Nonprofit Events Fanout Bridge (nefb)

One‑way fanout of events from a single source of truth to multiple channels — built for tiny nonprofits

Status: Design phase (pre‑alpha). This repo is not usable yet. We’re drafting, prototyping, and recruiting pilot orgs. If you’re here from GitHub search: please don’t depend on this yet — but do ⭐ the repo and say hi!

Who this is for

• Volunteer‑run nonprofits that host a handful of free/low‑cost events per month
• Small comms teams who want to post once and be done
• Tech‑friendly non‑profits comfortable with GitHub or willing to work with a helper

If you’re on Wix today and copy/paste the same event into Facebook and Instagram, this is for you.

Why this exists (in one minute)

• Time back to humans: Enter an event once. The bridge does the repetitive work.
• Ethical + sustainable: Free, open‑source, no subscriptions or lock‑in.
• Accessible by default: Clear text details and image alt text so everyone can read it.
• Low running cost: Designed to run on free/low‑cost setups.

Commercial tools exist, but monthly fees add up quickly for tiny budgets. This project aims to be a commons.

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What this project will do (soon)

Enter your event once and the bridge will publish it to:

• Wix — add or update your event on your Wix site.
• Facebook — create a Facebook event (or a regular Page post if events aren’t available).
• Instagram — post an image and caption about the event.
• WordPress (later) — add an event page/post.

Key principles:

• Single source of truth (starting with Google Calendar). No double entry.
• One‑way fanout. Edit your original event and we’ll push updates out.
• Built for many small orgs. One installation can serve multiple nonprofits.
• Accessibility matters. Alt text and readable text are required.

What it will not do (at first)

• Ticketing or payments
• Attendee lists/RSVP management
• Two‑way sync (this is fanout, not a synchronizer)
• A full admin website (early versions are simple and guided)

We’re keeping the scope narrow so it’s reliable, cheap, and easy to adopt.

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Project status & timeline

• Now: Designing and testing with a few pilot sites.
• Target: First usable MVP in Fall 2025 (depends on volunteer time and platform approvals).
• Pilots wanted: 2–4 small nonprofits on Wix with Facebook Pages (Instagram welcome but not required).

If that’s you, open a discussion in this repo to introduce your org and needs.

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How it will work (plain English)

1. You add your event in Google Calendar (the “one place” to keep it).
2. The bridge notices new or changed events and posts them for you on your channels.
3. If you update or cancel the event, the posts are updated where possible.
4. It runs automatically on a schedule so you don’t have to remember.

More technical details live in DESIGN.md (WIP).

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Using this project (today)

Right now there’s no installable release.

If you want to help test early builds:

1. ⭐ Star the repo to follow along.
2. Open a Discussion with your org’s context (Wix site, FB Page, IG status, Google Calendar readiness).
3. If you have a helper, we’ll coordinate on an early pilot and share setup instructions before the first public release.

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Contributing

We welcome contributors of all experience levels—especially nonprofit staff/volunteers who can validate real‑world needs.

• Share ideas and questions in Discussions.
• Use Issues for bugs or concrete requests.
• If you’re technical and want to help, see DESIGN.md for the plan and open an Issue to coordinate.

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License

Released into the public domain under The Unlicense.

You may copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or distribute this software, either in source code form or as a compiled binary, for any purpose, commercial or non‑commercial, and by any means.

See the LICENSE file or https://unlicense.org/ for the full text.

Disclaimer of Warranty: This software is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind.

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Credits & contact

Created and maintained by volunteers aiming to save nonprofits time and money.

• Project lead: Pekka Ilmari Nikander pnr@iki.fi
• Discussions: please use the GitHub Discussions tab

If you’re a small nonprofit and want to pilot this, we’d love to talk.

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Development

Quick Start

npm run setup           # Install all dependencies
npm run verify-offline  # Confirm offline-ready
npm run dev auth        # Test Google Calendar auth

Offline Development

This project is designed for 100% offline development after initial setup. See docs/OFFLINE-DEVELOPMENT.md for detailed workflow and troubleshooting.

Architecture Spikes

Current implementation status and lessons learned: docs/SPIKES.md

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FAQ (short)

Is this a sync tool? No. It’s a fanout bridge: one‑way from your source of truth to other platforms. If we ever support two‑way sync, it’ll be a separate project.

Will it cost money to run? We aim for €0/month on common setups.

Why not use Zapier/Make/etc.? They’re fine, but recurring fees add up for tiny budgets. This project is free and open‑source.

What if my org isn’t on Wix? WordPress support is on the roadmap. Other targets can be added over time.