Charitable Software Projects - Silicon Beach Australia

Message from discussion Charitable Software Projects
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Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:14 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: Re: Charitable Software Projects
From: dimka <dimka.koz...@gmail.com>
To: Silicon Beach Australia <silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com>
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Hi Jonathan,

I am not working for any charity and I don't know what kind of
problems do they have to deal with.
Here are couple of quick thoughts from an outside perspective.

Charities need better transparency.
How can I find out what do they spend donated money on? How effective
are they? What percentage of money goes to cover the management
overhead and what serves the proclaimed purpose? What do they actually
do to make their work more effective? There are so many types of
charities, some of them do their work fine, some not. How to figure
out who is who?

Collecting money from public could be improved. I do not think that
sending volunteers to streets is the most effective way.
Examples: http://www.freerice.com

Helping people by simply giving money away may not necessarily be a
good thing and may achieve completely the opposite result. What
charities do about that?
Examples: http://www.kiva.org/

Regards,
Dmitri.


On Jul 1, 12:12=A0pm, Jonathan Clarke <clarke.jonat...@gmail.com> wrote:
> So I'm into my final year of my Masters in Software Development and
> one of the stages I need to complete is a thesis which will last about
> 1 year. =A0I've been thinking quite a lot about developing software for
> charities and NGOs as part of this module and I'd just like to get
> some of your initial thoughts on possible projects you would like to
> see undertaken.
>
> After 6 years of University I have yet to see many projects developed
> by students specifically aimed towards NGOs which is an incredible
> shame. =A0Much of the work completed by Undergraduates/Postgraduates
> never seem to see the light of day.
>
> Anyhow, I just want to get a feeling for what your thoughts are on
> what I am undertaking. =A0I'm more than happy to hear from any charity
> or NGO about any project they have on their wish lists, the module
> does not start until September however I want to have a clear idea of
> the project before then.
>
> The aim would be to find a common theme amongst them all and open
> source the final solution at the end. =A0This would of course only be
> possible through working with potential stakeholders every step of the
> way. =A0Comments are very welcome
>
> Thanks and kind regards,
>