Earth Hacks Foundation
About Earth Hacks Foundation
Earth Hacks turns hackathons into a place where climate ideas can get specific fast, from urban heat island mapping to marine mammal conservation and air quality projects. It works with college students, companies, universities, and organizations that want to build solutions shaped by environmental justice, not just brainstorm about them. For donors, that means backing a model that has already reached over 5,500 students across every inhabited continent and supported over 60 hackathons worldwide.
What sets Earth Hacks apart is the way it uses the hackathon format for climate work, with student-led events, organizational partnerships, and a fellowship centered on environmental justice in technology. Its projects stay grounded in real environmental problems, including illegal fishing monitoring, Amazon rainforest protection, urban heat, and fast fashion.
Programs
The concrete work this nonprofit runs. Each program may later become a fundable project.
Student-Led Hackathons
Supports student-led hackathons in person, hybrid, and virtually on college campuses around the world, including both established and first-time events.
AmazoniaHack
An open innovation hackathon for the Amazon Rainforest, described as the flagship hackathon in Brazil, offered in English and Portuguese in collaboration with a consortium of organizations dedicated to saving the Amazon Rainforest.
Organizational Hackathons
Partners with nonprofits, universities, businesses, and community groups to address environmental problems through prototyping, including projects such as geospatial monitoring dashboards for illegal fishing vessels and mapping urban heat with NASA data.
Workshops and Speaking
Delivers workshops and speaking engagements on theories of change for environmental innovation, youth and climate tech, hackathon engagement strategies, and related topics.
Environmental Justice in Technology Fellowship
Supports students and early-career technologists to center environmental justice in their work while developing projects that bridge climate, technology, and justice.
About this work
In their own words — what they do, who it reaches, and what your dollars actually fund.
Mission
Earth Hacks works with college students, companies, universities, and organizations to host environmental hackathons focused on creating innovative, equitable, and just solutions to the climate crisis.
Who they serve
College students, early-career technologists, and organizations that want to host environmental hackathons or build climate-focused projects.
Their impact
- As of 2024, co-hosted or supported over 60 hackathons worldwide.
- As of 2024, worked with over 5,500 students from every inhabited continent in the world.
How your donation helps
- Support student-led environmental hackathons
- Support the environmental justice in technology fellowship
- Fund organizational hackathons and project prototyping
- Support workshops and speaking engagements
Our story
Earth Hacks began in 2019, when a group of friends in engineering school noticed something missing from the hackathon scene. Environmental issues were rarely the focus. They were inspired by the open-source spirit behind hackathons and started building a way to use that format for climate action. The first Earth Hacks event took place in 2018 in the basement of the Science Museum of Virginia, and the work grew into a national and then international support network for environmental hackathons.
In their words
We believe that everyone, from engineers to English majors, brings a unique and necessary skill set to the climate crisis.
Hackathons are the core of our community and where the magic, well, climate action, happens.
Events
AmazoniaHack
RecurringAn open innovation hackathon for the Amazon Rainforest and the flagship hackathon in Brazil.
Recognition & press
In the media
- All-day "hackathon" engages students in environmental problem-solving
- Hackathon bids to save the world’s rarest marine mammal
- Hacking to Save the Planet: How Sanjana Paul is Applying Tech to Protect Our Environment
- Hackathons: An inclusive way to tackle the climate crisis?
- Episode 1 - Sanjana Paul, executive director of the Earth Hacks Foundation: Stories in Climate
Partners & funders
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this nonprofit and how its work happens.
What kinds of hackathons does Earth Hacks support?
Earth Hacks supports student-led hackathons in person, hybrid, and virtually, along with organizational hackathons with nonprofits, universities, businesses, and community groups.
What topics have Earth Hacks hackathons covered?
Projects and challenges have included urban heat islands, marine mammal conservation, air quality, fast fashion, illegal fishing monitoring, and Amazon rainforest protection.
What is the environmental justice in technology fellowship?
It supports students and early-career technologists as they center environmental justice in their work and develop projects that bridge climate, technology, and justice.
In what languages is AmazoniaHack offered?
AmazoniaHack is offered in English and Portuguese.
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