Saturday, November 21, 2009

Event #2 happening today Saturday Nov 21

Here's another interesting event (for the first in the series, read below):

NYC Big Apps Dev Camp is happening today!

NYC Big Apps is hosting a competition. The goal: use NYC government data to create a useful application. The website dedicated to nyc gov data sets can be found here.

Winners will receive fame and glory, along with a monetary award, and according to a video explaining the competition, an invitation to have dinner with the Mayor.

How does today's event come into the picture? The session will be dedicated to working on application, providing answers and support from the host and networking opportunities with other participants. Sounds pretty sweet.

To get more info about today's event, visit: http://www.meetup.com/NYCBIGAPPS/calendar/11800190/

To get more info about the competition, visit:
http://www.nycbigapps.com/


Also, if your not necessarily interested in creating an application yourself but support the initiative, visit www.nycbigapps.com and show your support on the support stream (on the right side of the screen).

Many, many events for Saturday Nov 21 (today)

So it's Saturday November 21, and guess what? There's tons of stuff to do. I will highlight 3 events in 3 separate entries, starting with the first one here.


Given that the holiday season is fast approaching with Thanksgiving being less that 10 days away and all.. you might be wondering about gifts... gift giving, receiving, making, ..etc.


At today's Score! event you can trade in all your no longer needed/wanted items in for something more desirable.. all for free and also while helping City Harvest (a non-profit organization that works on food/hunger issues). So.. you can't believe your eyes right? Free stuff exchange? How does it happen?


Here are the details:


- 3rd Ward is providing the space (http://www.3rdward.com/)

-Score! is providing the organization and logistical support (http://www.scoredatscore.com/)

- You, along with everyone else, bring things that you would like to donate/get rid of

-You, along with everyone else, get a chance to score things you like/need

- Charity component: bring $3 to pay as your "admission", this money goes directly to City Harvest. You can also purchase a specially designed tote bag for $5, which again goes to City Harvest.


That's it.


To RSVP and for more info visit http://www.scoredatscore.com/


Oh and the word from the Score twitter feed is: if you've got extra hangers-- bring them.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Free Seminar Tonight -- "Earned Income Projects" -- Brooklyn Arts Council

This is a bit last minute, but the topic is an important one and/or could be useful to people interested in this field so here goes:

The Brooklyn Arts Council will feature a pannel discussion this evening, Tuesday November 17, about Earned Income Projects.

What is so interesting about this topic, you might ask?

Well.. a few things. First, not-for-profit organizations tend to offer services free of charge. Not-for-profit organizations also tend to have different business models than for profit ventures due to the nature of their incorporation framework and/or rules that govern their operations because of their 501c3 status (this is the status given to not-for-profits to indicate that they are legitimate organizations which can receive tax deductable donations).

But here's the catch-22 ... if you are providing services without charging a fee, you still have to get financing from somewhere to cover your costs of operations/materials/rent/ etc. But again.. if you are not charging a fee.. where do you get this funding? This is where grants and donations come into play, however funding streams are often unstable due to the nature of grants and donations... i.e. grants expire at a sertain time and you must continuously seek out new funds to replace those that will end. Donations are also unstable as you can't guranttee the success of your fundraising campaign.

To address this issue, various organizations have started for-profit operations that would fund their non-for-profit activities; charge a nominal fee to help with costs; or even completely convert to a for-profit social enterprise.

Each route has its own benefits/setbacks but it will definately be interesting to hear the Brooklyn Arts Council panel's take on this issue.

******

Here are the logistical details for the event:

Title: Seminar: Earned Income Projects

Location: Brooklyn Public Library, Williamsburg Branch
240 Division Ave. (at Marcy Ave.) Brooklyn, NY

Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM EST

Cost: Free

RSVP: http://www.brooklynartscouncil.org/documents/1274

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Free Movie Screening -- 50 Cent "Before I Self Destruct"

So I just found out today via 50 Cent's twitter feed that he's screening his new movie, "Before I Self Destruct", with free tickets available at www.movietickets.com/50 .

The movie was written, directed by, and stars 50 Cent and features a coming of age story of an inner city youth.

The New York City screening is scheduled for Thursday, November 5 at 8:30pm. To get your free pass register at www.movietickets.com/50 , and print the pass to take with you. Each pass admits 2 people, but you should get there early as seats are not guaranteed -- totally first come first serve (but you still have to bring the pass).

If you make it to the screening, come back and tell us how it went.

Also, if you have friends or will be visiting:
  • Bensalem, PA
  • Washington, DC
  • Chicago, IL
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Burbank, CA
  • Houston, TX
Let them know about the free movie screening too. Full schedule here.