Public way to indicate where/how to donate in Austin - making it easy for donators and orgs both

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

What problem are we trying to solve?

It is difficult to find what local organizations will accept (x) donations and if they do accept donations if they provide services including pickup.

Who will benefit (directly and indirectly) from this project?

People want to donate however they also want it to be easy. Larger orgs like goodwill and salvation army aren't always the best options and have very specific requirements that aren't realized until the pickup happens. I've especially noticed this during pregnancy as well as Hurricane Harvey, as friends of mine who have passed down clothes/toys literally said they have left expensive and in good condition car seats, strollers, clothes just on the side as they got frustrated with trying to get them donated. And/or don't trust those corner area grocery drop off boxes.

Could start with a certain audience first (mothers and women), and then over time as others leverage this platform it can be expanded to other audiences if it works. Also, could start in Austin and allow it to be open so that other cities can build upon it.

--

Where can we find any research/data available/articles?

Can totally find this if needed, but after taking a look at the current alternatives they are as follows:

a) each organization has their on site and info b) individuals rely on Craigslist or word of mouth. Aunt Bertha is another option however it lacks the ability to crowdsource info, add info around pickup / drop off details, and doesn't drill down by "what you want to donate" https://www.auntbertha.com/

What help is needed at this time?

Help with dev/design. Just some initial thoughts but am totally open to other ideas - Building upon a city map, display orgs that accept donation. Indicate what items they accept, in what condition, which audience (if specific) that they serve, and donation/pickup/contact details. Use public data at first, and then allow organizations to insert their own location/info (via a pin... think yelp or google wave). Seeding the dataset with open data. Would be amazing to have a database / site of the donation centers across the country (long term vision but start with Austin).

What are the next steps (validation, research, coding, design)?

Coding/Design. Release an MVP and let others utilize it to get feedback. Purpose is to have this remain public and grow by folks continuing to add to it over time.

Project management

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werdnanoslen commented 6 years ago

Hi @vpruthi! Thanks for starting this, I'm the projects lead at Open Austin. How it going? Is there anything I can help you with this project?

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

Thanks for checking in Andrew! I'd love your help in finding someone to help on the coding side.

On Fri, Sep 29, 2017 at 6:54 PM, Andrew Nelson notifications@github.com wrote:

Hi @vpruthi https://github.com/vpruthi! Thanks for starting this, I'm the projects lead at Open Austin. How it going? Is there anything I can help you with this project?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/open-austin/project-ideas/issues/109#issuecomment-333264609, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHGGibKqEBTC-eleaHbgDBbMp9lmonywks5snYM4gaJpZM4PSKWO .

werdnanoslen commented 6 years ago

Sure thing, what language are you coding in? Do you have a repo we could link to from here?

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

My background is business, non-dev :) Mateo recommended approaching the open atx community to see if there was someone with a dev background whom I could partner up with. Please let me know if you'd like any additional details, I really appreciate it!

On Fri, Sep 29, 2017 at 9:28 PM, Andrew Nelson notifications@github.com wrote:

Sure thing, what language are you coding in? Do you have a repo we could link to from here?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/open-austin/project-ideas/issues/109#issuecomment-333276012, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHGGiW_R47Oxqmk5NQoagGY62a3NYCcyks5snadZgaJpZM4PSKWO .

werdnanoslen commented 6 years ago

Gotcha, I think for now, we can do a low-fidelity iteration by just building the content. Could you start a Google Drive spreadsheet of all the services you know of that take donations? After that we can make it more interactive and get coding. :)

@mateoclarke is this information something the city website might be interested in hosting?

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

For sure! How/where/who should I share the google doc with?

Thanks!!

On Sep 29, 2017, at 10:32 PM, Andrew Nelson notifications@github.com wrote:

Gotcha, I think for now, we can do a low-fidelity iteration by just building the content. Could you start a Google Drive spreadsheet of all the services you know of that take donations? After that we can make it more interactive and get coding. :)

@mateoclarke is this information something the city website might be interested in hosting?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread.

werdnanoslen commented 6 years ago

Could you please make it open so that anyone can edit, and then post the link here?

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

Yes will do!

On Fri, Sep 29, 2017 at 11:01 PM, Andrew Nelson notifications@github.com wrote:

Could you please make it open so that anyone can edit, and then post the link here?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/open-austin/project-ideas/issues/109#issuecomment-333281496, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHGGiRhO4Hhc4ttwjxG6B6xkvQz8_3SBks5snb02gaJpZM4PSKWO .

werdnanoslen commented 6 years ago

Hi again, will you be able to join our next meetup? Before that, you might drum up some support by posting on Slack, too :)

anu007 commented 6 years ago

Hello, I am Anu and have a degree in UX Design.I wanted to join the team, Please let me know do you guys need UX Designer(Researcher)?I am open to work on other projects.Thanks.

LillianChernin commented 6 years ago

Hi @vpruthi! My name is Lillian, I'm a dev (in training) and would love to work on this project. Please let me know what I can do to help!

vpruthi commented 6 years ago

Wonderful let's do it! Sorry for the delay Anu and Lillian I recently had a baby so just getting back to life :) Lillian and Anu do you want to send me your e-mail addresses and we can find a time to chat? I am at virgiliakpruthi@gmail.com

Or if there is another way you prefer let me know. We can also chat over the phone 254 459 9599.

On Sat, Dec 2, 2017 at 12:03 PM, LillianChernin notifications@github.com wrote:

Hi @vpruthi https://github.com/vpruthi! My name is Lillian, I'm a dev (in training) and would love to work on this project. Please let me know what I can do to help!

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/open-austin/project-ideas/issues/109#issuecomment-348709030, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHGGiXxjn_wvrkPTF4K4QHoO3hpB7KrJks5s8ZDagaJpZM4PSKWO .

open-austin / project-ideas