Code for America

Code for America is a non-political organization founded in 2009 that leverages a network of collaborators and volunteers to develop software, design related technologies, and share open-source solutions to strengthen the public sector for citizens. Code for America shares software and apps and helps communities and government institutions implement new technologies and improve performance within their organizations or communities.

Code for America contains five programs that help governments:

– The Brigade: local groups of civic/ethical hackers and other community volunteers. They have meetings regularly to support the technology, design, and open data efforts of their local governments. more than 5,000 people in the US are involved in a local Brigade.

– The Fellowship program: small teams of developers and designers that engage with a city, county or state government for a year, for building open source apps and helping spread awareness of how contemporary technology works among the government workforce and leadership.

– The Accelerator: provides seed funding, office space, and mentorship to civic startups.

– A Peer Network: to enhance communication and collaboration for innovators in local government.

– Code for All is a side organization, part of Code for America, that includes similar efforts outside the US, particularly Brigades and fellowship programs in countries around the world.