We Flip the Volunteer Model…Making It Easy
Easy to Organize, Easier to Volunteer, Easiest to Make an Impact
Instead of you having to find an organization, coordinate the logistics, then beg your volunteers to show up—we do all the heavy lifting. After listening to you, we'll build an event that is 100% suitable to your needs. All you have to do is show up and have a good time!
Sign up
Tell us what type of event you're looking for.
Fill out our online form and let us know which dates work for you, how many volunteers you think you'll have, and any other specific requests. We pride ourselves on accommodating any needs you have.
We’ll coordinate
We'll handle the logistics and planning for you.
Our events can be anywhere from 90 minutes to one week in length, in-person (school/office) or virtual, We’ll organize a business competition with a group of middle or high school students for your employees or a “hackathon” for your employees to engage in education challenges across the US
Show up
Your team simply shows up, in person or online.
No pre-work. Ever. Unless you’re an overachiever and into that sort of thing. We got you either way. With our guidance, your employees will help a group of middle or high school students solve a real problem for a real company, like creating a new shoe for Nike.
Make an impact
Help us make education more exciting.
98% of SuitUp volunteers feel they made a positive impact on the students' lives, and your employees will be part of a larger movement to give students exciting, real-world curriculum.
Still Have Questions? We Got You!
HOW DOES SUITUP WORK?
We will organize an in-person or virtual business competition. Companies have two different offerings to engage in SuitUp programming, working directly with students or indirectly. 1) Direct Service: Employee volunteers will coach a team of students from an underserved community to solve a business case around a recognizable brand. Students will be divided into teams and will compete to create a new business product/solution. At the end of the event, teams will pitch their new ideas to business experts and the winning team receives a cash prize. 2) In-Direct Service: Employees will compete in a “hackathon” style competition to tackle a problem facing the education system today. They will present their ideas to a panel of students, schools, non-profits, etc. and the winning solution will be shared nationwide.
HOW MANY VOLUNTEERS DO WE NEED?
We've run events for as few as 5 volunteers, and as many as 300. Unlike many volunteer events which are dependent on the number of people, SuitUp is flexible. All we need from you is a volunteer turnout range - give us your worst and best case volunteer numbers and we'll find a group of students that can work anywhere in that range! For example, if you think you'll have a 10-30 person turnout, we'll shoot for 25-40 students, which is a great ratio regardless!
WHEN CAN WE DO A SUITUP EVENT?
Whenever convenient for you! Our programs are held Monday-Friday traditionally at 10am, 1pm, or 3pm, however we’re flexible! Our direct service programs run over the span of 2-5 days (~1 hour per day) and indirect service programs are 90 minutes-120 minutes in length. For direct service events, we book out 6-8 weeks in advance and indirect service events, as little as two weeks!
WHERE DO THE EVENTS TAKE PLACE?
SuitUp events can be held virtually, at any of our school locations, or in your office if you like! If in a school, we'll find a location easy for your employees to find. If at your office, we'll help you understand the space needed. Please note, during the pandemic we’ve suspended all in person programming to protect our students and our corporate partners.
HOW DO YOU FIND THE STUDENTS/SCHOOLS?
We partner with leading education organizations and Title I schools across the country that will most benefit from SuitUp’s programming. Our students are typically late-middle or early-high school students, have a commitment to our mission, and strong in-school leadership to teach to SuitUp programming.
DO WE NEED TO DO ANY PREP-WORK?
Hardly any! SuitUp is a full-service provider and does all the heavy lifting. With an onboarding process that rivals any for-profit company, SuitUp sets your team up with email templates, virtual registration, onboarding calls, and more. All we need our primary contact to do is encourage the team to show up. If you're hosting in your office, we'll need some help getting into security and booking a room or two, but that's it!
OKAY BUT SERIOUSLY, NO PREP? HOW DOES THAT WORK?
Each volunteer receives a Coach Handbook at the beginning of the SuitUp event (we'll email this out in case you have overachievers who want to prep). This handbook will guide volunteers on how to coach their team through the business competition, and includes scripts, FAQs and tips from SuitUp pros to make sure they have a fun and impactful experience. We also offer companies the opportunities to do a virtual 30-minute “prep” with our staff if that’s of interest.
HOW MUCH DOES SUITUP COST?
For each in-person or virtual event, SuitUp requests a $3,500+ donation (depending on event size and type) to our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to cover our students and our expenses. These include:
Dedicated SuitUp Program Manager to onboard you throughout the entire competition planning process
2-4 Program Facilitators to lead your company through the competition
School sourcing and matching
Coach and Student Handbook creation and printing/publishing
Virtual Workspace for the competition (we use Bevy, Zoom, and Miro)
Competition materials - markers, poster board, virtual materials, etc.
Pizza lunch for all volunteers and students (in-person)
Prize money for the winning student team
On-site management of your event
Logistics management so there's minimal pre-work for you and your team
Customized impact survey data following the event
CAN WE CUSTOMIZE SUITUP AROUND OUR BRAND?
Yes! This is a more comprehensive process, so we'll need some help to understand your brand from your end, but it's an even more rewarding experience! For custom competitions, please email our Executive Director, Lauren Reilly, who can help build the most effective program.