Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Techsoup.org- resource to bridge the gap for Accidental Techies (like me)

Deborah Finn's blog on technology for nonprofits introduces San Francisco's techsoup.org (which is to me, like Seattle's NPower, which now has grown and evolved into NPower National), These nonprofit organizations in their various permutations serve other nonprofits in the use of technology internally (to enhance efficiency) and externally (to enhance program impact). 

Reproduced from Deborah Finn's blog on technology for nonprofits
I worry a lot about exasperated and over-extended nonprofit workers, who often have to take on technology problems in addition to their more-than-full-time jobs.  They are not even accidental techies; they are recusant techies.

Most of the time, nonprofit professionals don't need or want to plunge into a general education in ICT (information and communication technology) in order to solve a problem.  They want a quick overview, or perhaps even a cheat-sheet. And then they want to go back to being social workers, legal advocates, community organizers, environmentalists, direct care providers, educators, lobbyists, or philanthropists - anything but techies.
Enter TechSoup, the definitive web site about nonprofit technology.   When you have a question, it's the first place you should go, even before you ask the Cyber-Yenta!
If you've never visited TechSoup, the place to start is the page for first-time users.  Once you've familiarized yourself with this wonderful resource, you'll be amazed at how often your problem has arisen in other nonprofit organizations, and you'll be able to see if any of your colleagues (and fellow-sufferers) have already worked out options.  
Of course, if you've searched TechSoup and you still have a question, you're always welcome to post it to this blog.
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