| New Workshop Series for Social Good Leaders, Calendars Available, and More! Take your social good mission to the next level. |
| Want our newsletter in your inbox? Subscribe today! The latest newsletter that went out to subscribers via email is included in this blog post, below. |
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| Ready to make an impact? 🌍 Join Florida Community Innovation’s 5-Session Workshop Series led by award-winning educator Caroline Nickerson! 🎓✨ 💡 What You’ll Learn: 1. Receive an introduction about addressing wicked problems with research & tech 2. Plan how you can design sustainable community solutions with, not for, communities 3. Gain hands-on skills in civic tech, data analysis, and project management 📅 First session: January 9, 2025 🕕 Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET 💻 Location: Virtual 💰 Cost: Only $500 (Black Friday Price – Scholarships Available!) Proceeds support FCI’s mission of empowering students to build tech for social good, including the groundbreaking Florida Resource Map. 🛒 Don’t wait—reserve your spot now and start solving the social challenges that matter most to you! |
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| 🎉 Celebrate Miami’s Legacy & Empower Future Innovators! 🎉 🌟 Introducing the 2025 GoBituary Calendar: A Year of Lives Remembered! 🌟 At Florida Community Innovation (FCI), we believe in the power of storytelling to connect communities and inspire change. That’s why we support students working on projects like GoBituary, a unique initiative preserving the rich history of Miami through cutting-edge technology. It’s like an obituary, but on-the-go! We invite you to explore GoBituary today at www.gobituary.app. Our community has been so excited about GoBituary that we created this calendar, to bring GoBituary into your homes! You can print the calendar yourself at floridainnovation.org/calendar, but if you donate $50 to FCI, we’ll mail you a copy! 💖 Your $50 Donation Includes: 📆 A beautifully designed 2025 calendar featuring: ✨ Monthly Spotlights on Miami’s trailblazers like Julia Tuttle & James Jackson. 📱 Interactive QR Codes to explore even more stories through the GoBituary webapp. 🎨 Student Creativity showcased on every page! 📩 How to Get Yours: 1️⃣ Donate $50 via floridainnovation.org/donate. 2️⃣ Provide your address during checkout. 3️⃣ Enjoy your calendar as our heartfelt thank-you! Your support helps students from diverse backgrounds gain real-world experience while preserving Miami’s stories for generations to come. Together, we can celebrate the past and inspire the future. 💻 Donate now and make a difference today! |
| FCI has been on the move! Check out some of our recent events, publications, and activities. |
 We are so grateful for a successful launch event! Couldn’t make it to the Cemetery on October 25? No matter where you are, we now invite you to visit www.gobituary.app to go back in time and connect with Miami’s rich history. We are proud to release GoBituary – a new, interactive community history website from Florida Community Innovation, developed by students at the University of Florida and UC Berkeley, with support from Florida Humanities! It’s like an obituary, but on-the-go! GoBituary! Discover the lives of iconic figures like Julia Tuttle – the mother of Miami – and Alexander Lightbourne – a founder of Miami – while exploring GoBituary, bringing the past to your fingertips. On October 25, 2024, we went to the Miami City Cemetery (City of Miami Parks and Recreation) for an evening of history and storytelling during the HistoryMiami Museum’s annual tours, led by Resident Historian and GoBituary mentor Dr. Paul George. Before and after Dr. George’s tours, the GoBituary student team handed out fliers about how to use GoBituary on your own personal device, as well as demoed the GoBituary website on iPads. Don’t miss this chance to travel through history and explore how digital humanities can strengthen community connections! Visit www.gobituary.app and tell us what you think. |
 FCI wouldn’t be FCI without the help of our donors! In our latest blog post, student intern Madison Little, and board member Aniqa Ahmed, lead readers through a guide to fundraising ethically. Our guide is full of tips for nonprofits (and those in startups) on how to successfully build trust, foster long lasting donor relationships, and create a sustainable fundraising strategy. The guide is based on a variety of resources, from academic journals to internet articles, and even some of our own practices from our own projects. You can access the guide on our website. Feel free to download and share the guide yourself! |
| Message from Caroline, FCI’s Executive Director: “I am so grateful to have presented today as part of Rally’s showcase. Rally is an international hub for social entrepreneurs to access the required knowledge, resources, and people to transform their early-stage work into sustainable ventures that create positive social change, with support from City of Orlando – Government, Orange County, Florida Government, and other partners. I had a great time the past four months representing Florida Community Innovation as a Rally fellow. Now, that the program is done, we are ready to scale our corporate volunteer offerings. Let’s make a difference for Florida, together! Companies: we’re ready for you.” Learn more. |
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Check out our newest post, featuring a case study from Spring 2024 UX intern Kevin Cui!   Kevin has done extensive work to update the user accessibility of the Florida Resource Map, helping take a substantial step towards connecting Floridians with the programs that serve them! By putting personal experience first, he has designed an interface that works with people, not just for them. This case study provides a great snap shot into the impacts of civic tech, as well as FCI’s core value of community involvement. See the full story and web improvements at floridainnovation.org on our blog feed! |
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| From November 5 to November 9, Florida Community Innovation had the best time at the North American Association for Environmental Education – NAAEE conference! We met with environmental educators from around the world and dreamed up new ways civic tech can be part of environmental solutions that serve EVERYONE. |
 We are so proud of Rich Nguyen! He and Joel Samuel from FCI recently attended Startup Weekend Orlando. This experience wouldn’t have been possible without the mentorship FCI has received from Rally and Informulate’s CEO Rajiv Menon. Thank you all! Read Rich’s reflection on our blog. |
 Last week, the VP of our board, Nicole Dan, journeyed up to Gainesville to share insights about civic tech, her time in the federal government, and building community projects with a large group of our students. This Q&A coincided with our pizza social in the UF Plaza! |
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| Last week’s Give Miami Day, with Radical Partners and The Miami Foundation, was a transformative experience! Florida Community Innovation joined the team in Miami Beach for help promoting our main fundraising efforts — our workshop series come January and our GoBituary calendar (find them both on our store page) — but we got so much more from being in Mission Control last week! We left INSPIRED by the generosity and heart of the #305, and we were emboldened to continue fundraising to support our student innovators, who are creating projects that serve Miami and Florida as a whole. Explore our digital humanities Miami history project at www.gobituary.app, and learn how you can empower the students we work with (while jumpstarting your own social good mission!) via our store. |
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| We had a wonderful time earlier this month volunteering with our friends at the Porters Quarters Community Farm! They invite volunteers to join them every Saturday from 9-11 AM. It’s a great experience; you can give back to the historic Porter’s community while also learning about urban agriculture.We are looking forward to partnering with the Porter’s Farm on an event that combines data, education, and sustainable development. Be sure to stay tuned for the reveal this Spring! |
| Want to collaborate with FCI? Go to our home page and scroll down to find sign-up forms if you would like to get involved with FCI. We are always looking for people who want to be a guest speaker, volunteer on projects, or mentor our interns. Volunteer with FCI: For professionals who are interested in being involved with our civic tech projects. Sign up to be a Mentor: For professionals who are eager to mentor our student interns. Open to anyone passionate about everything from civic tech to marketing to public policy. Come be a Guest Speaker: For professionals who want to talk with our students about your experiences, advice, or whatever you’d like to share—we’d love to hear from you! OR Donate to FCI: FCI is excited to partner with Tuesday, a fundraising program, to help our community quickly and easily support our mission. Click here to donate (or scan the QR Code)! Want to spread the word about FCI’s mission and help us find supporters? Use our fundraising toolkit! |
| Follow Us on Social Media Instagram: @floridacommunityinnovation Facebook: Florida Community Innovation X: @FLInnovation Bluesky: @floridainnovation.bsky.social LinkedIn: Florida Community Innovation Foundation |
| See ya later, alligator! The FCI team is grateful for you. |
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