For nonprofits
If you are a nonprofit, start at 501 Labs.
501 Labs is the 501(c)(3) our founder started to save or generate $1,000,000,000 for nonprofits. Its software is free, funded by donors. Civic Dialog is the commercial practice. 501 Labs is where nonprofits go first, and most never need the paid door.
01 · The scoreboard
A billion dollars, counted in public.
Every dollar 501 Labs saves or generates for a nonprofit is logged and summed here, live, from the same ledger the organizations see. Software replaced, grants won, volunteer value mobilized, staff time returned. Donations a nonprofit raises are not counted.
When Civic Dialog builds for a nonprofit, the outcomes are reported to this ledger through a signed webhook. The number is small today. It is real.
saved or generated for nonprofits so far, of $1,000,000,000
Counts software replaced, grants won, volunteer value mobilized, and staff time returned. Does not count donations a nonprofit raises. Read the method at 501labs.org/impact.
02Free software
Blocks covers the back office. The Lab builds the rest.
Four Blocks, each one job nearly every nonprofit has. Free forever, funded by donors. When nothing fits, wish for a tool and the most-wanted get built.
- Find and win grants.Seek
- Fill every volunteer shift.Rally
- Thank every donor, instantly.Steward
- Run board meetings that run themselves.Quorum
The Lab
Wish for a tool.
Describe the problem. Approved wishes join a public wishlist, other nonprofits add their weight, and the most-wanted are built, free, as new Blocks.
03The Funding Hub
One place for the money that funds missions.
Federal grants, federal assistance programs, private foundations, and community foundations, in one searchable database. Free, no account needed. Search it here.
Results come live from the 501 Labs Funding Hub. About the Hub and its sources
04How the two connect
Civic Dialog and 501 Labs.
Same founder, separate entities, the same way of counting.
Same founder, same arithmetic
The same founder started both. Civic Dialog is the commercial practice; 501 Labs is the 501(c)(3). Both baseline, log, and report savings the same way. One charges for it. The other gives it away.
Free first
If Blocks or the Funding Hub solves your problem, that is the answer, and it costs nothing. Wishes for tools that do not exist yet go on the public wishlist, and the most-wanted get built as new Blocks.
When the paid door is right
Some nonprofits need a build on a deadline, an assessment for a board, or a cohort for staff. Civic Dialog does that work at nonprofit rates, and the measured savings are reported to the 501 Labs scoreboard.
Common questions
Is 501 Labs really free?
Yes. Blocks and the Funding Hub are free to nonprofits, funded by donations rather than subscriptions. There is no per-seat pricing and no paid tier.
What is the scoreboard?
A public, live count of every dollar 501 Labs has saved or generated for nonprofits, toward a goal of one billion. It counts software replaced, grants won, volunteer value mobilized, and staff time returned. It does not count donations a nonprofit raises.
How do Civic Dialog and 501 Labs relate?
Same founder, separate entities. Civic Dialog LLC is a commercial consulting practice. 501 Labs is a 501(c)(3). When Civic Dialog builds for a nonprofit, the outcomes can be reported to the 501 Labs ledger through its signed webhook.
We used to visit civic-dialog.org. Where did it go?
Everything for nonprofits now lives at 501labs.org. The free guides and templates became Blocks and the Funding Hub.
Not sure which door?
Write to us. We will point you at the free tool if one fits, and say so plainly if it does not.
Prefer email? erik@civic-dialog.com