By Patrick Baron
NORMAL – 48 nonprofits in Bloomington-Normal will be receiving new websites thanks to over 200 volunteers a traveling organization.
48in48 is an organization that travels across the country to give nonprofits an online boost by building 48 websites in 48 hours, with the help of local volunteers. 48in48 executive director and co-founder Adam Walker described the process of linking a team of volunteers with the nonprofit they assist.
“Teams get assigned to the nonprofits early on. The project managers get to know the nonprofits and their needs, then we start on Friday night and the teams learn more about the nonprofits through reading questionnaires the nonprofits had previously filled out,” Walker explained. “Also looking at the nonprofit’s current digital properties and what they have existing currently, and then they begin building.”
Walker wants to see 48in48 work at ten events over the course of the year. Walker said 48in48 has already visited cities like Boston and Atlanta.
Partnering with 48in48, the United Way of McLean County hopes to provide assistance in an area many nonprofits struggle in, according to United Way president and CEO David Taylor.
“Technology is an area where a lot of these nonprofits that we support and that are in the larger community struggle with because they spend so much of their time on client services and helping with the needs that they often don’t have time to make sure their digital presence is as great as it could be,” explained Taylor.
Taylor also said visiting a smaller community like Bloomington-Normal, when compared to big cities like Atlanta, stresses the important role nonprofits play in the area. That sentiment is shared by Emily Schneider, a business analyst for enterprise technology at State Farm. Schneider has worked with 48in48 in the past, but explained having the event take place where she grew up has been a wonderful experience.
“This is my fifth or sixth event with 48in48 and I’ve been able to go to Boston and Atlanta, and seeing the impact that we’re making in these other cities has always been amazing and has always been fun, but bringing it to my hometown is just breathtaking,” said Schneider.
For volunteers like project manager Kolette Dunlap, the event has been an opportunity to provide a service to the community.
“I get to be surrounded by people who do web development, who create content, who are very good in media and digital marketing,” Dunlap explained. “I get to learn from them and we are all gathering as a team to give back.”
The teams plan on having all 48 websites completed by 6 p.m. Sunday.
Patrick Baron can be reached at patrick.baron@cumulus.com.
