These FAQs are constantly being updated. If you did not find the answer to your question, please send us a message at npe@alleycorp.com and we will get back to you.

  • Organizations must be a 501c3 based in the US that have not received prior funding from Alleycorp in the past, either through Nonprofit ENG(ine) or other programs. Priority will be given to organizations focused on Health Equity, Workforce, and Government Services.

  • There is no minimum operating history needed to apply. Both established nonprofits and start-ups/newcomers are welcome.

  • Organizations must have an existing tech product/service and technical team (internal or contracted) who can collaborate during the project and maintain it afterward. Profiles such as Software Architect, Developer, Designers, Data Scientist, DevOps specialist, etc. are expected on a team to provide people to correspond to during the build and handle maintenance over time. These technical requirements are key for ensuring what will be delivered is maintained and built upon, and the absence of it disqualifies an organization.

  • Yes, but you'll need to demonstrate your ability to adequately maintain the technology over time, including handling security vulnerabilities and bugs. You should describe your backup plans, the length of relationships with contract teams, budgeted spending, and funding sources to prove the longevity of your tech funding.

  • Yes.

  • Potentially, but it depends on the precise structure. Interested organizations should contact the program directly to confirm eligibility at npe@alleycorp.com.

  • No, this is made available only so you can get to know the program and have your questions answered.

  • No.

  • AlleyCorp Nord teams are located in Canada; so your organization's data needs to be allowed to be used in that country (outside of the US), or datasets that are shareable internationally and sufficient data for the modelling and testing needs have to be provided.

Eligibility Requirements

Project and Scope

  • The program focuses on engineering cases with: 1. relatively high technological sophistication (harder to find vendors for); 2. potential to differentially increase the organization's impact; and 3. discrete builds that can be completed within the 250K budget and then maintained internally.

  • Not really, as long the scope can be clearly defined and aligns with AlleyCorp Nord’s expertise, and that the organization is fully involved in decision making and approvals.

  • There is a slight preference for externally-facing systems or internally-facing systems that can catalyze a program’s impact. Applications for internal projects should explicitly explain how external impact will occur.

  • Yes, you can be ambitious about what can be done within the given budget. In any case, provide an actually feasible scoped project versus just a product roadmap or wishlist.

  • No, the program is tech-agnostic and cares about the substance of your application and how the new technology build will support your impact.

Implementation Timeline

  • The first project will begin in September and the second one is likely to start in October, though they aim to start as soon as possible to address nonprofits' key priorities quickly. The organization’s team needs to be available for collaboration for a period of 4 to 6 months, between September 2025 and February 2026.

Funding Structure

  • Two separate winners will each receive $250K in tech/engineering support.

  • The $250K is fully in-kind support and cannot be used to compensate your own staff or external contractors. This amount covers the pay for a team of approximately 3 or 4 skilled technical professionals, for a duration of 4 to 6 months.

Services Provided

  • Services will be bespoke to what the nonprofit winners need most. AlleyCorp Nord offers structured but flexible processes from product discovery and scoping to full implementation and deployment in production. Core expertise includes: Application Product Design and UX for AI Integrations, Data Science Expertise for AI-driven Functionalities, Core Infrastructure & Platform Development, Developer Experience & API Creation, Software Product Development, New Product Discovery, and much more.

  • Common successful use cases include: testing machine learning feasibility to solve user problems or automate workflows, migrating databases or system architecture to address performance issues, building mobile applications to serve new populations, creating infrastructure and data pipelines to make existing data usable, and building cloud environments to bring machine learning models into production.

  • The average team member's years of experience is 8+ years, in a variety of expertise domains. They have experience both with short project sprints and longer term product updating and maintenance. The team is also used to working in a number of different contexts in terms of company size, age of company, etc., with typical engagement lengths ranging from 3 months to 2 years.

  • The AlleyCorp Nord team can work quasi-automously as long as the decision process and approvals are supported by the organization. They can also embed within an existing team and collaborate on a daily basis; this is determined based on the organization needs or preferences, and usual ways of working. However, our teams want to work on discrete projects rather than just adding engineering throughput to an existing team.

  • Maintainability is a top priority. The CIO will work with winners to scope the project. Ideally, the engineering team will embed within your team (connecting weekly or even daily), especially during requirement-setting and design phases to ensure sustainable decisions. This is why having your own tech team is required.

Application Preparation

  • You will need to provide organizational background, including mission, web site / LinkedIn, annual operating budget (kept confidential), number of people served annually, confirmation of eligibility criteria, etc. Then, present your project through a slidedeck, a project presentation video and a technical stack video. Finally, you will be asked to provide availability for a pitching session and general project kickoff.

  • Prepare a pdf document of a maximum of 10 slides, answering the following: 1. What is your organization's vision / mission?; 2. What does your organization do today (i.e. products, services, scale, etc.)?; 3. What technical build could the organization benefit from?; 4. Why have you prioritized this build?; 5. What is the expected impact of the build (i.e. incremental people served)?; 6. What resources have you used up to this point, if any? What resources do you anticipate needing next?; 7. What are risks or unknowns when it comes to the proposed project?; 8. Who from your organization would lead this project with ENG(INE)?

  • Please submit a 5-minute video presenting your slide deck. Focus on the “whys” and include any points that may not be obvious from reading your deck. Focus on your messaging, not video quality or animations. It’s okay to use notes or a script. 

  • Submit a 3-minute video showing your product and technical stack today. Please go over the following: 1. Demo of the existing product; 2. Overview of technical architecture or your tech stack choices; 3. Tech team overview. 

  • You can share a Google Drive link (please make it accessible) or share a Youtube link (please make it "Unlisted"). Learn how to upload an Unlisted video to Youtube: https://sites.uab.edu/apex/for-mph-students/youtube-video/.

Other

  • Partners include Code for America, Fast Forward, BlueRidge Labs, Robin Hood Foundation, The David Prize, Siegel Family Endowment, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Tech:NYC, and New York City Economic Development Corporation. They help with promotion, referrals, and evaluation insights, though AlleyCorp's core team makes final selections.

  • Only the Selection Committee will review applications, and nothing will be shared publicly without your approval ahead of time.