Catchafire
Catchafire matches nonprofits with skilled professionals who volunteer on scoped projects and one-hour calls. It is free for nonprofits; foundations and companies pay for the programs, and access without a sponsor is by waitlist.
- Type
- Service
- Cost model
- Free for nonprofits (funder-paid)
- Nonprofit terms
- Sponsored access or waitlist
- Last reviewed
- October 7, 2026
What is Catchafire?
Catchafire is a skills-based volunteering platform. Nonprofits post scoped projects or one-hour calls, and skilled professionals volunteer to do the work for free, from marketing plans and website help to finance and HR questions. Catchafire offers more than 150 project templates, so a nonprofit starts from a defined scope rather than a blank request.
The part to understand before you plan around it is who pays. Catchafire sells its programs to foundations and companies: funders buy a capacity-building program for their grantees, and companies buy an employee volunteering program. Nonprofits use the platform at no cost, and Catchafire says it does not offer paid memberships to nonprofits.
That means access usually comes through a funder. If one of your funders sponsors a Catchafire program, ask to be invited. If not, you can request a free membership and join a waitlist; Catchafire says it will let you know if a spot opens.
Getting started
Ask your foundation or corporate funders whether they sponsor Catchafire. Without a sponsor, submit the membership request form and plan your project in the meantime, so you can post it as soon as access opens.
Best For
Best for nonprofits that need professional help on a defined task, such as a marketing plan, a board recruitment push or a finance question, and whose funders sponsor Catchafire. Less useful if you need ongoing staff capacity or cannot wait for a waitlist spot.
How It Fits
- Learning curve
- Project templates make scoping easier, but a staff member still needs time to brief the volunteer and review the work.
- Setup timeDepends on access
- With a sponsor, you can post a project from a template quickly. Without one, the waitlist sets the timeline.
- Organization sizeSmall to mid-sized nonprofits
- Most useful for teams without in-house specialists who need help on one defined task at a time.
- Technical skillLow
- The work is scoping the project and managing the volunteer, not technical setup.
Before You Sign Up
Cost and access
Free for nonprofits. Catchafire's help center says access is at no cost and that it does not offer paid memberships to nonprofits. Programs are paid for by foundations (for their grantees) and companies (for employee volunteering), and Catchafire does not publish those prices.
Eligibility and availability
Nonprofits join through a funder-sponsored program or by requesting a free membership and waiting for a spot. Catchafire's pages do not state a 501(c)(3) requirement or country limits, so confirm both when you apply.