New Project

I'm starting a new project: the working title (pending domain name registration) is WORG, which is short for Web-based database system for non-profit ORGanizations. This is a real-world business, no more "make your own games". WORG is a web site where non-profit organizations can create web-based databases, which reside on the WORG server, not on the end-user's hard drive, and are accessed via the user's web browser. These databases are for keeping track of donors, members (people served by the organization), employees/volunteers, employee scheduling, program scheduling (event calendars), etc. To access these databases, the user of say Fred Victor Centre (where I used to work) points her web browser to http://worg.com/fredvictor/login.html, and then enters her user ID and password.

I have already submitted a proposal to Sound Times (where I now work teaching members how to use the computers), in which I propose to create an Activity Database (a clickable calendar of activities for the members), working on my own time. The member clicks on a desktop shortcut to access the following URL: http://worg.com/soundtimes/sched.html, and a calendar of activities is displayed. Clicking on an activity displays more detailed info, and optionally enables the member to sign up for the activity by entering his name. I will find out on Thursday whether or not they want me to implement the Activity Database. If they decline, then I will ask Fred Victor Centre to re-hire me as a volunteer, and submit the same proposal to that organization. When I was first interviewed for my job at Sound Times, the Executive Director said that with my experience (20 years, mostly part-time, working in the IT industry), almost any non-profit organization would hire me as a computer tutor. So if Fred Victor Centre declines my proposal, I can approach yet another non-profit, until one of them accepts it (to implement an Activity Database, or maybe some other kind of database). That database will be the prototype of a database created by a WORG user.

Some other features of the WORG web site include discussion forums, a knowledgebase, tech support via email, custom programming (for a fee), sample databases, and public databases. Every database hosted by WORG has a public version, containing fake data entered by a data entry clerk in my employ. All text fields entered in the public copy of each database are forced to be significantly different than the real data initially displayed, preserving confidentiality of the real data. Users can browse the available public databases, and copy the ones they like to their own private user area, modifying those databases if desired. Some public databases are read-only, and cannot be modified. Copies of those databases must be created manually.

Customers of WORG can purchase subscriptions for say $10 or $20 per month and up. WORG is meant to compete with http://www.gnosisfornonprofits.com/, which charges $100/month + $500 setup and up.

I have already submitted a tentative proposal to my boss at APROM, and he wants to wait until Sound Times makes their decision before accepting or declining the tentative proposal. At that time (assuming Sound Times accepts it), I intend to tell my boss that I want to cut down from 3 days a week to 2 days a week. If that is unacceptable, then I will work at home one day a week and come in to the office 2 days a week, and he'll probably accept that. I'm going to sell my car and stop driving in the first 2 weeks of November, before the insurance runs out. Alternatively, I'm going to ask my brother if I can give my car to his 17-year old son if his grades improve. In my tentative proposal to APROM, I offered them a 50-percent ownership in WORG if they would pay me to develop WORG. Then I offered a lower percentage if they let me develop it for free, in return for my using APROM as a source of business advice. So in my full proposal, which I will write this weekend, I will offer them a 10-percent ownership, and in return I can rely on them for business advice. Maybe I'll offer them a differing percentage depending on whether or not they let me cut down to 2 days a week.

I intend to use the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the MySQL database, the Python programming language, and the TurboGears Python-compatible web framework (all of those are open source, which means free). I already have Linux and Windows XP on my home computer, as well as Python, with which I am familiar, having used Python for my games program. After I write my full proposal, the next step is to install and learn how to use TurboGears (also I have to install MySQL). So that's the game plan. Long live Linux/Apache/MySQL/Python (LAMP). Down with driving a car, which is an unneeded expense. Let the coding begin...