People of Pro Bono: Clayton Hopkins

When Clayton was younger he spent his free time imagining the buildings and cities he would later bring to life with drawings or Legos. Now, Clayton is sharing his creative power and tech experience as a Taproot Plus skilled volunteer.

Finding inspiration

My first pro bono gig was Grateful Gatherings, a nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which helps families who are transitioning from homelessness, domestic abuse, or crisis into a new home by providing household furnishings and clothing. I can’t think of many nonprofits that do a better job providing local, immediate impact to the community than Grateful Gatherings. I was very inspired by their progress in the community helping families escape poverty and crisis.

I’m particularly proud of the user research we achieved for Grateful Gatherings’ new website. The cofounders were completely open to me interviewing their power users and general user base to learn about user’s needs, wants, pains, and gains. I conducted 1:1 phone interviews and surveys, which helped us uncover key insights that majorly influenced the design of the new site. I’m very thankful for people’s time on the phone and for filling out our surveys.

Impacting the community through tech

When I do pro bono, I bring with me four years of design experience, the support of my colleagues who helped review my work and brainstorm ideas with me along the way, and the desire to give back to the Bay Area community to help nonprofits that are doing good for marginalized, underprivileged people in the very city (San Francisco) that provides so much opportunity for me.

Up next for me is to find another civic tech project to support organizations working on issues like Black Lives Matter, women, LGBT, and climate change. I encourage people to support existing causes that match your interests.

Pro bono is a great way to give back to the community while working on a civic project or subject matter that might not be accessible to you in your day job.

Want to share your professional skills? Learn more about becoming a pro bono consultant here.