Code for a Cause brings together volunteer developers and designers to build simple websites and web applications for small nonprofit organizations, using Free Software. Like other "code sprints" held by open source projects, C4aC volunteers work in small teams on specific real-world applications. C4aC is sponsored by the Chicago Technology Cooperative.
The inaugural C4aC event was held in conjunction with the 2008 Flourish Conference at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over two dozen people actively participated, with dozens more stopping by to observe, share, and learn throughout the weekend. Completed projects include:
An interactive mashup map of organizations in Chicago providing services to the homeless, aimed at social workers and case workers. Source code.
A prototype site built using the Drupal content management system to replace the organization's existing proprietary CMS. Source code.
Python Screen Scraping - info coming soon
A screen scraping program to be used for simple website migrations where there is no underlying database or no access to the database.