Contribute to the Joe Baker Fund

A generous mentor and beloved colleague to many, Joe devoted his heart and brilliance to helping nonprofits advance their missions, especially through strategic uses of technology.

After earning a Ph.D. from UCLA and working as a successful electrical engineer, Joe felt increasingly drawn to support the cause of human rights. So he switched careers and went to work for Amnesty International USA, the organization for which he had volunteered as a college student. Joe spent the next decade working at Amnesty in grassroots advocacy, fundraising, and leadership roles and built the organization’s website. A recent tribute to Joe from his Amnesty colleagues said: “Joe led efforts to bring human rights activism into the digital space, helping to secure the movement’s transformation from its paper-and-ink roots into a potent digital force with instant global reach.”

In 2005, Joe was recruited to become executive director of NTEN, leading our organization through two years of strong growth in our community. Joe later joined Care2 to become that organization’s first Vice President of Advocacy and Growth, where he directly and indirectly helped thousands of progressive nonprofits to mobilize grassroots supporters and win important victories.

In recent years, Joe took a new role as head of fundraising and development at the Adventure Cycling Association, based in beautiful Missoula, Montana. With his wife, Judy Molland, Joe avidly pursued his many interests, including hiking, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, cycling, swimming, gardening, photography, and playing guitar. Joe also volunteered in his community, helping asylum seekers from other countries to settle in Montana and start small businesses to support themselves.

The Joe Baker Fund provides an enduring way to honor Joe’s legacy of kindness and caring. The fund will cover the costs (travel, lodging, and registration) for a few digital activists working at human rights organizations to participate in NTEN’s annual event, the Nonprofit Technology Conference. This way, fund recipients will come together with thousands of other nonprofit professionals to learn from each other and build a more equitable world. Based on available funds, the Joe Baker Fund will support as many activists as possible each year.

Your support will make a life-changing difference in the career and community impact of human rights activists who are making the world a better place!