We believe that access to transformation technologies should not be the privilege of large corporations alone. Small local businesses — family bakeries, workshops, local farms — form the basis of a healthy economy. Remolda's Pro Bono program is created for those who make the world better but do not have Fortune 500-level budgets.
What is Remolda's Pro Bono Program?
The Pro Bono program is Remolda's initiative to provide free strategic consulting and help in implementing AI for micro-businesses and social startups whose activities are aimed at creation and community support. We dedicate 10% of our time to projects with "good DNA," helping them automate routine and compete with market giants. For us, this is a way to invest in a future where technology serves people.
Who Can Participate?
- Socially-Oriented Micro-Businesses: Local producers, eco-shops, craft centers.
- Charity Projects: Volunteer organizations, local aid funds.
- Educational Startups: Initiatives for teaching in poor neighborhoods or for vulnerable groups.
How Does it Work?
We conduct a full Remolda cycle (Audit → Strategy → Implementation), but adapted for the scale of a small team. Our goal is not to "tack on a chatbot," but to give you a tool that will save you 10-15 hours of work a week so you can spend them on your cause.
"Your size does not define your impact. We will help you grow through intelligence."
How It Works in Practice: Three Pro Bono Engagements
Understanding what "full Remolda cycle adapted for small teams" actually means is easier through examples.
A local food cooperative in Halifax. A worker-owned grocery cooperative with 11 staff members was spending 18 hours per week on inventory management and member communications — time pulled directly from floor operations. Remolda's audit identified two root problems: inventory data lived in a spreadsheet that only one person knew how to update, and member newsletters required manual translation into three languages. The implementation — a lightweight inventory agent integrated with their existing POS system and an automated multilingual communication tool — reduced the administrative load to 5 hours per week. Total Remolda investment: 40 consulting hours over six weeks.
An Indigenous literacy program in Northern Manitoba. A volunteer-run program teaching reading to adults in a fly-in community had no reliable way to track learner progress or report outcomes to the federal funding body that supported them. Without documented outcomes, their grant renewal was at risk. Remolda built a simple progress-tracking system that worked offline on a shared tablet and synced data when satellite internet was available. The coordinator now generates grant reports in 30 minutes instead of two full days. The program's funding was renewed.
An eco-farm network in the Okanagan. A group of six small organic farms sharing distribution infrastructure had no shared system for coordinating weekly harvest volumes and delivery logistics. Email chains between six different farms created constant errors. Remolda implemented a coordination agent that aggregated harvest reports via a simple text message interface, generated a consolidated delivery manifest automatically, and alerted drivers to route changes. Coordination time per week: from 6 hours to 45 minutes.
Criteria That Matter: The Creation Filter
Not every application is a fit, and clarity about what qualifies is more respectful than vague promises. Remolda's internal Creation Filter evaluates prospective Pro Bono projects on three questions:
Does the organization's core activity create something — for people, for communities, for the environment? Food production, education, care, ecological restoration, cultural preservation, community infrastructure: these are creation. Financial intermediaries, marketing agencies, and organizations whose primary function is administrative management of other organizations are typically not a fit.
Is the bottleneck genuinely administrative? Pro Bono capacity is most effective when the constraint is operational overhead rather than strategic direction or funding. Organizations that need help with strategy or fundraising have different needs that require different resources.
Is the team ready to use what gets built? A system that requires ongoing technical support from Remolda to function is not a successful implementation. Applications from teams with at least one person willing to be trained as an internal champion for the tools are prioritized.
Canadian Context: Why Small Organizations Deserve Better Tools
Canada's charitable sector employs roughly 2.4 million people and contributes $169 billion annually to the economy — more than retail trade. The majority of these organizations operate with fewer than 10 paid staff and rely on volunteer labor to bridge the gap. The administrative burden imposed by grant reporting, compliance requirements, and multi-stakeholder communications is disproportionate to the resources available to meet it.
Technology has historically widened this gap rather than narrowed it. Enterprise software is priced for enterprise budgets. Consulting is priced for organizations with consulting budgets. Remolda's Pro Bono program is a direct response to this dynamic: a commitment that the 10% of operational capacity we dedicate to these projects generates more social return per consulting hour than almost any other work we do.
If your organization is doing genuine creation work and the administrative overhead is pulling you away from it, reach out through our contact page. Tell us what you're building and what's getting in the way.
FAQ: Aid and Creation
How do I apply for the program? Write to us through the contact form marked "Pro Bono." Tell us about your mission and what problem you want to solve with AI.
Are there any hidden fees? No. Within the Pro Bono framework, we work for free. However, we may recommend the use of third-party APIs or services that may have their own rates (we always look for the most budget-friendly or free options).
Why are you doing this? Because Remolda is about "re-molding." We want to live in a world where cool tech helps the baker bake better bread, and the teacher teach children, without being distracted by reports.