Develop for Good - March 2026
Spring 2026
Hello friends! 🌱
Turnip the beet—it’s spring time! Take a look at what we’ve been up to this season.
Upcoming Summer 2026 application deadlines 🚨
Develop for Good’s upcoming Summer 2026 project batch runs from May 4 - August 22, 2026 with the tentative timeline:
Thu, Mar 26, 2025: Nonprofit Project Proposal due
Sat, Mar 28: Student Application & Mentor Application due
Mon, Apr 6 - Fri, Apr 10: Student Manager shortlist virtual interviews
Sun, Apr 13 - Fri, Apr 24: Offer letter period for Students & Mentors - new offer letters sent out every 2 days with a 48-hour response deadline
Mon, May 4: Project batch kicks off with Orientation & Onboarding Week
Sun, May 10: Project Scoping Phase begins
Sun, Jun 7: Project Development Phase begins
Sun, Aug 2: Project Documentation & Handover Phase begins
Thu, Aug 20: Demo Day
Sat, Aug 22: Last day of project batch
📣 Please share widely with prospective college students, industry professionals, and nonprofits!
Winter 2026 project batch recap 🧢
Between Oct 27, 2025 - Feb 21, 2026 this winter, we engaged 500+ incredible individuals across our 16-week program.
Volunteers
We supported 247 college students and recent grads as they built software for nonprofits. We also engaged 229 industry mentors as Team Mentors, 1:1 Mentors, and Event Mentors.
Special thank you to Bloomberg’s Erika Jiménez–Bayati, UserTesting’s Sean Treiser, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Alex Porter-Walsh and DeAnne Row, and PwC’s Sarah Koenig and Danielle Bryan for helping us recruit such an phenomenal crew of mentors!
Nonprofits
We kicked off this winter by launching an incredible portfolio of 26 nonprofit tech projects.
From the Melanin Minds Matter, which is reimagining mental wellbeing for Black and Brown girls by combining human connection and high-tech access, to Fresh Lifelines for Youth, which is partnering with youth to unlock their potential and disrupting the pipeline to prison, the organizations above pave the way for the nonprofit sector in magnifying their impact with technology.
Nonprofit tech project highlights 🌟
PainUSA: Developing an inclusive public website and informative clinician lookup map
PainUSA’s mission is to further the strategic goals of the U.S. National Pain Strategy and to support high-quality data collection on real-world pain experiences. The nonprofit aims to democratize data use to benefit those in need, especially in underserved areas. Develop for Good’s student team developed an inclusive public website and informative clinician lookup map to improve access to evidence-based pain resources and clinicians across diverse regions. Read the full case study here.
What their nonprofit client had to say:
“Develop for Good exceeded our expectations. Their student team quickly grasped a complex mission and translated it into a polished, high-performing website. The end result is a modern, mission-aligned website we’re proud to put in front of patients, clinicians, and institutional partners. They were organized, responsive, and delivered work that compares favorably with professional agencies.”
— Sean Mackey, Founder & President of PainUSA and Chief of Stanford Pain Medicine
The brilliant team:
Product Manager: Hannah Sun (University of Washington ‘27)
Technical Manager: Agustín Angulo (UC Irvine ‘24)
Designers & Developers:
Ashley Hom (UC Santa Cruz ‘25)
Linos Darikai (Ashesi University ‘27)
Andrew Lin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology ‘29)
Anh Hoang (Tufts University ‘26)
Team Mentor: Matthew Boulanger (Sr Software Engineer at Axle)
Access To Excess: Developing a responsive web app to streamline volunteer sign-ups and integrate secure payments
Access to Excess is a nonprofit organization that rescues food and reduces food waste in the Dayton, Ohio region. They recover and redistribute surplus food from gardeners, farms, grocery stores, and local nonprofits to anyone in the community. Develop for Good’s student team developed a custom, mobile-responsive web application that streamlines volunteer sign-ups, integrates secure Stripe payments, and utilizes Airtable as a "no-code" backend to ensure easy management of data and impact metrics. Read the full case study here.
What their nonprofit client had to say:
“Participating in Develop for Good was an exceptional experience. Our team was highly skilled, thoughtful, organized and respectful of our mission and capacity as a nonprofit. The process was clear, structured and supportive from start to finish.
As a grassroots food rescue, we operate lean and move quickly. DFG met us where we are while also elevating our work in meaningful ways. We left with tangible tools and renewed confidence. We’re genuinely grateful for this partnership! Thank you!!”
— Jen Burns, Executive Director of Access to Excess
The brilliant team:
Product Manager: Mounica Paladugu (Drexel University ‘25)
Developers:
Elizabeth Johnson (Rutgers University ‘26)
Jawad Rada (CUNY - College of Staten Island ‘25)
Skylar Soon (Oregon State University ‘26)
Designers:
Inika Singh (UC Davis ‘27)
Meghana Appidi (New York University ‘25)
Team Mentor: Mai Phuong Vu (Product Designer at Telekom)
1:1 Mentor: Igbinoba Kelvin (Senior Frontend Developer at KidzToPros)
Volunteer spotlights: Winter 2026 stories💡
“This experience has been invaluable in helping me build my product skills while working on real-world projects. I especially appreciated the chance to collaborate closely with other talented students, share ideas, and learn from their diverse perspectives. I am also very thankful to our client for their guidance, support, and openness throughout the project, which made it possible for us to create meaningful work.
The program challenged me to grow both professionally and personally, and the support from mentors, teammates, and the broader DFG community made the experience even more rewarding. I am truly thankful to DFG for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to contribute to future projects and making a meaningful impact.”
- Amy Rodriguez, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ‘26, Win26 Student
“I grew tremendously in learning how to communicate across stakeholders, translate abstract goals into actionable milestones, and iterate based on real feedback.
The experience felt professional and mission-driven, but also deeply collaborative and supportive. I was constantly challenged to raise the quality of my work while knowing I had a team that cared about both the outcome and each other.”
- Grace Williams, Harvey Mudd College ‘27, Win26 Student
“Having mentored designers across several different organizations, I can confidently say that DFG stands out. The structure is fantastic, and the quality of both the mentees and the clients is truly impressive. The entire program is incredibly well-organized, and I am proud to have contributed to it.”
- Oluwafemi Adelekan, Sr. Product Designer at The UX Professionals USA, Win26 Mentor
Thank you, Society for Science and Regeneron! 🔬
As part of Society for Science and Regeneron’s #BeExtraordinary campaign, Develop for Good’s Founder & Executive Director Mary Zhu was invited to sit down with Susan Landau, a renowned computer science professor at Tufts University and inductee of the National Cybersecurity Hall of Fame.
Over Darjeeling and bubble tea, they shared reflections on science, technology, and society. Inspired by the Society’s youth programs, and supported by its funding over the past 3 years, Develop for Good is as committed as ever to making real-world, high-impact tech experience accessible to every college student.
Many thanks to Allie Stifel, Tzeitel Fetter Hirni, Aparna K. Paul, Tara Naugle, Potoula Stavropoulos, and Gayle Kansagor Hope for elevating our mission!
Join us in unlocking digital potential 💌
Our program wouldn’t exist without the philanthropic support of our community. Every dollar you contribute is dedicated to continuously improving and expanding Develop for Good’s program for nonprofits and college tech students.
📲 Follow us on Linkedin & Instagram for live updates on our work!