Hey there, I’m Boris Korsunsky, the Lead Engineer at Sparked.com. I’ve had the privilege and joy of working with a talented team to create a product that addresses the needs hundreds of Non-profits every day. Sparked.com connects individuals from around the globe to serve as volunteers for causes that they’re passionate about using their professional skills.

On average only 8% of corporate employees report volunteering annually. We completely understand that, as professionals, people don’t have a lot of spare time to volunteer. This is why we take the time to ask our volunteers about their skills and interests and connect them with Non-profits in their cause area with a need that matches the volunteers skills. We use a special matching algorithm to connect skill-based online volunteers to the Non-profits that need them most. These needs are transformed into Challenges on our system. Challenges range from designing a business card, to offering advice on website verbiage, to writing a thank you letter to donors, to translating a health pamphlet in Farsi, to helping organize a Kenyan village in building a well. Take a look at our success feed at www.sparked.com/success to get a sense for the diversity of people, Non-profits and Challenges being solved right now by online volunteers.

What’s amazing about this platform is not only how much real, practical output is being generated by volunteers for Nonprofits in need, but also the convenience of being able to do so from your own computer at home or at work, on your coffee break or while watching tv after dinner.

Although any volunteer can join our service for free, we also work with companies large and small to set up employee volunteering solutions. If you browse the site you’ll see employees from large companies like SAP, Kraft Foods, Google and smaller ones like Frog Design and Method Inc contributing their precious time to great causes. These companies are getting benefits like a dashboard of reports that measure their direct impact in terms of success cases and financial summaries that can then be used in their own promotional materials. Employees report experiencing a greater sense of satisfaction with their job and more loyalty to their company for being encouraged to give back in such a direct and convenient way using their real skills.

On a personal level, it has been extremely rewarding to apply my technical skills as a software engineer to help build this platform. I traveled to El Salvador in 2007 on a service-learning trip and saw first hand the realities of poverty and the struggle of decent working people in 3rd world countries. I’ve realized that I have an obligation to apply my time, skills and access to resources in a more direct way to help people without my privileges. Sparked.com has helped get real work done for Non-profits who are out every day fighting for the rights, dignity and equality of those who cannot do so themselves.

Come learn more about our Employee Volunteering Program at http://www.sparked.com/content/corp and about me at http://about.me/borisk