How Haiti’s Earthquake Inspired LinkedIn’s Skill-based Volunteer Marketplace

It’s not just for landing your next job anymore. In the event of a natural disaster, LinkedIn has a new service--LinkedIn For Good--that will connect people in need with people with the skills to help them. It’s all part of their desire to increase volunteerism, and create social change with human capital.

In 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake stuck west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, disrupting life for millions of residents and razing infrastructure across the impoverished country. The widespread destruction led to an outpouring of support, with donations flooding in from around the world. But the country needed more--more than just Sean Penn and Wyclef Jean, at least--and some turned to an unlikely source for help: LinkedIn.

"When the Haiti disaster happened, they called us and said, 'We’re getting lots of money and physical goods, but what we need are electricians and plumbers and people who can help us rebuild homes,'" recalls Deep Nishar, LinkedIn’s SVP of product. "'How do we find them?'" more

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