Walk Now for Autism, the nation’s largest grassroots autism walk program, is Autism Speaks’ signature fundraising and awareness event, taking place in communities across the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. Powered by volunteers and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum, this successful grassroots fundraising effort not only generates vital funds for autism research but also raises awareness about the increasing prevalence of autism and the need for increased research funding to combat this complex disorder.
In 2008 I assisted as a lead role in developing approximately 80 stand-alone event sites using Kintera’s Custom Friends Asking Friends (CFAF) module and Content Management System. While the events still managed to function there was a lot of bugs a holes in the application and prompted us to not change vendors but use a more archaic module of Kintera’s called Thon (FAF).
For 2009, the same number of sites are being built and under the Thon model I have redesigned (mainly color scheme to rid the site of bad pretenses from 2008), developed and launched dozens of these sites already with a 6 month fundraising window before the event. The 2009 Walk Now for Autism campaigns are projected to raise millions of dollars for Autism research and support.
