In less than two weeks, the Apps for Communities contest closes. We challenged developers and designers with creating apps that improve daily life in cities by making local public information more personalized, usable and actionable for all Americans.  We’ve had over 45 submissions so far and more are rolling in as the deadline approaches. 

Knight Foundation has partnered with the Federal Communications Commission because we believe there is great synergy between the two organizations’ ability to reach out and improve the lives of residents by gathering technologists to focus on the needs of local communities.   We are fortunate to have some fantastic judges:

·         Marc Andreessen — Co-Founder and General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz ·         Charles Best — Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org ·         Cory Booker — Mayor of Newark, New Jersey ·         Brad Feld — Managing Director of Foundry Group ·         Tom Lee — Director of Sunlight Labs ·         Jennifer Pahlka — Founder, Executive Director and Board Chair of Code for America

For the winners, we’re offering $100,000 in prizes — $30k as the grand prize, $20k for 2nd, $10k for 3rd and many bonuses for different categories such as best design and visualization, best use of SMS, digital proficiency and English literacy. See the full list of prizes at the bottom of the page here: http://appsforcommunities.challenge.gov/ To learn more about Apps for Communities, follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.