Ushahidi is an open source platform that was developed in 2008 to map reports of violence in Kenya after post-election violence. It allows individuals to share information and stories through tools like SMS, email, web, and social media. The platform aggregates this crowdsourced data and displays it visually on maps and timelines to provide critical information during emergencies. Ushahidi relies on grants and now offers custom deployments of its software for clients to become financially sustainable while continuing its mission of democratizing information access globally.