They don’t call them ‘geeks for good’ for nothing. On Wednesday more than 80 NTC attendees participated in the annual Nonprofit Technology Day of Service, donating their services and time valued at over $50,000.

Conference attendees hooked up with local volunteers to help out 34 local nonprofits, including the Center for Community Change, the Genocide Intervention Network, National Student Partnerships, and Wilderness Technology Alliance.

The Day of Service, sponsored by Cisco Systems, let conference attendees share their skills and expertise with local nonprofits. Participating organizations were able to get some help with their technology problems, and volunteers were able to connect with DC colleagues and not only share their expertise, but also learn new ways of working with technology.

For the first time there were two ways to participate in the Day of Service. Volunteers could either visit a local nonprofit’s office to work on tactical projects, such as software training or network documentation, or stay on site at the conference and providing strategic consulting.

In addition to the donated services, participants said they were most excited to connect with peers and find out how to work with technology. “We have international NGOs who come to the NTC to get a peek at how American organizations work,” said Beth Kanter, the coordinator of the Day of Service.

Royelen Lee Boykie from Public Citizen attended the NTC last year and “loved hearing people’s stories (about the Day of Service).” This year she volunteered her skills for a fundraising strategy session and looked forward to “hearing what others are doing and doing something good at the same time.”

Many thanks to Beth for coordinating the Day of Service, as well as our partners NPower and VolunteerMatch, and our sponsor Cisco Systems. And a huge thank you to all the participants for making the Day of Service a big success.