TechSoup

Last updated
TechSoup
Founded1987
FounderDaniel Ben-Horin
TypeNonprofit technology
FocusTechnology Donations and Data Services
Location
OriginsCompuMentor Project
Key people
Founder and Chief Instigator: Daniel Ben-Horin
CEO: Rebecca Masisak
Revenue
US$30.8 million
Employees
203
Website meet.techsoup.org

TechSoup, founded in 1987 as CompuMentor and later known as TechSoup Global, is a nonprofit international network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provides technical support and technological tools to other nonprofits. [1] [2]

Contents

History

After discussing the technology needs of nonprofits with members of the WELL, Daniel Ben-Horin founded CompuMentor (later TechSoup). His objective was to create a program in which those with technology skills ("mentors") volunteered to assist nonprofit organizations with information technologies. In 1991, Fred Silverman, Apple Computer's manager of community affairs, praised CompuMentor as "a perfect marriage of technology and volunteerism." [3] [4]

CompuMentor also began soliciting donations of technological products, largely from tech magazines that had large stocks of unneeded software sent to them by companies seeking coverage of their products, which CompuMentor collected and then sold to nonprofits for a nominal fee, originally $5. [2] [5] [6]

In 1997, CompuMentor received $350,000 in donations, tying it with the IT Resource Center as the largest Nonprofit Technology Assistance Provider in the U.S. [7]

On May 9, 2000, TechSoup website www.techsoup.org was launched.

In 2008, the organization changed its name to TechSoup Global. [8]

As of 2016, TechSoup reported $30.8 million in revenue. It provides technology assistance services and NGO validation services to nongovernmental organizations, foundations, libraries, and other civil society organizations worldwide in partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco and Symantec. In partnership with Microsoft, it formed the TechSoup Global Network to support increased distribution of services to nonprofits. [2] [9] [10] [11] [12]

The TechSoup Global Network includes Fundacja TechSoup, a separately incorporated "regional hub" established by TechSoup Global. It is based in Warsaw, Poland, and supports activities in 48 European countries. [13] [14]

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. TechSoup partners with Microsoft to distribute Microsoft's product donations globally, [15] [16] and helps to connect nonprofits and libraries to corporate donors such as Adobe, Symantec, Cisco and Intuit. TechSoup.org also verifies the nonprofit status of organizations seeking donations and matches them to the donated technology products they need. [17] [18]

GuideStar International

GuideStar International is a global service that provides open access to accurate NGO data. 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. [1]

NGOsource

NGOsource Logo NGOsource logo.svg
NGOsource Logo

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. [19] Launched in March 2013, it helps U.S. grantmakers streamline their global philanthropy. [20] According to its website, NGOsource was active in 126 countries as of 2018. [21]

NetSquared

NetSquared Logo NetSquared Logo.svg
NetSquared Logo

NetSquared organized local actors to collaborate in open innovation challenges, as well as monthly face-to-face meetups. NetSquared was organized into local chapters that had monthly meetings. Chapters went by such names as Tech4Good or NetSquared Chicago. [22] 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. [23] TechSoup Connect became the successor to NetSquared in 2021, and each chapter continues to be led by a volunteer who produces local events, in-person and online. [24]

Quad

In February 2022, TechSoup launched a subscription service, Quad, which it described as "TechSoup's peer-to-peer community where nonprofit organizations connect with tech experts and each other to do great things." [25] [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Ben-Horin</span> American political activist

Daniel Ben-Horin is an American social entrepreneur, known for founding the technology assistance nonprofit CompuMentor, now known as TechSoup, in the late 1980s. He is also a former journalist who has written for publications such as The Arizona Republic, The Nation, The NY Times, and Mother Jones. Ben-Horin's debut novel, Substantial Justice, was published in June 2020.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Masisak</span>

Rebecca Masisak is the CEO of TechSoup, a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance to other nonprofits. She joined TechSoup in 2001 and after various positions in management has served in the CEO role since 2012. Masisak established TechSoup's Europe office in Warsaw, Poland in 2009, and has overseen the organization's growth since then.

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References

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  23. In Slovakia, a Website Shines the Spotlight on Infamously Corrupt Judiciary TechPresident, July 31, 2013
  24. "TechSoup Connect: Your New Community Events Program". TechSoup Blog. 8 October 2021.
  25. "Introducing Quad". TechSoup. 3 February 2022.
  26. "Quad from Techsoup". Reddit. 17 May 2023.