I recently built a Mambo site for a small (all-volunteeer staff) non-profit neighborhood association in the city of Milwaukee where I live. The software aims to maximize user-created content and useful interaction. It has a number of add-ons (principally Community Builder) to help the site serve as (among other things) a tool for communication, political and social organizing, economic exchange, and crime-fighting.

I also maintain or work on other small sites in the same neighborhood that are driven by different blog engines for a community newspaper, a housing investment and rehab co-operative, and a grocery/food co-op--all in the same neighborhood.

There are a number of limitations in the software I am using, usually due to features being designed by people with a very different kind of site and user base. However, I think there may be a need for an open-source CMS package designed for the needs and traits of real, physical community development organizations.

Anyone with the following interests is encouraged to contact me:

1) Developers interested in building or modifying their own open source tools for community organizations, NGOs, etc.

2) Developers interested in building a software package specifically for business improvement districts (BIDs), community development corporations (CDCs), or neighborhood associations.

3) Anyone with questions interested in learning from my experiences.

Please feel free to spread this message to anyone you know who might be interested.

try www.joomlancers.com

mikko