We sponsor a World Community Grid (WCG) team that allows the average computer user to donate the time their computer spends idle to help solve humanity’s problems through various projects. These projects include:
- Help Fight Childhood Cancer
- Computing for Clean Water
- Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy
- Help Conquer Cancer
- Human Proteome Folding
- Fight Against Malaria
- FightAIDS@Home
- Influenza Antiviral Drug Search
- The Clean Energy Project
- Discovering Dengue Drugs – Together
- Drug Search for Leishmaniasis
Join Our Team: Investors for Humanity
Non-WCG Members click here to register for WCG and join our team. Remember to download and install the WCG software.
Current WCG Members click here to join our team.
What is it?
Do you want to contribute more to charity, volunteer or otherwise make a positive impact in the lives of people around the world? Most people do, but giving time or money isn’t always a practical or attractive option with a busy life, family to support and children to raise.
The World Community Grid project sponsored by IBM has developed a revolutionary way for good people with busy lives to make a difference in areas of health & medicine, clean energy, clean water and other important areas that doesn’t cost money and takes less than 10 minutes.
How does it work?
Research involves analyzing incredible amounts of information, in fact the backlog of data can be years long. The project helps by breaking down the information to be analyzed in small packets and sending them to volunteer computers to analyze and send back. By using many individual computers to help process this data, we effectively create the equivalent of massive supercomputer. This collective research can reduce research that would take years down to months.
Is it secure?
Yes. Great lengths have been taken to establish and maintain the highest levels of security with the project. In fact, IBM has individuals on staff that continuously test the strength and security of the system. Because this project relies on the generosity of volunteers, the importance of security and integrity are not taken for granted.
What kind of projects can I support?
Current projects are listed at the top of this page with links to their descriptions. More will be added in the future. The primary beneficiaries of WCG volunteers are research pursuits that benefit humanity and are championed by public or non-profit organizations. These organizations and the projects they support typically have challenges generating the funding necessary to utilize a supercomputer because they are not profit oriented.
After registering, you can pick some or all of the projects depending on which causes you would like to support. As your participation increases you can earn points and badges to show off your contributions. You can even link your Twitter and Facebook profiles to show your friends and family what you’re doing to make our world a better place.
Will it interfere with my day to day computer use?
No. This project was engineered to be as passive and transparent as possible. Once installed, the program will manage itself. It will download a task, process the task, submit the completed task, and download a new task all on its own. The program will only process data when you are not using your computer and it is sitting idle. People who tend to leave their computers on at night will be amazed at how much of a contribution they can make without even realizing it. Even if you don’t leave your computer on all night, every little bit helps and your contribution will make a difference.
Though the default settings will work for most users, settings can be customized for your specific needs if you wish. For more advanced users, you have the option of customizing your contribution above the default ‘only when idle’ settings to make an even larger impact. For example, multi-core processors and GPUs (graphics processing units) can be fully utilized.
How do I begin?
The process to volunteer is quick and easy. Look over all of the steps below before beginning so you have an idea of what to expect.
Note: The below process is for Windows computers, though the process may be similar on an Apple.
1. Click here to register, join our team and download the software!
2. After registering via the link above, you can choose the projects you wish to perform research for.
3. The software will be downloaded and installed. After your computer restarts you’re done and the program will be running. You’re done, but read on if you wish for additional information.
4. After your computer restarts, the program will be active and may be minimized. Click on it to check out the project. If not, click the X to close it and it will manage itself as a small icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. This icon can be used to access the program at any time.
5. Advanced users can customize program preferences to a high degree and view detailed information via the Advanced View.
6. Return to Worldcommunitygrid.org to view points, progress, modify projects, manage teams, browse the forums, integrate with Facebook and Twitter, and for more information.
Spread the word!
Tell your friends and family about the good work you’re doing and encourage them to join. This is Investors for Humanity’s team page, but feel free to create your own team or join one of the thousands of other teams that exist. We’re all working towards the same goal of making a better world. Read more about the project.
