Baltimore GiveCamp does not dictate the technology to be used for individual projects. For teams that have a Technical Team Leader, the decision is at their expertise and discretion. A Technical Team Leader should carefully consider any existing technology in use by a nonprofit organization and also weigh in on what type of technology will best meet the requirements for the project. A Technical Team Leader should also consider any costs associated with a technology (if any), ease of use, maintainability, support, exposure, and availability.

For projects that are considered for the GiveCamp Express project, the technology chosen is Office 365.

Baltimore GiveCamp 2013 has moved most all of its internal management over to Office 365. This is only significant from the GiveCamp team’s perspective and has no impact on any project, organization, or team.

At this point, we are very early on in the adoption of Office 365 and have chosen to focus only on the internal management of the GiveCamp Team leaders. As time permits, we will continue to utilize the services of Office 365 to host our GiveCamp website, to provide branded email communications and to provide webinars and hosted conversations. Additionally, we will take further advantage of the workflow, automation, and collaboration capabilities.

Team Sites

Baltimore GiveCamp has always strived to maintain any artifacts (i.e., Business and Technical Analysis documents, supporting files, relevant system information, etc.) for the nonprofit organizations that we are helping. This is to allow them to continue to access and maintain anything that is significant to their ongoing efforts after GiveCamp concludes. It is also important for any future GiveCamp events by having prior year information readily available.

This year, Baltimore GiveCamp has chosen to base this team and nonprofit accessible repository on Office 365. It provides us with a place to do more for each team than simply storing documents; it also provides calendaring and team collaboration.

At the conclusion of GiveCamp 2013 (and each year), the nonprofit organizations will continue to have access to their team site to reference any material generated during the GiveCamp. Team members will be removed from accessing the sites based on the input from their team nonprofit organization (some nonprofits will elect to remove access due to privacy issues).

GiveCamp Express

Baltimore GiveCamp 2013 has introduced a new concept called GiveCamp Express (see additional details in later FAQ). The GiveCamp team has elected to standardize on Office 365 as the foundation for GiveCamp Express. GiveCamp Express is not required to be used and is not by any means the recommended technical direction for all GiveCamp team projects. GiveCamp Express is by assignment only from the GiveCamp Team leaders and is designed to address only one specific technical challenge.

Baltimore GiveCamp has always strived to maintain any artifacts (i.e., Business and Technical Analysis documents, supporting files, relevant system information, etc.) for the nonprofit organizations that we are helping. This is to allow them to continue to access and maintain anything that is significant to their ongoing efforts after GiveCamp concludes. It is also important for any future GiveCamp events by having prior year information readily available.

This year, Baltimore GiveCamp has chosen to base this team and nonprofit accessible repository on Office 365. It provides us a place to do more for each team than simply storing documents; it also provides calendaring and team collaboration.

At the conclusion of GiveCamp 2013 (and each year), the nonprofit organizations will continue to have access to their team site to reference any material generated during the GiveCamp. Team members will be removed from accessing the sites based on the input from their team nonprofit organization (some nonprofits will elect to remove access due to privacy issues).

Access to your team site is by invitation only. The GiveCamp team sites are maintained by the Baltimore GiveCamp Organization and you are an external user to our system. Therefore, invitations to your team site are sent out by our staff and provide a means for you to have access to the team site on the project for which you are working.

Once you have an invitation, you will also need to have a Microsoft Account. If you do not have an account, you can easily sign up for one through your invitation acceptance process.

From that point forward, you can continue to access your site from the URL provided in your invite. It is recommended that you bookmark the site for future reference. URLs are always in this form – https://BaltimoreGiveCamp.sharepoint.com/BaltimoreGiveCamp/<your project name>

Your Microsoft Account is your key to accessing the sites and information on the Baltimore GiveCamp Organization site. You will need it to securely access the site at all times.

The invitations that are sent out are based on the email address that you used to register for GiveCamp. If you already have a Microsoft Account under a different email address, it is suggested that you add your GiveCamp registered email address to your Microsoft Account profile. If you would rather establish a new Account or do not have one already, you can continue through the Microsoft Account setup process and establish an account based on your GiveCamp registered email address. NOTE: There is NO need to create a new email address (i.e., Hotmail or Outlook) to get a Microsoft Account.

If you have NOT connected to your team site from the invitation sent to you, open the invite email and click on the link sent. Invitations are only valid for 7 days.

If you have passed that time period, you will need to have another invite sent to you. Contact your Project Manager or a GiveCamp technical contact for reissuing an invite.

If you HAVE connected to your team site and have forgotten your Microsoft Account, please try every attempt to review your emails and determine your account ID from any welcome emails you might have received during the account set up process. If you are still unable to determine your account ID, contact a GiveCamp technical member and they will be able to see what your ID is.

If you HAVE connected to your team site and you have forgotten your password, please go through the steps available on the "Can't access your account?” link found on the site login page. NOTE: We are not able to reset or change passwords as these are strictly controlled by you and Microsoft only.

If you HAVE connected to your team site and you do remember your password but are getting access permission errors, please check the URL that you are trying to access. It is very tempting to try and got to the root of the website (i.e., BaltimoreGiveCamp.sharepoint.com) and not to your particular sub-site. If you attempt to do that or even try to access simply the BaltimoreGiveCamp sub-site by itself, you WILL receive a permission error. Team sub-site URLs are always in this form – https://BaltimoreGiveCamp.sharepoint.com/BaltimoreGiveCamp/<your project name>

Still having problems? - Make sure you are always trying to access the team site with a Microsoft Account and NOT an Organizational Account.

NOTE: The steps required to reset your password are all based on the Microsoft Account and not an Organizational Account.

If you reach the Organizational Login Page

Do not attempt to login on this page.

Do not attempt to use the "Can't access your account?" link on this page.

The only thing you should do on this page is to click on the "Sign in with a Microsoft account" link.

Your login page should always indicate Microsoft account above the login ID field.

This is the login page you should always use.

If you've forgotten your password, use the "Can't access your account?" link ONLY ON THIS PAGE.

Baltimore GiveCamp 2013 has introduced a new concept called GiveCamp Express. The GiveCamp team has elected to standardize on Office 365 as the foundation for GiveCamp Express. GiveCamp Express is by assignment only from the GiveCamp Team leaders and is designed to address only one specific technical challenge.

GiveCamp Express was introduced to address the challenge of staffing multiple projects that all had the same goal; specifically, web site hosting and content management. Prior years of GiveCamp have shown us that we quickly deplete our technical resources by having multiple projects with the same outcome. We find that multiple teams, all addressing the same issue, become difficult to manage and staff. GiveCamp Express provides a solution to that problem by creating one larger team that will focus on all the projects with the same goal.

GiveCamp Express offers one foundational technology – Office 365. It was imperative that the Express team have only one framework to utilize. The choice of Office 365 was made since it not only gave a strong foundational framework, but also offered a host of other services which could eventually be capitalized on by the nonprofit organizations.

The goal of GiveCamp Express is singular – we are using the Express team to create public facing websites. That is the only purpose of the team. Although Office 365 provides other services, the Express team is not concentrating on them in any way (unless absolutely necessary). The Express team will generate public websites built on the Office 365 technology and will do so in a “factory” style approach. The groundwork done during the Express team interaction will facilitate the further enhancements and future projects for the nonprofit organizations at later GiveCamp events (should they wish to participate).

Office 365 provides the most services at the lowest cost-point as compared to other technologies. Office 365 also provides enhanced features for which a nonprofit organization can move forward with their future needs.

GiveCamp Express is focused on ONE particular area, the public facing website. By choosing Office 365, we are able to meet that requirement while adding value to what is provided through GiveCamp. Rather than choosing a singular technology (such as WordPress, Drupal, GoogleDocs, etc.), we are able to provide enhanced value to a nonprofit organization and establish a framework for future GiveCamp events or simply for the nonprofit to go beyond just a website.

No. GiveCamp Express is, first of all, by assignment or recommendation only. The technical team of Baltimore GiveCamp reviews any projects for their introduction to the Express project. Only projects that are “basic” in nature and are focused on providing a simple website are considered. Baltimore GiveCamp 2013 has ALREADY determined the projects that are to be included in GiveCamp Express. If your project meets the parameters and is NOT part of GiveCamp Express, arrangements with the GiveCamp Express Coordinator will need to be made in order to include your project in the Express team.

Each team, not currently included in the Express option, has a Technical Team Leader. It is the responsibility of this leader to make a determination of the technology to be used in their project. Some projects may need to be based on existing technology. Others may need a whole different framework. In some cases, the Technical Team Leader may choose to utilize Office 365 as the basis for their project. IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR that this is SEPARATE from GiveCamp Express and is solely at the discretion of the Technical Team Leader.

If a project has been chosen to pass through the GiveCamp Express Team, the project will have two primary roles assigned to it: the Project Manager and the Business Analyst. Projects for the Express option will NOT have a Technical Team Leader assigned as the Express Team is already staffed with Technical Team Leaders for that group.

All other teams that are not designated for Express will be staffed with a Project Manager, Business Analyst and a Technical Team Leader. Additionally, the team will be comprised of any technical developers and staff as may be needed to complete the project during GiveCamp.

IF your project is later determined and coordinated to be introduced in the Express project, the Technical Team Leader may absorb into the Express group or may continue to focus solely on the assigned project.

GiveCamp Express is being offered through Baltimore GiveCamp at no charge for the Office 365 Enterprise Plan 1 (E1). Plan 3 (E3) is available, should an organization choose, but carries a small per month per user fee. A comparison of the plans can be found here (please ignore the pricing).

NO other plans available through Office 365 are being offered through Baltimore GiveCamp or GiveCamp Express.

Baltimore GiveCamp and the Express group are responsible for making this offer available through Baltimore GiveCamp.

IF your project Technical Team Leader has determined that Office 365 will be used as the technology basis for your group (NOTE: this is SEPARATE from GiveCamp Express), arrangements can be made to obtain the same pricing offer available to the Express projects. You will need to make arrangements with the GiveCamp Express Coordinator to take advantage of the offer and to begin the process of registration and acceptance. There are certain forms of qualification that are needed in order to obtain such an offer.

Baltimore GiveCamp and the Express group are responsible for making this offer available through Baltimore GiveCamp.

Since this is the first introduction of the GiveCamp Express team, we do not currently have any sample sites to review. We certainly expect to have a showcase of them after this event.

Office 365 (as it is known now) was released in 2011. It was rebranded from Office Live Small Business which was introduced around 2006. Office 365 can be accessed here and a great source of history can be found here.

If you are involved in the GiveCamp Express team, you can certainly investigate Office 365 with your team. However, if you are not involved or want to further your knowledge, you can start with the Office 365 site here. Specifically for the business offering of Office 365, you can begin your investigation here.

You can also sign up for a 30-day trial version of Office 365 online. It is a fully functioning system and provides all of the features needed to investigate.

In a short-form – Office 365 provides: SharePoint (private and public facing), Exchange (email and collaboration), and Lync (messaging and communication).

Some highlights are: the ability to view and edit complete Microsoft Office based documents without the need for the Microsoft Office product suite, or (with the paid plans) the ability to download and install the Microsoft Office Suite of products on up to five devices per paid user. As well, the Microsoft Exchange back-end provides complete enterprise grade communication and collaboration services.

Yes, there are many forums, communities, website and books devoted to Office 365. The best starting point is from the Office 365 for business site found here and specifically under the “Office Resources” section.

The Office 365 Community is an excellent place to start beyond the basics. It is found here.

Most of the set up and management of Office 365 is done through the portal of the individual account. From there, all parts of the Office 365 product can be managed and maintained.

Further development on Office 365 is done through many tools including SharePoint Designer, Visual Studio, InfoPath Designer, as well as various other popular designers built to support Office 365.

Specific information about developing and designing public facing websites in Office 365 can be found here and here.