Giving Compass' Take:

• Google.org Fellowships is a program of Google's nonprofit division that allows employees to work on special projects at nonprofit organizations for up to six months. 

• Will other tech companies offer these kinds of opportunities to employees?

• Read about AI for Social Good and how this technology will help nonprofit organizations. 

Google’s nonprofit division Google.org has long committed to donating 1% of the company’s total equity and profits to charity. Based on the $1 billion pledge it made in October 2017, the company has focused on causes like education, economic opportunity, and inclusion. Some groups receiving funding just so happen to also make the online world more accessible, informative, and safe for users.

This week, Google extended its humanitarian efforts with Google.org Fellowships, a program that allows its own employees to embed for up to six months at nonprofits with special projects that need the help of experts in computer engineering, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.

Its first formal collaboration will be with workplace development organization Goodwill Industries International. Starting January 15, seven Google employees will spend three months at Goodwill offices in different cities. Those workers represent the first of between five and 10 fellowship classes or about 40 to 60 people that will be deployed this year.

In a way, Google’s fellowships operate similarly to the larger paid time-off program at IBM. In addition to donating large sums of cash and technology to groups working to solve major societal issues, IBM often fields small teams of coders, engineers, and even business development experts for monthlong projects alongside whatever nonprofit, governmental agency, or social entrepreneur has an idea that could use immediate acceleration.

All told, the 40 to 60 workers that make up Google’s 2019 class of fellows should contribute 50,000 hours of dedicated employee time at nonprofits this year, and expand to other cause areas like criminal justice and poverty.

With stints between three and six months (the two timeframes they’ve shared so far), that’s a doable metric with pretty standard workweeks. While it’s not clear yet how fast the fellows program will grow, the organization wants to expand internationally and eventually include its non-tech workers.

Read the full article about Google.org fellowship by Ben Paynter at Fast Company