4 ms·

Offer HN: I'll build a free app for a non profit

14 points by jiblyyyy 9y ago

So I'm looking to launch an app dev service focussed around nonprofits (I've been building apps for large co's for many years). To kick things of, test a few hypothesis and the viability of that service idea, I'm looking for a nonprofit that could use a simple app. I'll be picking 1 that I can work on and build it for free. All I want is: - Some feedback on the service idea (will have a few questions along the way) - Ability to use it as a case study Extra credit if you're connected to other non profits that you can potentially introduce me to later on. - Contact details are in my profile

sharemywin 9y ago
Why not build a platform...some kind of app that non-profits could plug into and use.
- jiblyyyy 9y ago
  that is the goal, but working 1-on-1 with a non profit first allows me to learn all the needs so that the platform can have all the stuff they want vs what I think they want.
  - newbear 9y ago
    I've wanted to do work like this too and build sites but then I think why wouldn't they just use Wordpress?
smt88 9y ago
Does "viability of the idea" mean you could make a living? Because then it's not viable. I started a non-profit a few years ago that brings processes and technology from the for-profit sector into the non-profit sector -- moving old NPOs from listserv to MailChimp, for example. Getting them to use HootSuite instead of manually posting is another. It's incredibly time-consuming and difficult just to get non-profits to redesign a terrible website. There are tons of stakeholders, no budget, and (most importantly) very little bandwidth among decisionmakers. The unit economics just don't work out. It would take so long to sell a single app that you wouldn't profit at all. If you're doing this just to do something good and not to make money, then great!!
- jiblyyyy 9y ago
  Hopefully it can just cover some basic costs. The goal isn't to build a $1B business round it. Just to cover some basics, so it makes sense to allocate time. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
speps 9y ago
Build an actual version of this : http://www.chorus-home.org/ http://www.chorus-home.org/ Longer video : https://vimeo.com/179904952 https://vimeo.com/179904952 Why? It seems it would a lot of use cases that non profits or any other organisation would have to deal with. I always found it a bit dumb to have to re-invent everything every time you need to spin up something new.
dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
If possible, it would be great if you could make it generic, so that more than one non-profit could use it.
amelius 9y ago
It's a good idea to ask what people need, rather than just dream up a product that nobody wants. I wonder, though, if this approach is efficient, and what the most efficient way is to figure out what people actually want.
thecolorblue 9y ago
I would suggest look at givecamp (you just missed the event that was this past weekend, http://clevelandgivecamp.org/ http://clevelandgivecamp.org/) or similar programs. If you are looking for non-profits that need dev services, they would all be at these events.
PCaponetti 9y ago
I don't have a specific idea or non-profit in mind, but as a developer (professional, 10+ years experience making web applications and a few on mobile) that has been working on hobby projects for a long time I have been looking to use my skills to better the world in some way for quite some time. I would like to offer my services to help build this app (free of charge of course).
denalilumma 9y ago
Hi There, I would love to schedule a call with you. My background, I've been working as a software engineering professional for about 20 years. A few years ago I started volunteering and now sit on the board of Savage Jazz Dance Company (a non-profit offering dance training to underprivileged youth in Oakland). I basically manage all of their technical needs. I rebuilt their website, create a Salesforce account, setup Patreon, etc. I've also experimented with free app building services for other groups I see value in with out-dated technology. Would be happy to share my learnings from this. I'm working on a new project myself, designed to run as a non-profit, to replace formal education, recruiting and bootcamps with a new model of knowledge training and knowledge work. It is called 'Bloomguild'. Bloomguild takes an old approach to knowledge work (apprenticeships in guilds) with cutting edge technology (quantified-self, confidence-based repetition) in a new market framework. Apprentices are paid from the beginning, contribute to the creation of products which have value, and spend time doing project-based learning, as well as topic based learning each session. More information here: https://app.slidebean.com/p/yHMZfkKzOq/BloomGuild https://app.slidebean.com/p/yHMZfkKzOq/BloomGuild My contact details are in my profile. -Denali
teolemon 9y ago
You might have a look at Open Food Facts (https://world.openfoodfacts.org https://world.openfoodfacts.org and https://world.openfoodfacts.org/discover https://world.openfoodfacts.org/discover https://world.openfoodfacts.org/contribute https://world.openfoodfacts.org/contribute ). Crowdsourced Wikipedia for food. We already have apps (Cordova) and we're doing efforts to redevelop in native on each platform (all is volunteer word). We've long wanted to create a small game/gamification app to have people make more complex contributions than taking pictures. pierre at openfoodfacts dot org
- Tacite 9y ago
  ^ this. Helping OpenFoodFacts also helps a lot of apps and other non profits organization who use our database.

14 points by jiblyyyy 9y ago

sharemywin 9y ago

Why not build a platform...some kind of app that non-profits could plug into and use.

jiblyyyy 9y ago
that is the goal, but working 1-on-1 with a non profit first allows me to learn all the needs so that the platform can have all the stuff they want vs what I think they want.
- newbear 9y ago
  I've wanted to do work like this too and build sites but then I think why wouldn't they just use Wordpress?

smt88 9y ago

Does "viability of the idea" mean you could make a living? Because then it's not viable. I started a non-profit a few years ago that brings processes and technology from the for-profit sector into the non-profit sector -- moving old NPOs from listserv to MailChimp, for example. Getting them to use HootSuite instead of manually posting is another. It's incredibly time-consuming and difficult just to get non-profits to redesign a terrible website. There are tons of stakeholders, no budget, and (most importantly) very little bandwidth among decisionmakers. The unit economics just don't work out. It would take so long to sell a single app that you wouldn't profit at all. If you're doing this just to do something good and not to make money, then great!!

jiblyyyy 9y ago
Hopefully it can just cover some basic costs. The goal isn't to build a $1B business round it. Just to cover some basics, so it makes sense to allocate time. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

speps 9y ago

Build an actual version of this : http://www.chorus-home.org/ http://www.chorus-home.org/ Longer video : https://vimeo.com/179904952 https://vimeo.com/179904952 Why? It seems it would a lot of use cases that non profits or any other organisation would have to deal with. I always found it a bit dumb to have to re-invent everything every time you need to spin up something new.

dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago

If possible, it would be great if you could make it generic, so that more than one non-profit could use it.

amelius 9y ago

It's a good idea to ask what people need, rather than just dream up a product that nobody wants. I wonder, though, if this approach is efficient, and what the most efficient way is to figure out what people actually want.

thecolorblue 9y ago

I would suggest look at givecamp (you just missed the event that was this past weekend, http://clevelandgivecamp.org/ http://clevelandgivecamp.org/) or similar programs. If you are looking for non-profits that need dev services, they would all be at these events.

PCaponetti 9y ago

I don't have a specific idea or non-profit in mind, but as a developer (professional, 10+ years experience making web applications and a few on mobile) that has been working on hobby projects for a long time I have been looking to use my skills to better the world in some way for quite some time. I would like to offer my services to help build this app (free of charge of course).

denalilumma 9y ago

Hi There, I would love to schedule a call with you. My background, I've been working as a software engineering professional for about 20 years. A few years ago I started volunteering and now sit on the board of Savage Jazz Dance Company (a non-profit offering dance training to underprivileged youth in Oakland). I basically manage all of their technical needs. I rebuilt their website, create a Salesforce account, setup Patreon, etc. I've also experimented with free app building services for other groups I see value in with out-dated technology. Would be happy to share my learnings from this. I'm working on a new project myself, designed to run as a non-profit, to replace formal education, recruiting and bootcamps with a new model of knowledge training and knowledge work. It is called 'Bloomguild'. Bloomguild takes an old approach to knowledge work (apprenticeships in guilds) with cutting edge technology (quantified-self, confidence-based repetition) in a new market framework. Apprentices are paid from the beginning, contribute to the creation of products which have value, and spend time doing project-based learning, as well as topic based learning each session. More information here: https://app.slidebean.com/p/yHMZfkKzOq/BloomGuild https://app.slidebean.com/p/yHMZfkKzOq/BloomGuild My contact details are in my profile. -Denali

teolemon 9y ago

You might have a look at Open Food Facts (https://world.openfoodfacts.org https://world.openfoodfacts.org and https://world.openfoodfacts.org/discover https://world.openfoodfacts.org/discover https://world.openfoodfacts.org/contribute https://world.openfoodfacts.org/contribute ). Crowdsourced Wikipedia for food. We already have apps (Cordova) and we're doing efforts to redevelop in native on each platform (all is volunteer word). We've long wanted to create a small game/gamification app to have people make more complex contributions than taking pictures. pierre at openfoodfacts dot org

Tacite 9y ago
^ this. Helping OpenFoodFacts also helps a lot of apps and other non profits organization who use our database.