Our Work

Upcoming hackathon

Build something useful for your community. Join Maximizing Potential at West Valley College on Friday, November 6, 2026, for a day of collaboration, working prototypes, and social good.

Enter the hackathon

Prepare and submit your project. Event registration is on Luma.

The AI for Social Good Hackathon brings community needs into a day of building with AI. Join a team, create a working prototype, and present it to judges and community partners.

Location: West Valley College
14000 Fruitvale Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070
Hosted by: Maximizing Potential
Admission: Free · Host approval required

Tracks: Senior Safety; Local Economy; Volunteering.

Free and open to the public, including college students, high school students, and anyone who wants to build with AI for good. Bring a laptop; join a team at check-in or arrive with one.

First place: $500
Second place: $300
Third place: $200

Maximizing Potential sponsors the $1,000 prize pool. Snacks and lunch are provided.

Browse event projects

Registration is subject to host approval. Visit Luma for the full schedule and latest event updates.

What social good looks like

Social good starts with practical changes in people’s lives. These areas can guide our hackathons and future community partnerships.

Essential needs

Housing insecurity and homelessness: Helping people remain housed, find safe shelter, and access support for lasting housing stability.
Food insecurity: Improving reliable access to enough nutritious food through food assistance, community meals, and support with getting groceries.
Transportation insecurity: Helping people reliably reach work, school, healthcare, food, and other essential services.
Energy and water insecurity: Supporting reliable access to electricity, heating, cooling, and clean water, including help with unaffordable utility costs.

Stability and opportunity

Financial insecurity: Helping people meet essential expenses, access assistance, and build greater financial stability.
Employment insecurity: Expanding access to reliable work, job skills, and support during job loss or periods of unstable employment.
Digital access: Making reliable internet, usable devices, and digital skills accessible to people who would otherwise be excluded.

Care and safety

Healthcare access: Reducing barriers to physical and mental healthcare, prescriptions, and other necessary support.
Childcare and caregiving: Improving access to affordable childcare and support for people caring for children, older adults, or people with disabilities.
Domestic violence support: Helping people access safety, confidential support, and resources for recovery from abuse.
Scam and fraud prevention for seniors: Helping older adults recognize scams, protect personal information, and find trusted support when fraud or financial exploitation occurs.

Community action

Community engagement: Helping residents take part in local decisions, build social connections, and work together on neighborhood needs.
Volunteer coordination: Connecting volunteers with community needs and helping organizations coordinate people, schedules, and responsibilities.
Crisis response: Helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies through coordinated supplies, support, and reliable information.

These examples are a starting point. We welcome work that responds to other community needs, too.

For participants and judges

The project portal provides submission instructions and published projects. Judges can access their assigned projects through the sign-in page.

Looking ahead

Programs in development

We plan to provide educational workshops, mentorship, technical assistance, and collaborative projects. These programs will help people build skills to develop and sustain charitable initiatives that address community needs.

These programs are in development and are not currently offered. Participation details will be published as programs become available.