Coding for Charity
announcements
GiveCamp Australia!
Dec 6th
I just found out about GiveCamp Australlia coming online at http://givecamp.org.au/. Can’t tell what the date of there event is yet beyond “2012″, but I am REALLY excited to see this kick off! I’ll add them to my lists so that we can keep up with them here – if anyone finds out more information about when their event is scheduled, or where they’ll be holding the event – please let me know so that I can add them to the map and the calendar.
/ck
National GiveCamp Dates Announced!
Jun 1st
GiveCamp is a weekend-long event where technology professionals from designers, developers, and database administrators to marketers and web strategists donate their time to provide solutions for non-profit organizations. Since its inception in 2007, the GiveCamp program has provided benefits to over 150 charities, with a value of developer and designer time exceeding $100,000 in services. If you have already been involved in a GiveCamp, you also know what a rich, rewarding experience this is personally and for the community. For more information, visit givecamp.org and http://givecampstartersite.codeplex.com/.
In 2011, the weekend of October 21-23, has been designated National GiveCamp weekend. If you currently have a GiveCamp scheduled, you do not need to move it. However, if you can move it, Microsoft is putting together several partnerships to help ease some of the logistics for the National GiveCamp weekend so organizers and participants can focus on supporting non-profit organizations:
- Free Venue: We are putting in national partnerships to provide venue space. Space is limited and available on a first come, first served basis – so sign up early! Send your request to usgcamp@microsoft.com.
- Food & Beverage sponsors: We are enlisting national sponsors to have food and beverage service delivered to participating GiveCamp volunteers throughout the weekend of 10/21 – 10/23.
- Promotion: We will provide you email templates and resources for your use in promoting to non-profits, as well as soliciting potential volunteers. We will also put resources behind amplifying the impact of your GiveCamp to your community by helping create buzz around your GiveCamp event to help draw volunteers and increase community awareness for the non-profits benefiting from GiveCamp.
GiveCamp is a great opportunity for people to work together, develop new friendships, and do something important for their community! It is our dream to see over 50 Give Camps held over the National GiveCamp weekend of 10/21 – 10/23.
Will you join us?
Next Steps:
1. If you are interested in organizing a GiveCamp: by Monday, 8/1 reply to usgcamp@microsoft.com with the information below
|
City, State |
|
|
Community Leader Name |
|
|
Community Leader Contact Phone Number |
|
|
Community Leader Email Address |
|
|
Venue Space Needed |
Yes or No |
|
Community Leader Blog / Web URL |
|
2. Set-up your GiveCamp site with the starter site kit here: http://givecampstartersite.codeplex.com/.
3. For more information, visit givecamp.org.
Charlotte GiveCamp Announced
Apr 18th
Chris Dix let me know today that he’s working on a GiveCamp for Charlotte to coincide with the National Day of GiveCamp, October 21-23, 2011. You can visit his site at http://www.charlottegivecamp.org for more information.
National Day of GiveCamp Dates
Mar 21st
Ok everyone – it’s final! I just got done talking with Mary and the folks at Microsoft about when their next National Day of GiveCamp will be held:
October 21 – 23, 2011
We really appreciate all the support that Microsoft has shown us over the past few years,and we’re even more excited about all the support they give us during this amazing weekend.
For all of you thinking about running one of these GiveCamp events in your area, the National Day of GiveCamp is a great time to get involved. Microsoft has brokered a bunch of relationships with national sponsors to help make your GiveCamp event easier to plan and easier to run. Watch this space for more information, as it evolves, and I’ll be sure to let you know!
n/software and RSSBus added as new GiveCamp partners!
Feb 9th
/n software (www.nsoftware.com)
/n software is offering complimentary licenses of their award winning Red Carpet Subscription to GiveCamp teams building applications with embedded Internet communications, secure messaging, or e-business connectivity. Red Carpet Subscriptions include reusable software components and libraries for every major development technology. Our various product suites include components for a wide range of Internet technologies from File Transfer capabilities to Internet Email, SSL and SSH security, S/MIME encryption, Secure Network Management, Digital Certificates, Credit Card Processing & ACH Payments, Compression, Instant Messaging, Shipping and Tracking, and e-business (EDI) transactions.
Contact: Eric Madariaga ericm@nsoftware.com
RSSBus (www.rssbus.com)
GiveCamp teams can leverage complimentary licenses of the RSSBus Data Providers to easily connect their .NET applications with Amazon Web Services, PayPal, eBay, QuickBooks, FedEx, Salesforce.com, MS CRM, Twitter, SharePoint, Azure, and many other applications and services. The RSSBus Data Providers enable bidirectional access to data with full CRUD support and can easily connect with any system using the familiar ‘Databinding’ idiom, just like you work with any SQL database.
Contact: Casey Thompson info@rssbus.com
How do I run a GiveCamp?
Dec 10th
The most frequently asked question I get is “Hey – this GiveCamp thing sounds cool – how do I start one up?” I have a couple of answers to that question, and one announcement.
First, the best place to get information on how to run your own GiveCamp comes from our GiveCamp cookbook. The cookbook is basically the combined learnings of all the GiveCamp events that have come before, initially inspired by the first ever event, held in Dallas, TX in January of 2007 under the name “We Are Microsoft Charity Challenge Weekend”. The cookbook contains information about recruiting volunteers and charities, planning logistics from a location to meet to network, and more. There are also lots of tips on conducting the actual day-of event – dealing with volunteers, scheduling training, etc. The cookbook is currently the closest thing to a GiveCamp bible, so refer to it often when planning your event. If you have any feedback, please let us know by posting a comment and we’ll work to add
The next best place, especially for getting specific questions answered or getting advice from former leaders, is to use email and Twitter. GiveCamp uses the @givecamp Twitter account and monitors the #givecamp hashtag. If you want to toss out a question or observation, just tell us how excited you are about GiveCamp, Twitter is a great place to do it. We also have an email address, givecamp@live.com, that you can submit questions directly to me and I’ll follow up with you as soon as I can.
In the past, we’ve also hosted a monthly call for all the GiveCamp organizers to get together and discuss questions, etc. I think that with the way that has been going, with so few people attending each month, we’re going to switch to just a Twitter and Email based support that we can offer around the clock rather than take up a block of time during the month to get together on a call. This also lets ANYONE who is monitoring the #givecamp hashtag to contribute to the conversation.
Kentico added as GiveCamp Partner!
Dec 6th
Kentico CMS is a versatile, extensible platform that enables you to deliver the latest Web technology to customers of all sizes. Content-oriented sites, community sites, online stores and intranets—Kentico can do it all. Use Visual Studio and your .NET Framework skills to accelerate the development process. Add out-of-the-box modules that will wow your customers with advanced functionality. Customize and integrate the site with other systems using fully documented open APIs. And enjoy a streamlined deployment experience that is second-to-none.
Kentico is designed to maximize your productivity, so you can work smarter not harder. If you are looking for a Web development platform that delivers immediate results while supporting long-term business growth, try Kentico CMS today.
PepsiCo added as GiveCamp Partner!
Dec 6th
PepsiCo is a world leader in convenient snacks, foods and beverages with the world’s largest portfolio of billion‐dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our brands stand for quality and are respected household names. At PepsiCo, we believe being a responsible corporate citizen is not only the right thing to do, but the right thing to do for our business. We are committed to achieving business and financial success while leaving a positive imprint on society – delivering what we callPerformance with Purpose. To learn more about our Performance with Purpose philosophy, visit http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Performance-with-Purpose.html
Telerik Partners with National Day of GiveCamp
Nov 30th
I’m very happy to report that one of our very first ever sponsors, Telerik, has reconfirmed their commitment to GiveCamp by sponsoring the National Day of GiveCamp! Telerik’s sponsorship provides complimentary licenses for Sitefinity CMS and all Telerik .NET developer tools to GiveCamp events for both the charities and the participating developers! In addition, Gabe Sumner will be delivering a Telerik SiteFinity overview training session on Saturday for the non-proft end users to help them get up to speed on how to maintain their new site after it goes live.
Telerik SiteFinity has become one of the staples of GiveCamp project development, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to continue working with Emily, Todd, Gabe and the gang at Telerik. If you are interested in working with Telerik on event sponsorship for a GiveCamp, Code Camp, Day of .NET or User Group meeting, please contact Emily at Emily.Parker@telerik.com.
About Telerik:
Telerik is a leading vendor of development, team productivity, and automated testing tools, as well as UI components and content management solutions for Microsoft .NET. Created with passion, Telerik products help software development teams every day to be more productive and to deliver reliable applications on time and under budget. Telerik was founded in 2002 by a few friends with a simple idea – to “deliver more than expected”. Nowadays, a market leader with a team of more than 220 professionals spread around the globe in 5 offices, Telerik is still true to its motto – building outstanding products and serving customers with fanatical dedication.
xSQL Added as new GiveCamp Partner!
Oct 13th
GiveCamp is pleased to announce that xSQL Software has joined the ranks of GiveCamp Sponsors!
Rock solid SQL tools for software developers and database administrators. Over 30 thousand users worldwide, hundreds of thousands of hours saved. xSQL Software is pleased to offer complimentary licenses of their xSQL Object, xSQL Data Compare and Script Executor products to development teams building applications at a GiveCamp event.
For more information about this great offer, please contact Naim Sula at givecamp@xsqlsoftware.com.
