Money for maps

by Michael Duxbury

Maps are still a huge craze, and rightly so. The advent of the free (for non-commercial use) Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth - among others - has meant that what was historically extraordinarily complicated has now been hugely simplified. So much information is better displayed in map form, and they're great interactive tools.

Charities in particular have been quick to realise the potential of these services. We've implemented mash-ups for both Stop Climate Chaos and the Fairtrade Foundation recently. And although the costs of projects like these have come down dramatically, they can still take a large part out of a charity's online budget.

It was interesting to read, therefore, that Google are offering grants for mapping projects to charities and not-for-profits. You'll have to be pretty quick putting your case together - proposals need to be in by 22nd December - but it's a great time to try and get budget together for the mapping project you thought you couldn't afford.