technology

The TechSoup Global Network grew tremendously over the past years. It includes 35 capacity-building NGO partners (including SANGONeT, a founding partner since 2006) serving 36 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. We launched new partnerships in Czech Republic, Egypt, Italy, Israel, and Sweden and added the product donation programme in Singapore as of September 2011.

This network has had a significant impact on the communities it serves. As of 30 June 2011, TechSoup Global and its partners had served more than 152 000 organisations, distributed more than 7.9 million in software and hardware product donations, and enabled recipients to save more than US$2.4 billion in information technology (IT) expenses, while delivering enhanced programmes and services.

In the past 12 months, we’ve also expanded our relationships with corporate partners to include new partnerships with Azavea, BetterWorld Telecom, Caspio, DYMO, easyLearning, FileMaker, FluidSurveys, and SlideRocket.

Activities over the next year will focus on exploring the tremendous opportunities for nonprofit organisations made possible by trends and developments in cloud computing technologies.

We’re also thrilled to see our Global Network Partners operating in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom (UK) attract local corporate technology product donation partners who are committed to building technology capacity in their communities. Over the past year, our partner network held more than 130 local community events to educate NGOs about technology. It is continuing to localise TechSoup articles, webinars, and user content. As we expand Global Data Services and CDI, our Global Network will help fuel the development and delivery of relevant programming. This will, in turn, diversify income and leverage investment to improve the sustainability of the network.

Global Data Services: Illuminating Civil Society

In April 2010, we combined operations with GuideStar International (GSI), a UK-registered charity that promotes transparency and civil society organisation reporting. TechSoup Global gained GSI’s deep expertise in making civil society organisations more visible and effective, allowing our network to more easily identify and reach those organisations that are working to address society’s most urgent needs. We also gained expertise on NGO data sources and on NGOs’ work around the world.

The promise of our collaboration with GSI is already visible. In addition to the previously established UK programme, the GuideStar International network has expanded to include programmes in Belgium and Israel (through our Global Network Partners). In India, the TechSoup Global Partner NASSCOM Foundation is fast-tracking NGOs that register with GuideStar India for BIGTech - NASSCOM’s software donation programme that is run in partnership with TechSoup Global. Partners NASSCOM and GuideStar India are a model for how our network can provide meaningful incentives for civil society to share data and support transparency that will ultimately strengthen civil society. In the coming year, we look forward to adding services to help two groups — those with philanthropic resources and those wishing to foster collaboration — more easily identify NGOs and connect with them. We also aim to transform data into intelligence and insights that will strengthen civil society organisations and increase the effectiveness of global philanthropists.

GuideStar United States America, an independent U.S. nonprofit organisation, was not a party to this combination.

NGOsource:

A Project of the Council on Foundations and TechSoup Global In 2008, TechSoup Global was selected by the Council on Foundations for an exciting new project: NGOsource, an equivalency determination (ED) service that will help U.S. grantmakers streamline their international grantmaking. ED is a process by which a U.S. grantmaker evaluates whether an intended foreign grantee is the equivalent of a U.S. public charity, as required by the IRS. The service is currently awaiting necessary regulatory approval.

Throughout 2010 and 2011, we have built, tested, and refined the technical systems and business processes needed to operate the service. Beta tests in English and Spanish resulted in 14 grantmakers receiving sample EDs for NGOs in close to 20 countries, including Brazil, India, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, and Tanzania. The IRS and U.S. Department of Treasury are reviewing the service, and the outlook for regulatory approval remains positive.

The NGOsource team receives regular feedback from an Advisory Council that represents the diverse needs of the philanthropic sector. As of September 2011, the Advisory Council includes representatives from: Amgen Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Christensen Fund, Council on Foundations, The Foundation Center, GE Foundation, Grants Managers Network, Independent Sector, InterAction, The Lemelson Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Seattle Foundation, TechSoup Global, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Community-Driven Innovation

Strong and Healthy Communities Enable Social Change

As of 30 June 2011, 86 monthly NetSquared Local events were held in 28 countries, and more than 30 000 NetSquared community members were registered around the world. This thriving group is a powerful evolving network of social entrepreneurs, software developers, researchers, activists, and NGOs - all passionate about harnessing the power of technology for social change.

This past year, based on the lessons we learned from our annual NetSquared conference, we launched the pilot programme NetSquared Camps. From Douala, Cameroon, to Chicago, Illinois, these camps were designed to convene our most active supporters to produce more locally relevant connections and contacts. The goal was to scale beyond the boundaries of any single conference center or geography.

The NetSquared Camps pilot included six events in four countries, convening more than 450 participants, dozens of volunteers, and a handful of sponsors. Over the course of these events, new and exciting examples of knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer capacity building emerged. Each event varied in content, structure, and style but shared the same focus on technology and social impact.

Based on the success of the NetSquared Camps and our other community projects, we plan to expand the pilot in 2012. We are investing in CDI programming to bring the values and participation of the NetSquared community to all of our networks. This includes a platform that will facilitate regional TechSoup Global Network Partner deployment of CDI content — including events, challenges, ideas, and other community-engagement activities. It will also provide NGOsource and Global Data Services with a front-end, central way to capture organisational data and profiles.

TechSoup Global’s newly established CDI Packaged Solutions team moves ideas through a defined lifecycle to design, develop, and deliver integrated solutions with and for TechSoup Global’s users. Through community input, analysis, and standardised toolkits containing guidelines and project-design templates, the CDI Packaged Solutions team recommends new integrated solutions that incorporate CDI methodologies and capitalise on TechSoup Global’s diverse set of services and assets.

We are also continuing our work on TechSoup for Libraries, including participation in a multi-stakeholder project to develop and implement national benchmarks for public-access computing in libraries.

To help the TechSoup Global Network continue changing lives through technology, donate to the SANGONeT “No Pain No Gain” campaign today, by making a donation at   www.givengain.com/activist/55367/projects/1333.

For more about the TechSoup Global Network, refer to www.techsoupglobal.org.