TechSoup Global

TechSoup Global

Founded	1987
Founder	Daniel Ben-Horin
Type	Nonprofit technology
Focus	Technology Donations and Data Services
Location	San Francisco
Origins	CompuMentor Project
Key people	Founder and Chief Instigator: Daniel Ben-Horin CEO: Rebecca Masisak
Revenue	US$33 million
Employees	203
Website	www.techsoupglobal.org

TechSoup Global, founded in 1987 as CompuMentor, is a nonprofit international network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provides technology and other resources to the voluntary sector. TechSoup Global's core capabilities include running a technology philanthropy program; providing NGO validation services to foundations and corporations; gathering, analyzing, and distributing global voluntary-sector data; and catalyzing community-oriented technology innovations. Using a social-enterprise business model, these operations are grounded in collaboration within the social sector. Describing itself as a "connector across sectors," TechSoup Global brings together: NGOs, government agencies, social enterprises, technology activists, foundations, and 100+ technology companies - including Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Cisco, and Intuit.

The TechSoup Global Network includes Fundacja TechSoup, the first separately incorporated “regional hub” established by TechSoup Global. It employs a staff of eighteen in Warsaw, Poland, and supports activities in 16 European countries.

History

TechSoup Global's founding organization CompuMentor was created in 1987 when Daniel Ben-Horin (today Founder and Chief Instigator of TechSoup Global) was inspired by the participants on The WELL, one of the very first online communities, to create a program in which those with technology skills (“mentors”) volunteered to assist nonprofit organizations gain a foothold with new information technologies.

In 2008, CompuMentor changed its name to TechSoup Global.

As of September 30, 2014, TechSoup Global was one of the largest not-for-profit provider of technology assistance services to nongovernmental organizations, libraries, and other civil society organizations worldwide. More than 5.9 million annual visitors from 121 countries visit the TechSoup Global internet sites for technology information, training, and support. These users are able to read articles and other educational content, participate in webinars, forums, and both online and in-person community events in order to collaborate, share best practices, and maximize their impact.

Notable programs

TechSoup.org

Launched in January 2002, TechSoup.org is a web site serving nonprofits that provides training webinars, community forums and other resources about the use of technology in nonprofit organizations and public libraries. Originally known as DiscounTech (and later as TechSoup Stock), TechSoup.org is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Microsoft product donations, and helps to connect nonprofits and libraries to 401 different product donations from 100+ donating partners (including Adobe, Symantec, Cisco and Intuit). These partnerships have enabled it to build a social enterprise that, for a small administrative fee, verifies the nonprofit status of organizations seeking donations, and matches them to the donated technology products they need.

GuideStar International

GuideStar International's global service enables collection of and open access to accurate NGO data - through local partners - increasing both transparency and effectiveness of civil society. GSI was begun in 2010 when TechSoup Global and GuideStar International, a U.K.-registered charity that promotes transparency and civil society organization reporting, combined operations in order to strengthen their respective capacity-building programs for civil society.^[1] The two organizations share a mission to benefit global civil society through the provision of technology, information, and resources.

NGOsource

NGOsource, a project of the Council on Foundations and TechSoup Global, is an online service for U.S. grantmakers to receive equivalency determinations, which are legal certifications that a non-U.S. NGO is equivalent to a U.S. public charity, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of international grantmaking.^[2] Launched in March 2013, it helps U.S. grantmakers streamline their global philanthropy.^[3] According to its website, NGOsource was active in 81 countries as of 2015.^[4]

NetSquared

NetSquared fosters technology collaboration for social change by organizing local actors to collaborate in open innovation challenges and in monthly face-to-face meetups in 41 cities around the world.^[5] These NetSquared challenges engage citizen technologists to deliver Internet and mobile solutions to address pressing local issues such as government transparency, government efficiency, corruption, and rule of law. NetSquared’s “ReStart Slovakia” challenge provided recognition and seed funds to help launch the “Open Courts” project to promote transparency in Slovakia's judicial system.^[6]

Further reading

• “When Tech Innovation Has a Social Mission” by John Markoff, The New York Times, April 13, 2008
• “TechSoup sees upside for nonprofits in downturn” by Julian Guthrie, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, March 22, 2009

See also

• Nonprofit technology
• Daniel Ben-Horin
• Rebecca Masisak
• NTEN
• NTAP

References