Date: August 1, 2023
Photo CC BY 4.0 Outreachy
Outreachy is seeking open source and open science communities to mentor Outreachy interns in the December 2023 cohort.
As everyone is aware, donations to Outreachy have decreased over the last few years. Because of this, Outreachy is not currently able to fund any internships out of our general activities fund.
Outreachy's finances are at a critical point. We would be so grateful if all of our communities help us identify fundraising leads so that Outreachy can continue to run.
Donation amounts
In order to run our program in the most basic way, Outreachy needs to receive donations of at least $8,000 to $10,000 USD per intern we accept. This breaks down to:
Outreachy is currently facing critical financial challenges. At this time, communities must donate at least $8,000 USD per intern they wish to mentor. We really hope communities increase their donation beyond that to ensure Outreachy can continue running.
Outreachy is a labor intensive program. Outreachy organizers are highly involved with interns. Outreachy organizers work closely with your community's mentors to empower your interns to pursue a future in FOSS. While most of our internships complete without issues, each cohort there are multiple internships where the organizers step in provide support to both interns and mentors. They also are almost always available via Zulip to both interns and mentors.
Outreachy's deep support of interns, along with your mentoring partnership, means 80% of past Outreachy interns continue to contribute to open source after their internship.
We need your community's help to identify and convince organizations to provide donations to help Outreachy sustain our deep support of interns, and retain their amazing talent in our open source community. Please don't think about this as just finding funding for your interns for this internship cohort. This is about ensuring the future of Outreachy, and we ask for your help to fund our essential program activities.
Please see the full mentor schedule below.
What is Outreachy?
Mentor duties
December 2023 internship dates
Humanitarian open source funding
Open science funding
Outreachy is an internship program. Outreachy internships are:
💵 Paid - $7,000 USD total internship stipend
🌍 Remote - both interns and mentors work remotely
🕰 3 months - internships run December 04 to March 01
Outreachy's goal is to increase diversity in open source. Past Outreachy interns are:
♀️ 92% women
🏳️🌈 4% transgender, genderqueer, or non-binary people
🧕🏾 64% people of color
🧑🏿 12% people from a historically disadvantaged caste or tribe
Statistics are based on responses to the 2019 longitudinal study of Outreachy alums.
The heart of Outreachy is our volunteer mentors. Mentors work directly with Outreachy applicants and interns.
Outreachy looks for mentors who are helpful, patient, welcoming, and kind.
Mentor time commitment:
Mentors will need to provide an internship project description. Outreachy does not allow applicants to submit project ideas.
It is okay for mentors to submit multiple project ideas. Communities with sponsorship for one intern tend to list 1 to 3 projects. Some communities list as many as 5 to 7 projects.
Outreachy encourages co-mentoring! Co-mentoring is when two or more people mentor the same Outreachy intern.
Mentors will need to provide a list of tasks for applicants to work on during the contribution period.
Are you curious what it's like being an Outreachy mentor? Are you thinking about having your open source or open science community mentor Outreachy interns?
Come learn more about mentoring Outreachy interns during our two live-streamed chats! We'll host a panel of past Outreachy community coordinators and mentors, who will share their experiences and tips for participating in Outreachy.
Chat dates:
Where: YouTube
| Aug. 1, 2023 at 4pm UTC | Community sign up opens |
| Aug. 8, 2023 at 4pm UTC | Initial applications open |
| Aug. 22, 2023 at 4pm UTC | Initial application deadline |
| Sept. 15, 2023 at 4pm UTC | ⚠️ Deadline for communities to sign up to mentor |
| Sept. 29, 2023 at 4pm UTC | ⚠️ Deadline for mentors to subject project descriptions |
| Oct. 2, 2023 | Contribution period begins |
| Oct. 30, 2023 | Contribution period ends |
| Oct. 30, 2023 at 4pm UTC | Final application deadline |
| Nov. 6, 2023 | Intern selection deadline |
| Nov. 13, 2023 | Outreachy organizers finalize intern selections |
| Nov. 21, 2023 at 4pm UTC | Interns are publicly announced on the alums page |
| Dec. 4, 2023 to March 1, 2024 | Internships period |
As everyone is aware, donations to Outreachy have decreased over the last few years. Because of this, Outreachy is not currently able to fund any internships out of our general activities fund.
Outreachy's finances are at a critical point. We would be so grateful if all of our communities help us identify fundraising leads so that Outreachy can continue to run.
Donation amounts
In order to run our program in the most basic way, Outreachy needs to receive donations of at least $8,000 to $10,000 USD per intern we accept. This breaks down to:
Outreachy is currently facing critical financial challenges. At this time, communities must donate at least $8,000 USD per intern they wish to mentor. We really hope communities increase their donation beyond that to ensure Outreachy can continue running.
Outreachy is a labor intensive program. Outreachy organizers are highly involved with interns. Outreachy organizers work closely with your community's mentors to empower your interns to pursue a future in FOSS. While most of our internships complete without issues, each cohort there are multiple internships where the organizers step in provide support to both interns and mentors. They also are almost always available via Zulip to both interns and mentors.
Outreachy's deep support of interns, along with your mentoring partnership, means 80% of past Outreachy interns continue to contribute to open source after their internship.
We need your community's help to identify and convince organizations to provide donations to help Outreachy sustain our deep support of interns, and retain their amazing talent in our open source community. Please don't think about this as just finding funding for your interns for this internship cohort. This is about ensuring the future of Outreachy, and we ask for your help to fund our essential program activities.
Outreachy is seeking humanitarian open source communities to participate in the December 2023 internship round.
Outreachy welcomes applications from all open source communities that address humanitarian issues. You will need to meet our eligibility criteria.
In short, your community must be:
Past communities that have received humanitarian funding include projects like:
Outreachy will fund up to 10 humanitarian open source communities in the December 2023 internship cohort. Humanitarian communities will be guaranteed funding for at least 1 intern.
To apply for humanitarian open source intern funding, please submit a community application.
Please contact Outreachy organizers with your questions about humanitarian open source funding!
Outreachy welcomes open science communities who focus on any of the following areas:
Outreachy expects to fund interns with 10-15 open science communities in the December 2023 Outreachy internship cohort.
To apply for open science intern funding, please submit a community application.
