Kudos

Many in the nonprofit sector have recently become aware of the importance of the Internet and related technologies, yet few seem prepared to respond. Whether applying technologies to their needed solutions versus technology-for-technology's sake or facing up to the ongoing investment required in staff development, organizational change and hardware and software acquisition, the nonprofit sector is in grave need of assistance in these areas.

TechSoup is one of the few organizations that has prepared itself to meet the needs of nonprofits in their attempts to apply the Internet and related technologies. Starting with their recognition of the importance of technical mentoring as a form of education and support, the organization has continued to redefine itself to where today, in addition to the technical mentoring, TechSoup can provide important consultative services to help with everything from technology planning to organizational change.

--Mario Morino, President, Morino Institute

Computers are extraordinary tools for not-for-profits, but their complexity has meant that these tools have been underused by the organizations that need them the most. TechSoup closes this complexity gap in a way that is at once effective and community-building by connecting outside technical experts to the groups that can make best use of their expertise and enthusiasm.

--Paul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future

For more than a decade, TechSoup has been providing the know-how that makes a vital difference for hundreds of nonprofit organizations. You can't address serious social problems by throwing technology at them. Computers in schools, or in the offices of a social services organization, don't do any good if people can't use them. The people who are addressing the problems need to know how to use the technology to make their job easier or more effective. TechSoup has been engaged in community-building as well as training, by matching hundreds of technology-savvy volunteer mentors with nonprofit organizations.

--Howard Rheingold, Author of "The Virtual Community"

I go around the country promoting TechSoup and singing its praises. In my view, it is the preeminent tech assistance group for nonprofits. It offers competent support from folks that know the nonprofit environment. I refer to TechSoup as the granddaddy of the computer support biz for nonprofits.

--Armando Valdez, LatinoNet Founder; Chair of the California Telecommunications Policy Forum

TechSoup brings uniquely important skills and expertise to the nonprofit community. As a funder, I have worked with this organization in a variety of contexts. Whether it's bringing basic computer literacy skills to small nonprofits with no technological experience to those of mid-range sophistication who need some upgrades, and even to those who have substantial skill and background wanting to experiment with technological innovations to advance their programmatic work, TechSoup staff always have just the right skills and approach.

Beyond their broad and sensitive range of consulting expertise, there are two things that I particularly appreciate about TechSoup. One is its deep philosophical commitment to the "Mentor" in their name. Their approach is to transfer skills to nonprofits as rapidly as possible, empowering them to develop internal technological capacity so as not to remain dependent upon outside consultants. The other philosophical commitment is to have programs and services drive technology rather than vice versa. When I fund project using TechSoup's services, I can always trust that nonprofits' mission and services will be the touchstone from which technological interventions will be assessed and made. This makes TechSoup's approach very practical, with no worry for me that technology itself will take center stage at the expense of human and social goals and values.

--Ruth Brousseau Senior Program Officer, The California Wellness Foundation

TechSoup challenges the convention that modern computer and telecommunications technologies represent the panacea for the problems of managing community organizations. They place the emphasis on the profound importance of human beings as essential parts of the equation. In that way, TechSoup supports what lies at the core of most community organizations: a belief that improvements in society occur when competent people using the best tools they can find care deeply enough about others to change social conditions for the better.

--Paul Vandeventer, President, Community Partners

I've been impressed with TechSoup's ability to keep one eye on the future and anticipate important trends while keeping the other firmly in the nuts, bolts, hardware and software of the present. The staff functions as very able technical assistors, but also as much needed minstrels of the message that the technology is but a tool to achieve fundamental program goals. I've seen, first hand, many organizations who have benefited from TechSoup staff's ability to demystify the technology, help organizations avoid glitzy uses of the latest technology that does not meet mission, and find practical ways to deploy the tools to help people and meet nonprofits' goals.

I have also had the opportunity to work in partnership with TechSoup staff on a five year community technology initiative in California which has complex and ambitious goals. They are a team that is serious, strategic, effective, and very dedicated. They are making a very positive difference in a field that is changing extraordinarily quickly and profoundly. Their leadership and depth of experience provides a compass that is indispensable to the nonprofit community.

Wendy Lazarus, Director, The Children's Partnership

"Every nonprofit organization and school can benefit from a relationship with TechSoup. They have a proven track record of providing valuable services that deliver meaningful, long-term results in helping agencies come up to speed in acquiring and optimizing technology. TechSoup staff and volunteers are accessible and 'user-friendly,' providing high-quality training and support to both non-technical and technical staff. We live in a world where technology has become a necessity -- TechSoup helps agencies move from computing being a 'necessary evil' to being a tool for productivity and an enhancement to doing their critical jobs. It's also an exceptionally well-run organization that deserves to grow and prosper."

--Jennifer Sims, Director of Global Community Affairs and Government Relations, Aspect Telecommunications

When some people talk about the digital divide they sound like vendors at a street fair, more interested in selling you something "anything" than with solving the real problems faced by the destitute and disenfranchised. That is NOT the case with TechSoup, a "Stand-up" organization that really pushes the envelope for justice. TechSoup's technical assistance has truly made a difference for WEAP. They helped us think through our training lab concepts and challenges, functioning as a sounding board. They provided invaluable technical assistance, expertise and information without being patronizing. They encouraged our innovations even as they challenged our thinking. They also did something that few others have, respected the opinions and followed the leadership of a community-based organization led by black women. If there could be less talk about the digital divide and more actions like TechSoup's to bridge it, we would be a lot further along toward economic security and justice for all.

--Ethel Long-Scott, Executive Director, Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP)

In providing essential computer-related help for nonprofits, TechSoup provides a comprehensive "soup to nuts" service for nonprofits that goes far beyond the obvious. CM doesn't just take and fulfill matchup requests from nonprofits. They provide the far more valuable service of assessing the true need and then assisting with the best possible solution. Often this translates into a solution different from the one first envisioned by the nonprofit. Because I have myself worked at TechSoup, I know firsthand that this more deliberate - and more complete - service brings far better results. And I know that it took years to develop such a large and high-quality database of skilled mentors combined with methodologies for optimizing these valuable resources in service to the community. In this field they are simply without peer."

--John Coate, Director, SF Gate

Over the past 11 years, I have funded TechSoup to support technology capacity development and building communications systems of nonprofits. During this time, TechSoup has continued to develop its own capacity while serving the needs of others. As a result, TechSoup remains at the leading edge of technological innovations and passing these innovations on to nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area and beyond.

Eleven years of responsive, innovative and excellent service is TechSoup's commitment to the nonprofit community. I have come to rely upon TechSoup to support the broad based technology needs of the nonprofit community.

--Michael Howe, Executive Director, East Bay Community Foundation

We see language skills being demonstrably enhanced and test scores improving.... We know that [TechSoup's] staff and mentors work with teachers, adminstrators, students and community members in a sustained, structured and pedagogically-grounded fashion and TechSoup deserves a significant part of the credit for the results we have achieved.

--Dr. Robert Harrington, Assistant Superintendent of the SF Unified School District

For the nonprofit community, TechSoup has always been hi-tech with a human face. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of this remarkable and unique organization, numerous nonprofits have acquired the necessary competence and capacity to fully realize the potential productivity gains of computer technology. In human terms, it can mean a neighborhood soup kitchen feeding a few more homeless children or a few more desperate callers getting through on a crisis hotline. Enabling nonprofits to do more and better with little or less is what TechSoup excels at.

--Herbert Chao Gunther, President, Public Media Center