Sierra Bravo Overnight Website Challenge Returning
Web Developers will Lose More Sleep Helping Nonprofits
Sierra Bravo has announced the second coming of the Overnight Website Challenge — the web development firm’s signature event giving pro-bono help to nonprofits. For 100 volunteer web pros and 10 Minnesota nonprofits, the 24-hour clock will count down the weekend of February 28-March 1, 2009.
“Sierra Bravo is committed to this event as long as there are nonprofits whose websites could be better, powered by nerds,” said Luke Bucklin, president of Sierra Bravo, creators of the Overnight Website Challenge. Volunteer web pros from Sierra Bravo and the Twin Cities’ web development community donated more than 2,000 hours to nonprofits at the inaugural Overnight Website Challenge — with a real-world market value of nearly a quarter-million dollars.
Volunteers and nonprofits and can apply at www.overnightwebsitechallenge.com. The website has video testimonials from last year’s chosen nonprofits, as well as tools for web developers and designers to build teams of 8-10 volunteers. Teams have until January 9 to register and boast of their qualifications.
Likewise, nonprofits have until January 9 to articulate how working smarter online would further their mission — if only for free, skilled labor. After completing their online application, nonprofits’ constituents can post testimonials on good deeds/bad websites.
Selected development teams will be announced January 16; selected nonprofits will be announced January 30. However, volunteer teams and nonprofits won’t know whom they’ll be paired with until one hour before the Overnight Website Challenge begins at the University of Minnesota’s Continuing Education Conference Center. While several volunteers for the Overnight Website Challenge will emerge from Sierra Bravo’s own Nerdery, many will again come from the programming community at-large.
The ten chosen nonprofits will get complimentary computer training from Overnight Website Challenge sponsor New Horizons of Minnesota, as well as a one-year complimentary web-hosting subscription from VISI. In-kind sponsors include Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle, Peace Coffee and Red Bull.
