The organization's programs engage young Americans from mostly urban areas in community service and promote literacy among children and adults in developing countries.

[1] buildOn views its service learning and school construction programs as a form of social activism that intends to, in their words, "break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations".

[2] President and CEO Jim Ziolkowski was inspired to found the nonprofit after watching a two-day celebration for the opening of a school in a village in Nepal, where he was backpacking.

Students from these programs volunteer in their own communities, working on small to large- scale regional service projects such as serving meals at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, spending time with home-bound senior citizens, and tutoring and mentoring younger children.

Some students in buildOn’s service programs are also given the opportunity to participate in the building of an international school, an experience the organization refers to as a “Trek for Knowledge”.

In 2010, a group from one of buildOn’s afterschool programs in Detroit planted a community garden on an abandoned lot surrounded by gangs and prostitution.

[16] buildOn was also one of the 14 nonprofits who partnered with Sojo Studios on the release of WeTopia, a Facebook game through which players contribute funds to organizations supporting worldwide causes such as the fight against poverty, hunger, and violence.