Gift The Code 2018 #UseDigitalForGood

{Thank you to Capital One for sponsoring this post.}

When discussing the world wide web and social media – topics that inevitably come up in my TV and radio segments – the focus revolves around the discord, the extreme examples of how an online issue can blow up into so much more. It can be easy for people who don’t live and work in a digital world to write it off as something not useful and not helpful. This isn’t a great outlook to have, and I’m often happy to chat with people about the integrity found both online and on social media. So, when I heard about this initiative from my friends at Capital One, it was something I wanted to look closer at and share with you!

Now in its third year, Gift The Code brings together hundreds of tech wizards to brainstorm and build solutions that help advance the missions of their charity partners. The overarching goal for Capital One through its Gift the Code program is to bridge the digital gap charities are facing, and to give these organizations a technology boost. Amazing right? Many (if not most) charitable organizations are operating on a shoestring budget and their priorities and expenses needs to be carefully managed. The technology surrounding these charities is vital for spreading their messages and generating support, but it comes at a cost. I love that Capital One has identified this need and has stepped forward for three years to make a difference.

The 2018 charity partners included: Boys and Girls Clubs, Camp Quality, The Centre for Mindfulness Studies, Kids Help Phone, The Movember Foundation and Toronto Cat Rescue. While Capital One is the catalyst for Gift the Code, it really is a community effort. They couldn’t do it without partnering with Toronto’s tech community, who give up their valuable time to help other charity partners solve the digital divide. AND, all code created during the hackathon is available open-source on public code repositories to provide other charities with the possibility to leverage and further develop the solutions.

You can learn more about Gift The Code by following the hashtag #UseDigitalForGood and by following Capital One on their social channels:

Facebook: @CapitalOneCanada
Twitter: @CapitalOneCA
Instagram: @capitaloneca