Now Code For Humanity With Code4Cause

If you have any working knowledge of building software, applications, digital marketing, website development, and other aspects of IT, Code4Cause makes it easy for you to contribute your knowledge and skills to help NGOs build capacity. Read about their simple and effective model, which has enabled them to enrol thousands of volunteers and help scores of NGOs across teh globe in just two years!

By Niyati Tiwari

November 28, 2013

Code4Cause is a Chennai based Non-Profit Organization which aims to support budding and existing NGOs in the field of Information Technology and progress models. It was founded by Arun Rajiah, in the year 2011 when he was working with Cognizant, and soon this new wave turned into a tide engulfing many young minds including individuals from not only the IT sector but many different fields. Code4Cause is on a mission to help society with the intellectual property that they own. They have been using resources of their own to help NGOs and often participate in the cause themselves to help it grow. ‘Let’s Code and make the NGO’s life easier’, goes their motto.

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The Beginning
Code4Cause started off by helping those who help the needy; therefore at first they started helping their friends who were already involved in charitable activities. They wanted to contribute to their achievements in some way and then decided to contribute with what they were best at, and hence came up with the concept of Code4Cause. Their major works are in areas of creation and maintenance of websites for NGOs, building software applications for NGOs and providing them with consultation in matters such as digital marketing, fundraising and skill development.

At the time of its initiation, Code4Cause started as a small team and since then, has continuously spread throughout the globe. Today, it comprises of thousands of volunteers not only from India but from all over the world. Code4Cause is also supporting NGOs from all around the world. It partners with NGOs in India, South Africa, Ghana, US, China, Pakistan and Kenya. Code4Cause has achieved this milestone in less than two years.

How It Works
Code4cause runs virtually, and the meetings and interviews with the volunteers or NGOs are mostly taken on Skype or google hangout. They mostly use the social networking sites to get more volunteers involved in the projects that are taken up and Free Media Marketing is generally used for spreading awareness. As the team never really meets the NGOs or volunteers, keeping the volunteers engaged and making sure that the product is delivered on time are the major challenges faced by them.

Among many other open source communities around the world developing software for free, the volunteers at Code4Cause do it for free because they love it. The work culture in Code4Cause is very different as it involves various roles for all volunteers according to their choices and provides a lot of experience to the volunteers. It’s not just a startup culture but a lot more than that as the volunteers work closely with the NGOs, understand their problem and start coding. There are no project managers or deadlines for the projects but the pleasure of giving and an achievement of satisfaction by helping humanity are the biggest motivations for the volunteers.

Says Arun Rajiah, the founder of Code4Cause:

We are lucky enough to get good education, stay in houses which are safe in natural calamities, enough food to satisfy our hunger, but not many are born this lucky. It was just a selfless thought or rather a realization of humanity that made us think beyond materialistic pleasures. None of our volunteers are paid a salary in code4cause – it’s just their sheer honesty and humanity which makes them dedicate their valuable time and their education for the people who need.

Future Plans
Their future plans involve extending their services to all parts of the globe to help NGOs achieve their goals in a better manner. They are currently working on a model in which they have dedicated people assigned to each NGO associated with Code4Cause who will provide them assistance in information technology as well as in business models and fund raising activities.

C4C volunteers are not paid a salary - the pleasure of giving and the satisfaction of having helped an NGO motivates them to contribute — C4C volunteers are not paid a salary – the pleasure of giving and the satisfaction of having helped an NGO motivates them to contribute

Additionally, Code4Cause is working on an e-commerce platform where they aim to showcase talents from all over the world who are not getting a proper market to display their talents. This platform would be free of cost and would help the grass root initiatives and talents to get the right value of their efforts by eliminating the middle men. Partnership with like-minded organizations is being forged to strengthen the movement. Efforts are also being made to create Code4Cause centers across India and invite technology students to work in their projects and deliver better solutions to the social problems.

In our extremely information-centric age, the technology and design community carries a tremendous influence over the success of an organization. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that very simple and implementable tools and communication methods which could dramatically improve a non-profit’s ability to fulfill its mission are out of reach. Code4Cause is indeed a great initiative looking after such issues. Volunteer in this first and largest IT Non-Profit in India to make a difference. You could know more about the organization from their official website http://www.code4cause.com/.

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