New Community Partners

Want to be a Code for Durham partner?

Interested in recruiting some volunteer tech talent?

We are group of independent volunteers that come together to learn and work on passion projects that improve our community.

If you have a passion project you would like support for, here’s the process for making it happen:

First, you need to think of yourself as the “product owner.” Whether it’s a map, data visualization, website or web application, always remember, you are the champion with the vision. Working with volunteer developers may require some self-education (see this tech 101 video for helpful framework) in order to effectively get tech volunteers on board. Keep in mind that if your needs are more complex, your first task may be to recruit a volunteer tech project manager. Not all techies have the same skills or will necessarily be able or willing to manage a more complex project for you!

(1) Scope your project

How “big” is this project? Is the desired outcome a new web application, a map? If you have no clue, no worries. Come to a meeting to get some feedback from our developers that will help you figure out where to go from there. Make sure to research 2-3 examples of similar projects that you are going for to help communicate your vision.

(2) Add your project

Register and add your project to codefordurham.com before coming to a meetup. Add the description, the “why”, desired outcome, intended users and links to relevant examples and existing resources. Having this landing page gives you a launch pad to point to for volunteers, and will enable new people to discover/sign up/ramp up/and see updates. Peruse the examples project landing pages on the website.

(3) Come pitch it at a meetup!

For a project to get adopted, techies like everyone else needs to be inspired by the “why.” Even if your ask is small, be sure to talk about the BIG problems your organization is solving and how this tech project connects.