Topic

Volunteering

Give your time and talents to help with projects around the City.

Join Graffiti Watch

Get the supplies and training needed to help fight graffiti vandalism in your neighborhood.Find out more

Services

Clean streets in my community

Adopt a street
Groups, individuals and businesses can adopt an area to keep clean. We will give you free cleaning supplies.
Adopt a drain
Residents or business owners can take care of a storm drain. You will need to keep it clear and free of debris.
Become a Rain Guardian
Adopt a rain garden in your neighborhood. You’ll need to guard it and pick up trash and debris.
Join your Community Clean Team
Work alongside City workers to keep our neighborhoods green and clean.
Join your neighborhood Graffiti Watch
Fight graffiti. We’ll give you supplies and training.

Care for parks, trees, and animals

Volunteer at an animal shelter
Make a difference for animals in need at San Francisco Animal Care & Control. Meet new friends, reduce stress, and get some exercise.
Volunteer with Rec and Parks
You could beautify and maintain one of the City's amazing outdoor spaces.
Support the Urban Agriculture Program
Join SF Recreation and Park Department's Urban Agriculture Program if you are a backyard gardener, community gardener, or urban farmer.

Volunteer with government

Become a Youth Commissioner
Applications for 2026 to 2027 are not yet open.
Apply to be a mediator for complaints about police officers
Assist the DPA in handling complaints about police conduct.

Make your neighborhood better

Propose a sidewalk garden
Gardens make a neighborhood more beautiful. Gardens also help in storms and can make trees live longer.
Plant a street tree
Get a permit to plant a tree on the sidewalk.
Get a bike rack installed
Apply to have a bike rack installed on a sidewalk, so there will be more parking for bikes.
Get support for a community event
San Francisco Parks Alliance runs Action Awards, grants for free community events.

Help in an emergency

Sign up for neighborhood disaster training
Volunteer for the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT).
Join the Auxiliary Law Enforcement Response Team
Get training to help in the aftermath of an earthquake, fire, or other disaster.
Join the San Francisco Medical Reserve Corps
Medical and health professionals can volunteer and get training to help in a large scale disaster.
Map your block
Prepare your community for an emergency, one block at a time.
Volunteer in times of emergency as a health professional
Join the San Francisco County Disaster Healthcare Volunteer (DHV) program.

Help healthcare patients

Volunteer at Zuckerberg General Hospital
Greet patients and help them find their way around the hospital.

More services

Browse open data
San Francisco publishes over 400 datasets on its open data portal. See what you can do with that data.
Participate in Civic Bridge
Get your employer signed up to partner with the City to solve civic challenges.

Resources

Help the homeless

Volunteer or donate to local nonprofits addressing homelessness
Improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and those in transitional and supportive housing.
The United Way of the Bay Area
Inspires and connects people to break the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area.
Project Homeless Connect
Project Homeless Connect provides the public ways to sign up for volunteer activities.