As an Indy Tech Fellow, Ben Wencke is encouraged to not only continually develop his skills but utilize them to help the Indianapolis community.

In addition to his role as a Software Engineer at Doxly, Ben has recently devoted a big chunk of his time and skill as part of the Indy Tech Fellowship program to helping the United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI).

A Community Project

Ben and his team of Tech Fellows were tasked with creating an app that connects individuals to board and committee opportunities with agencies and partners of UWCI.

Ben Wencke

Ben WenckeIndy Tech Fellow & Software Engineer

“The decisions nonprofit organizations make are informed by knowledgeable board and committee members. However, those board members are all volunteers, and finding the best people who have the time and willingness to serve on a nonprofit board is a significant challenge,” says Ben.

“The project, at its core, is about connecting people,” says Ben. “The goal of our project is to enable everybody to reach out to express interest in those opportunities, as well as give nonprofits a means of finding new people.”

Ben compares the app to a social network for finding board members. “You can almost think of it like LinkedIn but specialized for board positions. It’s where you would go to find people, companies, and more, depending on what you’re looking for.”

As Tech Fellows, Ben and his team are donating their time and skills to  UWCI to build this application — for free. “The Tech Fellowship gives back in a variety of ways. Where it really shines, though, is in the ways it can help the community that others can’t,” says Ben.

“The Tech Fellowship is a group of high-potential, technically-skilled college graduates. We’ve been able to engage the community by building apps that will improve the day-to-day efficiency and quality of life for employees of nonprofits in the city,” says Ben.”  By enabling these organizations to be more efficient, we’re helping them provide more to the community.

The Results

“UWCI wanted create a tool to help build a pool of prospective board and committee members for UWCI and our partner agencies in the community which would also lead to increased volunteerism and support for our not only UWCI but our partners in the community. As we considered our next steps we thought there was no better place to look for help than our tech partners in Indianapolis.

“Through conversations around another event, I started asking about how we might involve the TechPoint Indy Tech Fellows in this project. Several conversations, and lots of planning meetings later, we have a tool. We are so thankful to the Tech Fellows and their work on this project and we can’t wait to see the impact it makes!” Beth Cline, Director- Volunteer Engagement at UWCI

Doxly and the Indy Tech Scene

As a former Xtern and a current Tech Fellow, Ben Wencke has been involved with Indianapolis tech initiatives over the past few years . Now working at Doxly as a Software Engineer, Ben is even more immersed in the emerging tech scene in Indianapolis.

“I believe Doxly is poised to make Indianapolis the home of the next revolution in legal tech. My hope is that our success will draw in other legal tech companies who will come for the best legal tech talent and to work closely with us,” says Ben.

“Additionally, females are underrepresented in tech. Our CEO, Haley Altman, is a woman running an emerging technology company. Hopefully, more women will come to Indianapolis to pursue technology careers,” says Ben.

While excited about B2B SaaS companies, Ben would love to see some diversity in the space. “I think it would be interesting to see more B2C companies in Indianapolis, along with the influx of money and talent that would bring,” says Ben. “I would also like to see Indy expand beyond marketing tech and start to become a well-rounded tech hub.”

Learn more about the Indy Tech Fellowship and how the Tech Fellows support Indianapolis tech growth.