Types of Questions
[Questions for nonprofits submitting or considering submitting proposals]
[Questions for nonprofits selected for Seattle GiveCamp]
Questions for those submitting (or considering submitting) proposals
What is a Seattle GiveCamp?
A GiveCamp is a weekend-long event where software developers, designers, and database administrators donate their time to create custom software for nonprofit organizations. This custom software could be a new website for the nonprofit organization, a small data-collection application to keep track of members, or an application for the Red Cross that automatically emails a blood donor three months after they’ve donated blood to remind them that they are now eligible to donate again. The only limitation is that the project should be scoped to be able to be completed in a weekend.
When is the deadline for submitting proposals?
That information can be found on this page.
What do you need from me?
Start off with completing the Proposal Form on located here.
Success for each charity depends on a couple of things, but all starts with involvement. It’s critical that members of the charity be available before, during and after the event to ensure that your development team is successful. If your organization is selected, the following requirements are made:
- A representative from your charity must attend the kick-off meeting on Friday from 6pm to 10pm (possibly a little later). This person should be knowledgeable about the proposal document and the work that our developers are being asked to do.
- At least one representative from your organization must be available online for
at least four hours on Saturday and be available by phone outside that (8am to 10pm)
so that any questions about the application can be answered, and the team has the information they need to complete their assigned tasks. - Members of your organization that will be maintaining the application after the event is over
are encouraged to attend one of the various training sessions that will be conducted during the weekend. - Lastly, at least one member of your organization must be online for the handoff and final presentation on Sunday during the hours of noon to 6pm to see the results and take possession of the application. The people you send must include the organization’s technical expert.
It goes without saying that the most successful nonprofit projects result from a strong commitment to participate my members of the nonprofit, so you’re strongly encouraged to exceed the above minimums.
How will the Nonprofits be selected?
We will review all proposals and score them. We will arrange a time to interview most applicants to discuss their application. Our goal is to accept around a dozen proposals.
What should my Nonprofit Proposal include?
Your proposal will be used to help us decide if your proposal will be accepted. Read each question carefully and answer it honestly. Follow these tips:
- Answer each question succinctly but with adequate information.
- Start with a great idea for a software solution.
- Read and re-read a copy of the Nonprofit FAQ and the
Rules and Guidelines before beginning the application. - Realize that you may have to pay some hosting fees to host the app and backend services to support the app. These fees should be nominal, however.
- Magic can happen during the GiveCamp weekend but we can’t do the impossible. Be realistic in your expectations.
- If you expect to be on vacation or on a trip during the review period (between August and September), make sure to include an alternate contact person at your organization who can answer any questions about your proposal.
See the nonprofit page for more details.
What if I am not sure what to propose?
See proposal suggestions on our nonprofit information page.
What if I need to modify my proposal after I have submitted it?
Before the submission deadline, submit a new proposal and mention in the notes that this proposal replaces the original proposal from your organization. (We will only consider one proposal per organization!)
After the submission deadline, we ask you not to alter your proposal unless you learn new information that affects the proposal (e.g., your contact info has changed, you are leaving the organization and wish to hand off to another individual at my organization, or you wish to withdraw our proposal).
You can email us at info@seattlegivecamp.org. Make sure you mention the organization name and the name of the person who originally submitted the proposal.
When will I know if my proposal has been selected?
All nonprofits submitting proposals for Seattle GiveCamp will be contacted by the end of September.
What happens after I am selected?
If you are one of the organizations that are selected, we will contact you to finalize your design requirements and what we will expect of you.
When do we have to be at Seattle GiveCamp?
See above under What do you need from me? for details.
What if no one from my organization can make it to the event?
Someone from organization must be there at GiveCamp. This is not negotiable. See above under What do you need from me? for details.
Will Seattle GiveCamp volunteers support my solution after Seattle GiveCamp?
No. The idea of GiveCamp is to tackle a project that can be completed in a weekend. On Sunday, you need to take over ownership
of the solution that Seattle GiveCamp provides.
Questions for those selected for Seattle GiveCamp
What is the schedule for the weekend?
Here’s the developing schedule (finalized at kickoff): Seattle GiveCamp agenda
If selected, how do I work with the volunteers at Seattle Givecamp?
This year we are online only. More details on how to connect will be provided to the selected participants but it will be a combination of video conferencing, chat software, email, phone, …
In addition, you will need to prepare the following:
- Any artwork needed for the project. Put it on a USB drive or place it in a DropBox or Google Drive folder that you have access to.
- Login information for any existing site or system that the team will need access to.
- Login information for any system that the will need to complete the project.
What is our commitment onsite?
Your organization has committed to the following during the Seattle GiveCamp weekend:
- A representative from your charity must attend the kick-off meeting on Friday from 6pm to 10pm (possibly a little later).
This person should be knowledgeable about the proposal document and the work that our developers are being asked to do. - At least one representative from your organization must be available online for at least four hours on Saturday and be available by phone at other times (9am to 6pm) so that any questions about the application can be answered and the team has the information they need to complete their assigned tasks.
- Members of your organization that will be maintaining the application after the event is over
are encouraged to attend one of the various training sessions that will be conducted during the weekend. - Lastly, at least one member of your organization must be online for the handoff and final presentation on Sunday during the hours of noon to 6pm to see the results and take possession of the application. The people you send must include the organization’s technical expert.
Will I be able to update the application or solution that the Seattle GiveCamp volunteers worked on?
Yes. Each nonprofit will be provided transition information in how to maintain their application once the weekend is over.
This is why it is critical that a technical person from your organization be online Sunday afternoon so we can share that information with them.
Will Seattle GiveCamp volunteers support my solution after Seattle GiveCamp?
No. The idea of GiveCamp is to tackle a project that can be completed in a weekend. On Sunday, you need to take over ownership of the solution that Seattle GiveCamp provides.