Cleveland GiveCamp applications open each spring for about a month. The application is available online and can be accessed from our website. Nonprofits are selected and announced 6 to 8 weeks before the event.
It is helpful to collect key information and ideas before the application cycle opens. Some things that are helpful to have ready for your application are:
- Your organization’s name, address, and key contact personnel
- Proof of nonprofit status including Tax ID number, IRS Determination Letter, and your most recent IRS Form 990. These are all required for the application.
- Links to your organization’s website and social media
- A brief description of your current technology capabilities
- An idea of the problems or challenges you experience that could be solved with a software technology solution – you come with the problem, we’ll help define the technology!
When selecting our nonprofit partners, we evaluate the projects based on certain criteria:
- Locality: Is the nonprofit benefiting people and communities in northeast Ohio?
- Need: Does the nonprofit struggle to fund technology solutions on its own?
- Viability: Can we complete the project over the course of the weekend? Do we have the right volunteer technical expertise to build it?
- Impact: Will the project greatly enhance the mission of the nonprofit?
Congratulations! We look forward to working with you to build your technology solution. You will be assigned a Project Manager who will work with you in the weeks leading up to GiveCamp to ensure your project is ready to be completed
Your Project Manager will help guide you to:
- Define the scope and deliverables of your project to ensure it is the right size for a weekend
- Document current state and credentials for your existing technology accounts
- Identify any content that will need to be written in advance by your organization. We will have copywriters at the event that can help clean up messaging, but they will not have the capacity to create content from scratch
- Collect hi-res images, frequently used documents, and branding guidelines for inclusion in your project
- Convert your vision or problem statement into a project plan that can be delivered during GiveCamp
Every year we receive more applications than we can accept. Not being selected is in no way a reflection of the worthiness of an organization. If you have applied and were not accepted, we encourage you to consider applying again next year. There are also other GiveCamp events planned throughout the region that may be able to help your organization.
Outside of GiveCamp events, the following resources may be helpful to you:
- BVU’s “Ask the Expert” is a skills-based volunteering program providing FREE 60-minute sessions to all Northeast Ohio nonprofits, providing opportunities to work one-on-one with consultants in a variety of areas – including marketing, technology, legal, finance, HR and more. BVU offers a variety of other services to nonprofits – find out more here.
- Meetup.com features many local tech oriented meetup groups whose members may be able to serve your needs. If you have an existing website, chances are there’s a local group that discusses that technology.
Several online platforms exist that offer free or paid lessons on your specific technology. YouTube is one of the most popular, but options like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning have many helpful tutorials. You can search for courses on “Wordpress”, “Wix”, “Squarespace” or any other software your application is built on.
