing and PR specialists, it’s a great place to find a way to give your company’s volunteer time for good and Social Good Connect’s focus on broad business skills complements the technical focus of the STA very well. We know that many organisations who come to the STA for tech and digital assistance are also looking for help in other areas of their organisation and we’ll be encouraging them to put their asks on the Social Good Connect platform if they haven’t already done so.

We have also put our own profile up on Social Good Connect’s platform so that skilled tech volunteers who can’t find what they’re looking for there can volunteer with us. It’s a great example of the power of a collaborative ecosystem of ‘for good’ organisations sharing and networking to bring support to the third sector from as wide a range of sources as possible.