Summersault Blog

When Summersault first started out, one of our goals was to try to help not-for-profit organizations take advantage of the technologies of the Internet when they might not otherwise be able to do so. Of course, we were thinking about all of the cool things we could do for them on their sites to help level the playing field and get their image and message out to the wider world…we weren’t always thinking about the fact that this goal doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a good business model for a tech startup. Many of the groups we wanted to help didn’t have the budget for even the simplest web presence, and on the other hand, there were a good number of non-profits out there with plenty of funds but with technical problems we had no interest in working on solving.

Summersault has since refined its mission to be to “build and sustain communities using the technologies of the Internet,” which still encompasses quite a bit of work for non-profits, though it allows us to do great things when crossing into lots of other sectors, too, and put those same technologies to work. And while we still offer significant discounts to some organizations that couldn’t afford our services otherwise, we know we still can’t compete with “free” or with the constant budget pressure that many organizations (non-profit and for-profit alike) face.

Enter CharityFocus.org, a website and general effort to connect non-profit organizations with zero funds for custom web development to volunteers who have an interest in giving their talents to help out. As they say on their website, “CharityFocus endeavors to inspire greater volunteerism and to provide meaningful volunteer opportunities for all who want them — no matter what their skills, how much time they have to give, where they are located, and what their interests. In the process, CharityFocus volunteers provide much-needed assistance to nonprofit organizations worldwide and create inspiring local events that manifest the spirit of service.” So, I just thought I’d put this entry up with a link, in hopes that someone will find them to be useful.

I should say that I don’t have any first hand experience of CharityFocus.org or what they can produce, but from reviewing their programs, partners and the testimonials they’ve posted, it seems like a service worth checking out for those that have that need. If you know of other similar programs and sites, feel free to comment and let us know!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2006 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous, Website Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.