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Opencast develops new collaborations with non-profits

Social Impact & Sustainability

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The past year has seen Opencast discovering new ways to deliver positive social impact by deepening our connections with non-profit organisations. So how are we doing this? And what are we learning? As B Corp Month 2025 begins, our Social Impact Delivery lead shares our experience so far. 

Reimagining impact: our journey of purposeful innovation

When my colleague Juan Sánchez and I started to co-lead the delivery of initiatives in the social impact team at Opencast 18 months ago, we knew we wanted to develop something different, and something that was beyond traditional corporate social responsibility. We wanted a genuine pathway to create meaningful change. 

We also knew we could accomplish more by developing our own Opencast way to connect our people’s digital expertise, energy and vision with the work of non-profits. And we knew that there was a significant opportunity to provide improved services for the wider communities that we all serve through our work. 

A woman with shoulder length dark brown hair smiles at the camera, she is wearing a light blue jumper and has her arms folded

The seeds of purpose

Impact, as we have learned, is a quiet and precious thing. It grows in the spaces between people, in the trust we build and the commitments we share. At Opencast, we've always believed that technology and human potential have the power to transform lives. But translating that belief into action requires more than good intentions. 

Opencast’s social impact strategy has a broad set of programmes including pro bono (no charge), low bono (reduced charge) initiatives, and skills-based volunteering.  Using these, we want to work  side-by-side with community organisations, understanding their unique challenges and creating projects that benefits all involved. Our goal is to develop relationships that spark real, tangible change for people and planet. 

Embracing complexity and connection

We've discovered that ‘impact’ is fundamentally fluid. The same actions can lead to dramatically different outcomes depending on context. This understanding has shaped our approach. We're not rushing to scale or seeking quick wins, but rather on thoughtfully building connections through deep, attentive conversations. 

Over the last year, our networks have expanded organically – through conversations with not-for-profit sectors, government partners, and organisations such as the Tech for Good Alliance. We're discovering opportunities by listening, being present and recognising that meaningful change happens when diverse expertise comes together with genuine commitment. 

Weaving our expertise with community needs

A great example of this conversational approach is how we are currently exploring a collaboration with CodeYourFuture, a fantastic organisation that provides free software development training to people facing challenging life circumstances. When we recently visited one of their centres in London’s Brixton, something extraordinary became clear for us. Experienced developers and students were working together in a way that dissolved traditional boundaries.  

Our software developer colleague Ivina Pontes (pictured), a CodeYourFuture graduate, exemplified the impact of this approach. By mobilising our software development team to support aspiring tech professionals through CodeYourFuture programmes, we're not just looking to transfer our skills – we are exploring ways to positively participate in a living, learning ecosystem. 

This thoughtful approach to forming partnerships has led to new exciting collaborations this year with fantastic organisations such as The Turing Trust, The Fore, The Alnwick Garden, Forum for the Future and more. And we are looking forward to doing more. 

Take our recent work with homelessness non-profit EveryYouth early this year for example. Our team worked with EveryYouth’s to create an inventory management solution that supports their amazing work with young people experiencing homelessness. The system works on Excel to make it easy to use, affordable and effective. By helping them efficiently distribute donated mattresses to young people transitioning out of homelessness into their new homes, our project saved EveryYouth’s small team an entire day of work each month. We will share more about this story in an upcoming post.   

A woman and a man sat in front of laptops covered in stickers, they are smiling and laughing, the man is looking at the woman. They are in an open plan office with other people working on laptops in the background

Looking forward: our B Corp promise

As we enter B Corp Month, we're more convinced than ever that our business can be a powerful force behind positive change. We became a B Corp ourselves in 2024 for this reason.  

Our journey isn't about grand gestures, but about the subtle, transformative power of human connection. We're learning to recognise impact in its most authentic form – not as something we do to communities, but something we co-create, together. 

In the words of urban design expert Nabeel Hamdi, "build a bus stop in an urban slum and a vibrant community sprouts and grows around it – that is the power of small changes that have huge positive effects."  

During and beyond B Corp month, we'll be sharing stories of Opencast’s work with non-profits that demonstrate the scope and approach of our purpose-centred projects, as well as sharing other insights. Look out for those on our website and on social media. 

We look forward to hearing your perspectives – and invite you to join us in reimagining what's possible when technology, empathy and human potential converge. 

Read more about Opencast’s social impact strategy and initiatives.

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