Develop For Good
Venture Overview
Develop for Good designs affordable websites, web and mobile apps, and data projects for nonprofits through teams of diverse college tech students supported by professional mentors. Founder Mary Zhu, a Stanford Computer Science graduate (AI and Human-Computer Interaction), launched the nonprofit during COVID-19 to simultaneously support struggling nonprofits and students seeking meaningful professional experience.
Website: www.developforgood.org
Venture Issue Area: Education & Talent
Venture Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Venture Founder
Mary Zhu is the Founder and Executive Director of Develop for Good, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports teams of underserved, underrepresented, and diverse college students as they work on tech projects under professional mentors for other nonprofits. Develop for Good has partnered with several Silicon Valley tech companies and been featured on Forbes and TechCrunch. Since the org was founded in 2020, college students from 250 universities have worked together to produce technical output for nonprofit clients, including UNICEF, WHO, and the Smithsonian. Ultimately, Develop for Good aims to empower the diverse tech leaders of tomorrow to learn by doing good.
After growing up in New Hampshire, Mary graduated from Stanford University with her BS and MS in Computer Science in 2021. In Mary’s early childhood, her family leaned on nonprofit support, catalyzing her commitment to expand economic opportunity. An advocate for skills-based volunteerism, she spoke at TEDxStanford about “Rethinking volunteerism: donating your comparative advantage.” Mary currently serves as an Advisor for Stanford Women in Tech Entrepreneurship.
