Teams give free website makeovers: Nonprofits benefit as geeks compete
St Paul Pioneer Press story by Leslie Suzukamo
Like most leaders of nonprofits, Tim Benjamin wants to read people over the Web. But readers of Access Press, a newspaper for Minnesota’s disabled community, can have special challenges – like being blind.
Benjamin’s organization has challenges, too. It can’t afford to remake its site to make it easier to use.
On Saturday, a team of Web developers dubbed the “Code Cowboys” came to the rescue. The were one of 12 teams of Red Bull-swilling, burrito noshing Web programmers slaving over hot PCS Saturday and today at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus in a 24-hour marathon contest to remake the Web sites of 12 small Minnesota nonprofits for free.
The Overnight Website Challenge, which was inaugurated last year by Bloomington Web development company Sierra Bravo, rounded up teams of volunteers to cram what can take months into one 24-hour blitz of coding.
As the backs of the black contest T-shirts said, “Sleep is for the weak.”
The contest ends at 9 a.m. today, after which a panel of judges that includes Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens will choose the winning Web site. The programmers get a trophy and bragging rights.
The nonprofits are the real winners.
For them, strong Web sites are critical, particularly those that take advantage of advances in social media, said Christine Durand, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, based in St. Paul.
“In this day and age, people find organizations and resources and places to donate to online,” she said.
Linda Stuart, executive director of Global Citizens Network, a St. Paul nonprofit that promotes cross-cultural travel projects, said she was told to “ask for the sky” when she applied for the chance to get her organization’s site a makeover. Her Web site was information and static.
But her team reminded her it has only 24 hours, not weeks. “We’re trying to stay flexible,” she said with an apologetic smile.
“I think the disable things are challenging to them,” Access Press’ Benjamin said, motioning from his wheelchair to the developers. “But these are folks who thrive on challenge.”
The 120 volunteers will put in 2,800 hours of work worth $300,000 in services “for the price of a good night’s sleep,” said Mark Malmberg, the spokesman for the contest and Sierra Bravo.
