Show HN: My weekend project to connect coders with non-profits

[kellishaver]

After a weekend of coding, last night I launched a very early-version MVP of Coders Who Care. - The goal of the site is to connect nonprofits with developers willing to donate time to a good cause.

Right now, it's simply a directory, but in the future I'll be adding more tools for devs and organizations, including ways for charities to post projects and tools to notify developers when a project is posted that matches their interests, etc. I'll also introduce some social components, like recommendations/endorsements, and I have plans for eventually adding a software distribution system that open source developers can use as a means of stirring up support/donations for their favorite organizations.

Anyway, big plans, tiny beginning. I thought HN might be interested.

http://coderswhocare.org

[pilom]

I'm very curious about how many people you get to volunteer time. One issue you may want to look at is, many non-profits don't need a developer, they need a consultant who can help them come up with what the developer is for. Getting people to understand the difference is important for both ends of the agreement.

Also the black on white and white on black on the homepage is hard on my eyes.

[catone]

That's a good point. My brother -- who until recently ran a small non-profit -- last year had a grant to build a new website and put out a RFP to a bunch of local and national design firms. I think at times he was overwhelmed with the responses and utilized me to sort through them. I spent a good deal of time going over the proposals with him and helping him understand the differences between WordPress and Drupal and PHP vs. Ruby and what sort of features he actually needed on his organization's new website.

In the end he told me that I could probably make a living doing consulting like that strictly for non-profits. There is definitely a need for that sort of guidance.

I think that's where orgs like NTEN can help, and maybe this site could also act as an information clearing house and community for those on the non-profit side to learn about what sort of technologies are available, what they need, what's possible, and how to get it done.

[kellishaver]

I see a need for both, actually, but yes, you're absolutely right. Guidance in this area is just as much needed (maybe more so) than someone to hammer out code. I'll look into finding ways of addressing this need more in the future, when I start expanding. - Also, thanks for the design feedback. Design is definitely something I'm going to revisit as well, time allowing.

[HedgeMage]

I've participated in several such initiatives over the years, so I'd like to offer a tidbit of advice:

The development part is easy.

What happens before (identifying what the group really needs) and after (maintenance, hosting, back-ups, training, support) is the hard part. Too many well-meaning groups put together stellar software that non-profits don't get enough use out of due to lack of attention to the before-and-after pictures.

[kellishaver]

Thanks for the advice. It seems to mirror what some others have been saying and is something I've been putting a lot of thought into today-definitely going to give it some serious consideration going forward and see what I can come up with on that front.

[mindfulbee]

This is awesome! I don't know if this may be of interest, but I know a lot of Universities in our area with college students trying to start non-profits or social ventures whom need help with the developing portion or coding portion. Here's my email: [email protected] Please let me know if you are interested!

[catone]

Clickable link: http://coderswhocare.org

[triviatise]

i think this is a great idea. In austin there is a company convio which provides a platform for non-profits. It might be helpful to talk to them to see if you can form some kind of partnership - they have a lot of connections to non-profits.

This is a chicken and the egg problem and it seems like you need developers. But developers might need to see non-profits that inspire them before getting involved.

[kellishaver]

Thanks. I'll keep Convio in mind - I have connections in Austin, so that's definitely something to consider. I've been getting more involved in nonprofit work lately and have several friends ho are, as well, so we can and want to start reaching out more.

I agree about the chicken/egg problem. I had considered adding a sort of nonprofit showcase, or case studies to the site, or even just covering them on an associated blog, something. I think one of the first things I'll add next is a "tell us your story" type page where nonprofits can submit info on what they're up to and I can start building up a database of interested organizations and details about them.

I'm attending a couple of big-ish charity events soon and primarily wanted to get the site up and hopefully get a few people signed on board prior to that, work out a solid plan going forward, add what I can in the mean time, and start doing some serious promotion in about a month.

It's a bit of a catch-22 on the promotion end of things, as well. You don't want to promote an empty site, but you need to get users somehow - which is a problem I'm sure everyone on HN who's ever launched a member-based site has face, and I'd love some tips on dealing with it. Right now, I'm mostly pushing it among friends.