What we’re about
Code with the Carolinas, a project of Social Good Fund, is a community of people working together as civic tech volunteers to improve wellbeing in North and South Carolina. We are an online-first hybrid organization.
Projects: We work with community organizations, nonprofits, and government to improve public services and leverage open data to improve knowledge, transparency, and accountability. Current projects relate to housing, pedestrian accessibility, affordable broadband, and open government.
Partnerships: We use technology and people power to support the work of non-profit and community organizations that improve the wellbeing of underserved and marginalized communities in the Carolinas. Our projects center the needs of our partner organizations and accountability to our communities. As we collaborate, our team of volunteer civic technologists transfers knowledge to allow partner organizations to successfully take over ongoing operations. We build with–not for–our partners, who then sustain the innovations we co-create. Recent partners include the National Zoning Atlas, Sunshine Labs, and the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology.
Inclusive Approach to Technical Skills. There are plenty of opportunities to use your skills! Even if you are new to tech, or see yourself as more of a communicator, designer, or organizer, there will be opportunities for you to contribute. We welcome all skill levels and types - no coding or government experience is necessary. So come by and become part of a movement to improve our states!
Contact info: Join this Meetup group to stay informed about upcoming events!
For more info:
website: codewiththecarolinas.org
Join our Slack Workspace.
email: [email protected]
Multiple Meetups / Where to RSVP: We have multiple Meetups that post identical events. This maximizes our reach within Meetup's account structure. You are welcome to RSVP to any of the Meetups. With rare exceptions for local in-person events, the events are identical. If you are in South Carolina or the Triad/Metrolina area, it is especially appreciated if you RSVP to the Meetup for your area, to signal to the algorithm that the group is active. If you are in multiple Code with the Carolinas Meetups, you may want to adjust your settings to opt out of some notifications. Hope to see you soon!
Code of Conduct: All events follow the Code of Conduct , with Meetup leadership team members Jennifer Miller, Matthew Mitchell, and Pamela Wood Browne as first point of contact.
History and Connections: Our organization's history dates back to at least 2015 and precedes our membership (~2017 to 2023) in the Code for America (CfA) Brigade Network, which CfA disbanded June 30, 2023. We look forward to continuing the work of civic technology in the Carolinas as an organization made up of the combined memberships of the former Brigades Code for the Carolinas, Code for Greensboro, and Code for Greenville (SC). If you are in the Asheville, NC area, we encourage you to join Code with Asheville, who meet monthly to continue their strong tradition of local community civic tech.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Code with the Carolinas at Aspiration Tech UnconferenceLink visible for attendees
Note: to attend you must email [email protected] in advance to RSVP .
Code with the Carolinas will be engaging at the (free) virtual ephemeral Dev Summit session at Aspiration Tech's 2024 Nonprofit Software Development Summit. We're taking this as an opportunity to engage with the broader tech-for-good world as we make strategic plans for the future of our civic tech volunteer organization. We especially encourage you to engage if you are interested in helping to Code with the Carolinas grow into new directions and leadership.
The event is an unconference, so the agenda will not be set in advance. It's OK if you are only available to participate for part of the event.
Code with the Carolinas, a project of Social Good Fund, is a community of people working together as civic tech volunteers to improve wellbeing in North and South Carolina.
Learn more at codewiththecarolinas.org, join our Slack, or reach out to [email protected]
All Code with the Carolinas activities follow our Code of Conduct and are subject to this Volunteer Waiver of Liability. Aspiration Tech's Participation Guidelines and Event Expectations also apply to this event.
- Civic Hacking for Affordable HousingLink visible for attendees
Join volunteers at Code with the Carolinas as we help the National Zoning Atlas (NZA) team include North Carolina and South Carolina in their nationwide zoning atlas. "The National Zoning Atlas aims to depict key aspects of zoning codes in an online, user-friendly map." The Atlas aims to provide data for better solutions in transportation, environmental, and especially affordable housing policy.
Affordable housing proponents have long recognized zoning policies as barriers to affordable housing. To improve zoning policies, we first need to better understand the current state of zoning across the United States. Code with the Carolinas is helping this cause by joining the National Zoning Atlas to gather zoning data for North and South Carolina.
This is a multi-dimensional project grounded in data science with an end-goal of contributing to a nationally influential dataset. Our current work session activities focus on internet search and integrating data from multiple sources. The project as a whole has occasional opportunities for U/X and outreach and opportunities to learn about machine learning and natural language processing through the work of the NZA team. Volunteering on this project will provide excellent exposure to the foundations of civic data science, with a focus on GIS data.
Even if you're new to this project and/or civic tech volunteering, you're welcome to join the meeting. Visitors are always welcome and no technical skills are needed. You can learn more about the project on our Slack Workspace in the #project-zoning-atlas channel.
Meetings start with brief introductions. New volunteers are offered a personal orientation, often in a breakout room, while experienced volunteers get right to work. By the end of the session, both groups of volunteers are working together. We also contribute to the project through asynchronous work and informal work sessions.
Meetings are on the Jitsi platform and the link is provided before each meeting. If you will be joining on mobile, install the Jitsi app in advance https://jitsi.org/downloads/ .
Learn more at codewiththecarolinas.org or reach out to [email protected]
All activities of Code with the Carolinas, a project of Social Good Fund, follow our Code of Conduct and are subject to this Volunteer Waiver of Liability.
- Discuss "Building Technology with not for Communities" at Coffee ChatLink visible for attendees
This week will be a special Civic Tech Volunteer Coffee Chat featuring a discussion of the article Building Technology With, Not For Communities: An Engagement Guide for Civic Tech by Laurenellen McCann.
Are you curious about civic tech volunteering? Drop in for a few minutes or the full hour to learn about civic tech and how we make a difference in our communities.
Learn about our current projects and our online-first hybrid model making this movement available to all communities the Carolinas. Our current projects relate to housing, pedestrian accessibility, affordable broadband, and open government.
If you are involved with a non-profit or community organization, you're also welcome to stop by to discuss partnership opportunities with our civic tech volunteers.
Visitors are always welcome and no technical skills are needed.
Meetings are on the Jitsi platform and the link is provided before each meeting. If you will be joining on mobile, install the Jitsi app in advance https://jitsi.org/downloads/Learn more at codewiththecarolinas.org, join our Slack workspace, or reach out to [email protected]
All activities of Code with the Carolinas, a project of Social Good Fund, follow our Code of Conduct and are subject to this Volunteer Waiver of Liability.
- Mappy Hour! with Open SidewalksLink visible for attendees
Join other civic tech volunteers from across the Carolinas as we work on our Open Sidewalks project. At these bi-weekly sessions, Code with the Carolinas volunteers work together to complete our project of mapping pedestrian access features in Downtown Raleigh and Uptown Charlotte. The areas we are mapping are important hubs for public transit, state government, and recreation.
This project is a partnership with the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington. The Open Sidewalks project involves using aerial imagery to code maps and metadata about features that make streets accessible to pedestrians--especially features that are important for pedestrians who face barriers to mobility and use wheelchairs or walkers.
Even if you're new to this project and/or civic tech volunteering, you're welcome to join the meeting. Visitors are always welcome and no technical skills are needed. You can find information about the project, including orientation videos from the Taskar Center, in our Slack Workspace in the #project-open-sidewalks channel. You can also learn more at codewiththecarolinas.org or reach out to [email protected] .
FIRST TIME ATTENDEE? It's helpful to set up your account in advance here https://tasks.opensidewalks.com/ . If needed, instructions are at 2:15 in this video, The Open Sidewalks Tasking Manager. Don't stress about all of the other details in the video, or if you don't get a chance to set up your account, though. We offer a gentle introduction to the project at each session.
Meetings are on the Jitsi platform and the link is provided before each meeting. If you will be joining on mobile, install the Jitsi app in advance https://jitsi.org/downloads/ .
All activities of Code with the Carolinas, a project of Social Good Fund, follow our Code of Conduct and are subject to this Volunteer Waiver of Liability.
