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This is our signature, annual event where we host 6-12 nonprofits and build websites (and sometimes other forms of online technology tools) all weekend! This event usually involves 75 to 100 people, food, swag, and lots of fun. The event is usually the first weekend of October and participants have the option to be in-person or work remote.
We are working to bring back our mini GiveCamps! These are much smaller, entirely remote events where we have one nonprofit and a small team of volunteers assembled. We meet over Zoom (or a similar platform) to work. Since we’re entirely remote, there are no group meals, etc. Mini GiveCamps are great for a nonprofit that has a need before our annual event in October. If you would like to be put on the list for a mini GiveCamp, please email info@givecampnwa.org. By the way, the weekend schedule is pretty similar to the big GiveCamp event but a little less intense.
Our big GiveCamp Weekend is always the first weekend in October every year.
The three days of each GiveCamp Weekend is full of hard work, fun, and creativity. The weekend starts at 6 p.m. Friday with the kickoff meal. Saturday is a full day of focused teamwork (don’t worry, we feed you!). Sunday is the wrap-up where teams put the final touches on their nonprofit’s website and then voila! The nonprofits give a short presentation of their new tech tool.
GiveCamp NWA uses Slack to communicate between teams during the event. We automatically add volunteers and nonprofits to the account each year prior to the event.
We’ll create specialized Slack channels for each team and other important groups.
Watch for general updates on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram!
(Our handle is @GiveCampNWA on all the platforms except for LinkedIn and you can find us by searching GiveCamp NWA)
Please use the official GiveCamp NWA hashtag on all social media, so everyone can share in your experience: #givecampnwa.
Our annual event involves up to 12 nonprofits and corresponding volunteer teams. This means we start several months in advance seeking nonprofit applications, recruiting volunteers, building teams, and planning all the other event logistics. We try to communicate where we are in the process as well as possible, but be aware that there are often last-minute changes. That said, below is our basic event process for GiveCamp NWA (the process for our mini givecamps are an abbreviated version of this).
We will announce on social media and our newsletter when we open applications and they are usually open for at least 30 days. For our annual event in October, expect the applications to open around June or July.
We choose up to 8-12 organizations to work with annually. This number varies based on the number of technical volunteers committed to helping at the event and the scope of the projects. Our ultimate goal is to complete all projects in a weekend. We will likely need to reach out to each nonprofit to clarify a few questions as part of that process. Applicants answering our emails in a timely manner will really help the selection process be more efficient.
Once we have a pretty firm list of nonprofits, we first notify the “Yes” projects. Then we notify the definite “no” projects. Last, we notify what is usually only a few remaining “maybe” projects to tell them no, but that if we have a development, their status could change. We try to notify the nonprofits no later than August. The approved nonprofits are sent a form asking them to let us know who will be attending from their organization that weekend and their contact information.
Once we have a list of approved nonprofits, we open volunteer applications. Actually, we usually open the applications as soon as we close the nonprofit applications but we won't know about specialized skills we might need until we select the projects. We technically never close our volunteer nonprofits but we strive to have enough for our teams by late August/early September. Volunteers will be given the opportunity to privately share with us if there is a nonprofit that violates their personal beliefs. More about this is on our volunteer page.
Our next step is the most complicated. We assign project managers and ask them to reach out to their assigned nonprofit. We try to have the project manager assigned about two weeks before the event. The next part is assigning teams and this can be fluid up until the event as we often have last minute changes to our volunteer roster. We strive to notify volunteers of their initial assignment a week before the event.
Get ready for weekend of amazing work, fellowship, and fun!
