The Community Kit for SharePoint is a set of best practices, templates, Web Parts, tools, and source code that enables practically anyone to create a community website based on SharePoint technology for practically any group of people with a common interest.

Files and source code for the CKS are available for download from CodePlex at http://www.codeplex.com/cks.

The Community Kit for SharePoint: User Group Edition (or CKS:UGE) 1.0 is a site admin template (.STP file) designed for user group websites. The default settings and content of a SharePoint site that's been created with this template can be used with minimal modification by any Microsoft product oriented user group. Nevertheless, a user group of any product will find this template to be a compelling option with which to create a SharePoint site for its members.

After 5 months of starts and stops, the CKS:UGE 1.0 has finally reached the Release milestone thanks to the tireless and creative efforts of Shane Perran, a SharePoint MVP, on top of the initial work done by Inetium, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. The CKS:UGE 1.0 demo site is at http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/sharepoint/cks/uge.

The CKS:UGE 1.0 site template file is available for download at http://www.codeplex.com/CKS/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx.