Pro Bono Work

Every year, approximately 50% of the projects undertaken by the Dark Data Project are pro bono, receiving the same investment and priority as regularly budgeted projects. Most pro bono recipients are nonprofit humanitarian organizations or government agencies, although any unfunded or underfunded entity is welcome to apply.

Recipients are selected based on need and impact. All applicants will be advised of the status of their proposals. Due to the limited number of pro bono projects which can be undertaken in any given year, repeat submissions are strongly encouraged. All applications are confidential.

Application Criteria

  • To be considered for pro bono support, you must have a clearly articulated problem with a potentially achievable outcome. The outcome must result from a real-world implementation of the project.
  • Both the project and the requesting entity must be noncommercial in nature.
  • As part of the project, you must commit effort and resources which are roughly equitable to the effort contributed by the Dark Data Project.
  • In general, the project cannot be funded be an external party. You cannot accept funding to produce work that is then subcontracted pro bono to the Dark Data Project. (Because project funding can be nuanced, some exceptions may apply.)
  • If there are multiple project partners, other peer partners must also contribute pro bono. The Dark Data Project cannot be added pro bono to a project where other participating organizations are receiving financial benefit.

Submit a Pro Bono Proposal