As a regular reader of the GrantStation International Insider, it’s clear you are looking for information about new grantors and ideas about how to increase your funding. I’m happy to share that, in addition to the great information you can find at GrantStation, TechSoup can also aid your organization through the many offerings we provide to nonprofits across 236 countries and territories.
Unlocking the Power of Technology for Social Good
TechSoup provides both the digital platforms and in-person experiences that enable people to work together toward a more equitable world. Our programs, projects, and collaborations are designed to build capacity at a global scale with local care. Our community consists of foundations and corporations, governments and NGO’s, social entrepreneurs and passionate volunteers. Together we believe that technology is a powerful enabler for social change and we have developed sustainable, community-driven technology solutions to meet today’s most urgent social challenges.
The TechSoup Global Network
We’ve partnered with 70 of the world’s leading civil society organizations to improve lives globally through the use of technology.
TechSoup Global Network (TSGN) partners manage a range of technology capacity-building programs to serve communities in nearly every region of the world. Each network partner tailors its program to the needs of its community and shares insights with other network partners to better serve communities worldwide.
Together we’ve reached over 1,400,000 organizations and delivered $14.7B (USD) in technology tools and philanthropic services. TSGN is committed to continuing this significant impact and develop next generation programs and services to navigate an increasingly digital world.
Now that you know a bit more about TechSoup, here are just a few of the programs and resources you’ll find on our global platforms.
The TechSoup Marketplace: Technology Donations/Discounts
TechSoup relies on its partners to build a technology product philanthropy service that truly serves the nonprofit community. Some partners are able to donate their products, while others lower their fees significantly. Your first step? Have your organization validated so we can confirm which offers you may qualify for. Learn more about registration here. Make sure to select your country on the upper left of the registration page before beginning the process!
Once your information is confirmed (at no charge), you can request access to the tech solutions in your country. At check out, your profile and ordering history are compared to each company’s requirements. If successful, a small payment at the end of the process is your only cost. Offers will vary depending upon the country, but major global programs are available in all markets from Microsoft, Symantec, BitDefender, Zoom, Box, and Autodesk.
Global Validation and Data Services
Grantmakers, governments, companies, and others often need to verify that an organization is eligible for support before offering in-kind gifts, employee giving, charity sales, or cash grants. The TechSoup Global Network has the expertise and rigorous systems in place for providing organizations with trusted information on validated NGOs in order to connect them to the donated and discounted resources they need. We apply this global expertise across 236 countries and territories to meet the wide spectrum of standards that ensure compliance with legal and tax requirements. TechSoup offers validation services in a variety of formats to make giving easy when a donor or funder needs to determine if an NGO, nonprofit, or charity in its home country is legitimate.
NGOSource
If your organization has received or is interested in getting funding from U.S. grantmakers, you should also know about NGOsource. This program, a project of the Council on Foundations and TechSoup, helps U.S. grantmakers streamline and save in their international giving. NGOsource aims to dramatically improve the efficiency of international grantmaking and inspire a significant increase in cross-border philanthropy by centralizing, streamlining, and standardizing the equivalency determination process for U.S. grantmakers.
Our global partners help NGOs navigate the equivalency determination (ED) process by enabling them to better understand specific requirements as well as how NGOsource works. These partners — each familiar with local laws, customs, and ED requirements in the regions they serve — offer NGOs high-quality support, often in local languages and time zones. They are part of the TechSoup Global Network.
International Impact Programs
TechSoup offers resources to help nonprofits leverage technology to give them greater impact and results in their world. Here are a few key programs you may also benefit from.
TechSoupEurope.org leads the effort to build TransparenCEE, a community-oriented project for strengthening the capacity of NGO, IT, and media organizations that use technology and open data for better transparency, accountability, and governance in Central and Eastern Europe. Sponsored by the Mott Foundation and the U.S. Department of State, this project connects civic activists in the region and centralizes resources and analysis regarding advances in civil technology and civil tech tools.
Other active programs meeting the needs of civil society in the EU include:
- The launch of Meet and Code, a partnership between SAP and TechSoup Europe to promote STEM education. Together we have reached 85,000 children and young people across Europe (18 countries in 2017, 22 countries in 2018, 25 countries in 2019) organizing coding events, robotic classes, or hackathons.
- In a truly creative effort, our French partner developed Silver Geek, a regional Wii bowling contest for seniors. Ateliers Du Bocage, TechSoup France partner, mobilized young volunteers to accompany senior citizens and teach them how to use digital tools so they can rock in e-sport.
- You can learn more about the wide array of activities with TechSoup Europe on our News section.
In other parts of the world, we also engage and support civil society in many ways. Here are a few examples:
- Caravan Studios, a division of TechSoup, continued to address community-identified issues in the Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre through its project Feito na Biblioteca in FY 2018. Utilizing the well-established network of libraries in the region to increase education and civic engagement, the project is centered on two mobile apps and one mapping process.
- APPS4CITIES uses open data to promote transparency across Ukraine. The work that TechSoup does around the world touches big issues in some of the most difficult places, especially in Central and Eastern Europe — one of the global regions hardest hit by disinformation and anti-transparency campaigns. In Europe, TechSoup continued to support the open data movement through the Apps4Cities project. Through Apps4Cities, TechSoup and local partners work with city officials to embrace accessing information and knowledge to collaboratively shape democracy.
- For the past 13 years, NetSquared, TechSoup's global network of volunteer-led nonprofit tech meetups, has allowed us to scale our live educational offerings. TechSoup's NetSquared community meetups were created for nonprofits that struggle to implement technology solutions and to understand what options are available to them. Migration to cloud-based technologies continues to be of significant interest at NetSquared events. By supporting grassroots volunteer trainers, we provide hands-on guidance and mentorship to nonprofit leaders in 120 cities across 41 countries. Presenters can be consultants who lead workshops and nonprofits who share their real-life experiences. The most successful events are hyperlocal, so attendees can empathize with the experience of peer nonprofits and establish cohorts of support right in their own communities.
- Later in 2020 we’ll be releasing the Media Literacy Accelerator, where we will be developing training around digital security and increasing digital understanding for civil society.
We look forward to helping all nonprofits become stronger with more effective infrastructures and amazing technology resources. You can learn more about your own country programs either by going to TechSoup and searching for your country in the upper left drop down directory or going to the regional hubs noted below.
