Our 22nd annual Nonprofit Software Development Summit will take place 19-21 November, 2025 at our long-time home in Oakland, California USA.
We talk much less about software development that the event name might suggest, and much more about how digital technology can equitably, appropriately and accountably empower racial, social, and climate justice movements. We don't hype tech; we question and challenge the role of all things digital with regard to building power in movements.
Our collaborative annual gathering includes everyone from grassroots activists and campaigners, to journalists and policy advocates, to movement lawyers and fundraisers, to educators and communicators, to software and hardware developers. Our community comes together from around the world to share knowledge, build relationships, and collectively envision the future of free, open and equitable digital tools and practices to support social change.
Co-create the agenda
The agenda will be a diverse collection of discussions and interactive sessions developed in collaboration with participants. We will employ our interactive and participatory approach to convenings, and work to specifically address the outcomes highlighted as most useful and relevant to those in attendance.
Based on conversations, collaborations and real-world developments over the past year, topics likely to be on the agenda include:
- Centering equity and inclusion in all digital practices
- Better understanding the roles "artificial intelligence" and "machine learning" could *and should not* play in justice efforts
- Data-driven campaign and program strategies
- Strategic development and financial sustainability
- Self-care and professional development
- The role of digital policy in our work
- Visions and plans for movement-owned, movement-governed digital infrastructure, and
- Digital security practitioner skillshares.
There are sure to be continued dialogues on CRM's (constituent relationship managers) and CMS (content management systems, like Wordpress and Backdrop), all things free and open source software, capacity building, facilitative leadership, and more.
Each person participating will be encouraged to add their topics to the session list, and we invite everyone participating to bring your stories, ideas, questions, and knowledge to share.
You can check out the 2024 agenda and session notes from our most recent Dev Summit, all co-created with participants.
Get involved
Want to know how to stay involved in the meantime?
- Join the low volume Nonprofit Software Development Discussion List to participate in nonprofit and activist tech conversations and get notified of important event announcements year-round.
- If discussions lists are not your thing (or are way too much of your thing ;^), you can join the announce-only Nonprofit Software Development Announce List to get updates about the Dev Summit and Dev Summit-related announcements year-round.
- Help us spread the word about the event using the hashtag #npdev.
- Follow Aspiration on Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter (yuk, deprecating) to check out updates and join the conversation.
- You can also browse the agenda and session notes from almost 2 decades of Dev Summits on our Dev Summit wiki.
Help us co-create safe and accessible spaces
We invite you to check out our Participation Guidelines and Event Expectations for sharing and exploration at Aspiration events. All participants are expected to help create the most inclusive and safe space possible by honoring the Participation Guidelines and Event Expectations.
We strive to host accessible events that maximize the opportunity of all individuals to participate and engage wholly in all spaces and activities, in full respect of cultural and linguistic identities, care needs, and abilities.
Come connect, learn, and celebrate with us at this unique and interactive gathering.
We look forward to seeing you in November!