Microsoft 2011 Technology For Good Contest

Using technology to engage communities & make a difference

Microsoft believes technology can do amazing things. That's why they donate software to eligible nonprofit organizations and public libraries to help them use technology to further their missions. The Technology for Good Contest aimed to highlight the stories of how these groups use Microsoft software to help them create real community impact in Washington State.

More than 50 Washington State nonprofits and libraries submitted their stories, and three winners were chosen based on the impact and benefit that Microsoft technologies have had on the organization, its mission, and/or its constituency.

We're proud to announce the winners of this contest (in alphabetical order):

  1. Increased Efficiency = Bigger Community Impact by Seattle Works
  2. Preserving Stories About the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II by Densho
  3. YWCA Seattle, King & Snohomish County - Technology for Good by YWCA Seattle, King & Snohomish County

Learn more about each of the 2011 winners, and, if you're interested in seeing more examples of Microsoft software for impact in Washington, check out the Submission Gallery to view all of the contest submissions.

Each of the three winning stories will receive some awesome goodies including: a $5,000 unrestricted cash grant, up to $100,000 worth of donated Microsoft software, consulting services donated by NPower Seattle, and more!

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all of the contest participants for sharing your inspirational stories!

Contest Details

Microsoft 2011 Technology For Good

Microsoft believes technology can do amazing things.  That's why they partner with thousands of organizations like yours to help each one use technology to achieve its mission. As part of this commitment, Microsoft donates software to eligible nonprofit organizations and public libraries to help them further their missions and create positive impact in their communities.

In 2011, Microsoft asked you to share your story about the impact you've had and how Microsoft technologies have played a part. Thanks to all who told us how Microsoft software has helped you engage your stakeholders and use technology for good in your community!

Who Can Enter the Contest
Submission Guidelines and Impact Questions
Awards
How To Enter
Explaining EIN / FSCS / Tax ID numbers
How Entries Will Be Judged
Announcement of Winners
Help and Questions
Full Contest Terms and Conditions

Who Can Enter the Contest

Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria:

The following organizations are ineligible:

Submission Guidelines

1. Answer Impact Questions

Submit answers to all 5 of the following Impact Questions. Please explain in specific detail how your impact has been achieved. Quantitative metrics are especially helpful, though not required.

Microsoft software must feature prominently, but need not be the only technologies used in your project.

  1. "The Before": What was the challenge, issue or problem your organization was facing? Or, what was the opportunity you were not able to take advantage of before you put a technology solution in place? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  2. What Microsoft software have you used/are you using in your organization to more effectively engage your beneficiaries, donors and/or volunteers and/or to make a difference in your community? ( Check all that apply) (check boxes.)
    • Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (Includes any of the following: Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, OneNote, Outlook, and Word)
    • Microsoft SharePoint
    • Windows Live (online tools like SkyDrive, Office Web Apps, Messenger, MovieMaker, etc.)
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM or CRM Online for Nonprofits
    • Bing Maps
    • Other (Please specify – Windows 7, Communicator, Visio, Project, InfoPath etc.)  
  3. "The After": How have these Microsoft products allowed you to engage your stakeholders more efficiently or effectively to make a difference in your community. (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  4. What about these products (the features or the way you used them) made them particularly helpful in enabling your organization to expand and improve upon its community? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  5. Please provide any examples, stories or data that illustrate the difference the use of Microsoft software has enabled you to make (i.e., # of new clients reached, new program added, increased dollars raised, increased volunteers, etc.). (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
2. Submit Supporting Work

We encourage you to include any photos, videos, or quotes/testimonials that will illustrate or enrich your answers. You may upload files (images, videos, audio, slides, etc.) or provide links to works that help explain or illustrate the impact you have described in your answers to the impact questions.

  • Option 1: Upload via submission page.
    • There is a 20 MB limit for uploads through this site, so if your work is larger than that, or it is already available for viewing elsewhere online, then see option 2 below.
    • Uploaded files must be one of the following file types: .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .jpg, .gif, .swf, .mov, .wmv, .avi, mp4, or MP3, .pub, .xls, .xlsx, .mdb, .accdb, .one, .onepkg
  • Option 2: Provide a URL link if your work already resides on the Web (e.g., videos, web pages or websites, etc.). All works must be accessible and viewable online through February 28, 2011. A notes field is provided for you in case there are any special directions we need to follow to access your work.

Awards

Up to three winning organizations will be awarded the following:

  • A $5,000 cash grant
  • Up to $100,000 in donated Microsoft software
  • Travel expenses to travel to WA State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington on February 4, 2011
  • Public recognition at the conference above
  • Inclusion in press releases about the contest
  • Feature post on the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog
  • Free social media assessment & "stable & secure" assessment from NPower Seattle, to be arranged at a mutually agreeable time (must be scheduled by August 4, 2011)

Awards are made to organizations that satisfy eligibility requirements, and not to any individual.  Prize transfers to individuals or other organizations are not permitted.

How to Enter

The contest submissions period opened December 20 and will close January 18, 2011. Before starting your submission, please ensure you are eligible.

Each organization is allowed to submit up to three unique entries (there is no need to submit the same entry more than once; this will not increase your chances of winning).

Explaining EIN / FSCS / Tax ID Numbers

The following are definitions of your organization's ID number that indicates its registered 501(c)(3) or charitable status:

US 501(c)(3) Organizations, including Public Libraries with 501(c)(3) status:
This is the 9-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) that the IRS recognizes as exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
For US Public Libraries without 501c3 status:
Use your library's FSCS ID. You can locate your library's unique FSCS ID on the Web site for the National Center for Education Statistics at nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/. First, search for your library. Once you locate your library, you will find your FSCS ID listed at the top right of the screen.

How Entries Will Be Judged

The judging of submissions will be performed by a panel of judges comprised of representatives from Microsoft and TechSoup Global. The final winners will be selected by this panel.

The panel's judging criteria will be based on the demonstrated impact reflected in the submission form plus any supporting work(s).  Answers will be evaluated based on how well they convey the impact and benefit that Microsoft technologies have had on the organization, its mission and/or its constituency.

Decision of the judges is final in all matters relating to this Contest.

Announcement of Winners

The Microsoft 2011 Technology for Good Contest winners have been announced!

If your organization's submission is one of the three selected winners, you will be notified by January 25, 2011. Winning submissions will be announced publicly on February 4th at the Washington State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA and on www.showyourimpact.org on or before February 7, 2011. Winners will be considered confidential and are asked NOT to share their winning status until the formal announcement is made at the Nonprofit Connection Day event on February 4, 2011.

Help & Questions

The Show Your Impact team is here to help. If you encounter any problems, please email us at microsoftshowyourimpact@techsoup.org and we'll get right back to you.

Full Contest Terms & Conditions

The full formal Terms & Conditions can be found here.

Terms & Conditions

Microsoft 2011 Technology for Good

If you want to play the game, you’ve got to know the rules. Read over the below, and then – Game On!  

Sponsored by TechSoup Global, (A CompuMentor Project), 435 Brannan St., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94107 and Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052 (jointly, "Sponsors").

1. Contest Schedule.
Contest submission opens December 20, 2010 at 12:00:01 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) and ends January 18, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT.  All submissions must be received by the Contest submission end date and time
2. Submission Procedure.
Visit the Contest home page at www.showyourimpact.org/microsoft to enter your submission.
(a) Submission Form.
Complete the contest submission form with all required information. NOTE: Your organization's contact person must be an authorized representative of your organization who has all right, power and authority to bind the organization to these Official Rules for purposes of this Contest.
(b) Impact Questions.
In the indicated fields, please input detailed answers to the following questions:
  1. "The Before": What was the challenge, issue or problem your organization was facing? Or, what was the opportunity you were not able to take advantage of before you put a technology solution in place? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  2. What Microsoft software have you used/are you using in your organization to more effectively engage your beneficiaries, donors and/or volunteers and/or to make a difference in your community? (Check all that apply)
    • Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (Includes any of the following: Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Word)
    • Microsoft SharePoint
    • Windows Live (online tools like SkyDrive, Office Web Apps, Messenger, MovieMaker, etc.)
    • Dynamics CRM or CRM Online for Nonprofits
    • Bing Maps
    • Other (Please specify – Windows 7, Project, Visio, InfoPath etc.)
  3. "The After": How have these Microsoft products allowed you to engage your stakeholders more efficiently or effectively to make a difference in your community? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  4. What about these products (the features or the way you used them) made them particularly helpful in enabling your organization to expand and improve upon its community impact? (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
  5. Please provide any examples, stories or data that illustrate the difference the use of Microsoft software has enabled you to make (i.e., # of new clients reached, new program added, increased dollars raised, increased volunteers, etc.) (maximum 800 character limit, including spaces)
(c) Supporting Work.
 
You may upload files or provide links to works that help explain or illustrate the impact you have described in your answers to the impact questions. See section 3 below for specific guidelines for supporting works.
(d) Consent to Official Rules.
 
Check the box indicating that you (on behalf of yourself and the organization) have read, fully understand and agree to the Official Rules. If this box is not checked, submission will NOT be accepted.
3. Eligibility.
Submissions must be made by organizations that are eligible for Microsoft software donations and have been determined by Microsoft, in its sole discretion, to be eligible for such a donation on or before January 18, 2011. Find specific eligibility criteria here.Submitting organizations must be based or located in the state of Washington, qualify for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the (U.S.) Internal Revenue Code; OR be a public library in the state of Washington. Charities and libraries outside the state of Washington are NOT eligible.

All other persons/entities are NOT eligible to participate in the Contest or win a prize. Organizations that advocate, support or practice (or, in the sole discretion of Sponsors, are believed to advocate/support/practice) discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status are NOT eligible.

The contact person (i.e., authorized representative) for the submitting organization must be 21 years of age or older and a legal resident of the United States as of January 18, 2011. All other persons/entities are NOT eligible to participate in the Contest or win a prize.

4. Submission Restrictions.
(a) In General.
Limit three unique submissions (online submission form, impact answers and supporting work(s)) per organization. Impact answers and supporting work(s) must be solely the original work of the submitting organization. Do not copy the work of any other person or entity. This includes both impact answer content and any creative work included in the supporting work(s). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Microsoft Office templates/forms may be used in developing submission materials. Impact answers and/or supporting works deemed by Sponsors in their sole discretion as inappropriate, objectionable or unfit for publication or that Sponsors determine in their sole discretion are not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified. Impact answers may only be included in the indicated fields on submission form; attachments or other forms of submission of the impact stories are not permitted.

Supporting works may be submitted via upload through the online submission form or a link may be provided to works that are already available and viewable online through February 28, 2011. Supporting works to be uploaded through the submission page cannot exceed the maximum allowable file size of 20 megabytes per file. Uploaded files must be one of the following file types: .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .pub, .xls, .xlsx, .mdb, .accdb, .one, .onepkg, .jpg, .gif, .swf, .mov, .wmv, .avi, mp4, or MP3.

The online submission form, impact answers and supporting work must all be submitted by January 18, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time, the contest submission deadline. Organizations entering this contest may edit their submissions during the submission period through the Contest website, however once the submission period has ended no further editing will be permitted. Partial submissions will not be accepted. If duplicate submissions (determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsors) are submitted by the same organization, only the first submission received will be considered and all others will be disqualified.

(b) Third Party Rights.
Do not reference or identify any person, entity or property in your impact answers or supporting work unless your organization has received that person's/entity's permission in writing.  Sponsors may require proof of written permission as a prerequisite to award of prize, and the inability to produce the proof of written permission within 2 months of the Sponsors' request may result in disqualification.
(c) Grant of Rights to Sponsors.
In entering a submission, your organization grants the contest Sponsors a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable license and right to use, perform, exhibit, reproduce, distribute, and/otherwise exploit the impact answers and/or supporting work(s) in any manner and in any media now known or hereafter devised. Sponsors may, but are under no obligation to, post the winning impact stories and/or supporting works on the Contest web site. Your organization grants complete creative control to the Sponsors to represent your organization, the impact answers, and supporting work(s) on the contest website or any other web sites, blogs, or tweets of the Sponsors. As set forth above, the organization’s contact person (on behalf of and the submitting organization) understands that the organization will not receive any compensation (other than prize) and releases and agrees to hold harmless Sponsors from any liability in conjunction therewith.
5. Winner Determination.
The judging of submissions will be conducted by a panel of judges comprised of representatives from Microsoft and TechSoup. The final winners will be selected by this panel.

The panel's judging criteria will be based on the demonstrated impact through answers to the impact questions plus any supporting work(s). Answers will be evaluated based on how well they convey the impact and benefit that Microsoft technologies have had on the organization, its mission and/or its constituency.

(a) Use of key Microsoft technologies/products
(b) Demonstrable impact – Demonstrate a measurable impact that results from the use of the technolgy(ies)
(c) Optimal use or innovation – Does the project provide an optimal or innovative solution to using Microsoft technologies in a nonprofit environment?
(d) Story-telling: How well does the entrant tell the story of how Microsoft technology impacted its ability to serve the community? Are their photos, videos, or quotes/testimonials to enrich the story?

Decision of the judges is final in all matters relating to this Contest.

The winning organizations will be notified by e-mail and/or phone by January 25, 2011, but are required to keep the information confidential until the formal announcement of the winners at the WA State Nonprofit Connection Day on February 4th. The winning organization may not tweet, blog or otherwise post information publicly about winning the contest until after it has been posted on www.microsoftupblog.com. The contact person (i.e., authorized representative) will only share this information with your organization’s personnel who have a need to know and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions regarding confidentiality.

6. Prizes.
Prizes of $5,000 cash grant plus up to $100,000 worth of donated Microsoft software will be awarded up to three submitting organizations. Prizes will also include
(a) Travel expenses to travel to WA State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington on February 4, 2011
(b) Public recognition at the conference above
(c) Inclusion in press releases about the contest
(d) Feature post on the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog
(e) Free social media assessment & “stable & secure” assessment from NPower Seattle, to be arranged at a mutually agreeable time (must be scheduled by August 4, 2011)

The approximate total retail value of the prizes to be awarded is $107,000. The organization’s contact person individually will have no right to the prize. No prize transfer will be permitted. There will be no prize substitution except at Sponsor’s sole discretion due to prize unavailability for any reason and only then for prize of comparable value. Any taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of winning organizations.

7. Conditions of Participation.
(a) Agreement to Rules/Releases.
The organization’s contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) agrees to (i) abide by and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsors and the judges, which are final and binding in all respects; (ii) release, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsors, judges, their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies and the directors, officers, agents, shareholders, representatives and employees of any of the above entities, from any and all liability associated with participation in the Contest and receipt, acceptance, possession or use/misuse of prize; (iii) if organization wins a prize, by accepting prize on behalf of organization, to grant Sponsors and their designees the right to print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to the world wide web, at any time or times, the name of the winning organization and other identifying information concerning the organization for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without additional compensation, and without review, approval or further notice.

As part of the prize notification, the winning organizations will be asked to sign an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release and a publicity release (where legal). Refusal to sign these documents or failure to sign them within 5 days of notification may result in the forfeiture of the prize and the selection of an alternate winner at the discretion of the Sponsors.

(b) Limitations of Liability.
Sponsors will not be responsible or liable for: (i) lost, late, incomplete, damaged, misdirected or illegible impact stories, supporting works or entries; or for any computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability or garbled or jumbled transmissions, service provider/Internet/web site/use net accessibility or availability, traffic congestion or unauthorized human intervention; (ii) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any web site; (iii) injury or damage to participating organization's or any other person's computer (or information/data stored thereon) related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading/uploading materials from/to any web site. If, for any reason, the Contest (or any part thereof) is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsors which, in the sole opinion of Sponsors, could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest (or any part thereof), Sponsors reserve the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and select the winning organizations in a manner which is fair, equitable and in accordance with these Official Rules, as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. Notice of such action by Sponsors will be posted on www.showyourimpact.org
(c) Grounds for/Effect of Disqualification.
Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any organization they find, in their sole discretion, not to be in full compliance with these Official Rules, to be ineligible to participate in the Contest, to be tampering with the submission process, the operation of the Contest or any web site. Disqualification will result in submission entered by the disqualified party being rejected without further review or notice, and Sponsors reserve the right to take any other actions against such disqualified party and/or other persons/entities as Sponsors deem necessary and appropriate in their sole discretion so as to protect their rights.
8. Dispute Resolution/Governing Law/Waiver of Jury Trial.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, by participating in the Contest, contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) agrees that: (a) any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of any entrant and/or Sponsors shall be filed exclusively in the courts of San Francisco County, State of California and contact person (on behalf of him/herself and his/her organization) hereby consents and submits to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action, and any right to a trial by jury and a trial by jury is hereby waived, (b) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with these Official Rules, and/or the rights and obligations of any contact person, organization and/or Sponsors shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and (c) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Contest but in no event attorneys' fees; and (d) under no circumstances will any contact person/organization be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, indirect and consequential damages and any other damages (whether due to negligence or otherwise), other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of any contact person/organization and/or Sponsors shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without giving effect or regard to any principles or doctrines of conflicts of law/choice of law of the State of California or of any other jurisdiction.
9. Winners List.
Names of winning organizations will be announced publicly on February 4th at the Washington State Nonprofit Connection Day at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA and on www.showyourimpact.org on or before February 7, 2011.

Microsoft Impact Story Contest 2009

See The Impact of Microsoft Donations

Microsoft LogoNonprofits across North America and around the world are using their Microsoft technology donations in innovative and inspiring ways that are helping to drive increased social benefit.  Microsoft and TechSoup are proud to support these organizations and hope you will be inspired by their uses of technology to operate at their maximum potential.

2009 Microsoft Show Your Impact Story Contest Prize Winners:

Freestore Foodbank NY Theatre

Pangea Foundation

2009 Winners

In May 2009, TechSoup Global and Microsoft Corporation jointly sponsored the 2009 Microsoft-TechSoup “Show Your Impact!” Contest. Below are the winners of that contest which was open to any US 501(c)(3) or public library or Canadian charity that had received donations through the TechSoup Microsoft Software Donation Program. In that contest, nonprofits were asked to submit their project into one of three categories. Find the impressive winners of each category below.

The winners in each category are:

Stable and Secure Technology: Raising the Bar - Serving Hunger and Poverty in Cincinnati

The Freestore Foodbank, the third largest food bank in Ohio, provides a full array of services to assist the Cincinnati area’s most vulnerable citizens with housing, food, clothing, transportation, access to healthcare/treatment programs, identification, referrals to job training and other social services agencies, and other every day needs. Their food services program serves over 160,000 individuals a year through different programs focused on both the urban and rural poor, and undernourished children, providing hot food and food pantries.

The Freestore Foodbank used Microsoft Technology donations through TechSoup to: 1) establish a server-based network between its locations, 2) standardize their desktops so everyone was using the same operating system and version of Microsoft Office, 3) move everyone onto a common email platform, and, most critically, 4) use Data Protection Manager (DPM) software for making shadow copy/replica backups of files. The efficiencies achieved through standardizing and securing the basic technologies that underpins their work has significantly impacted the Foodbank’s ability to serve an increasing number of clients, expand programs, and bounce back with little disruption in service when windstorms in September 2008 left one of their centers without power for four days.

Optimize Mission Delivery: nytheatre.com

The New York Theatre Experience, (NYTE) uses new and traditional media to highlight, nurture, promote, and advance the work of thousands of indie/nonprofit theatre practitioners making groundbreaking and foundational art in New York City. NYTE has an annual budget under $100K, one full-time staffer, and an extensive team of nonprofit theatre professionals as volunteers. The NYTE website, nytheatre.com, received more than 7 million hits last year from people coming to learn what is playing in New York theatres, buy tickets, and read artist interviews and production reviews.

NYTE has optimized the performance of nytheatre.com through the implementation of Microsoft technologies to make it easier to manage and make it more user friendly, displaying a greater breadth of information. MapPoint allows NYTE to geocode locations of more than 200 venues listed on nytheatre.com. Their SQL Server/VB 2005 system facilitates the management and mobilization of volunteers more effectively, most crucially during FringeNYC when volunteers sign up to review 1500 performances of more than 200 theatre, dance, puppetry, comedy, and dramatic productions over a 17-day period. The SQL Server database also enables the website’s "Trip Planner" feature to display a customized page showing exactly what shows are playing during a given period of interest.

The donated Microsoft software has enabled NYTE to optimize their user-friendly, feature-rich website to more effectively promote the work of hundreds of nonprofit theatre companies to an audience of 3 million people annually, and all at no cost to the nonprofit theatres themselves.

Transformations to Maximize Impact: ReliefPoint

In 2008, the Pangea Foundation, a provider of custom, software-as-a-service to nonprofits, developed ReliefPoint™, an online solution that serves as a single, unified communications platform for disaster relief organizations. The Foundation utilized Microsoft technologies to develop a robust, real-time intelligence hub for nationwide disaster relief coordination by integrating enterprise-class software, visual analytics, and interactive web 2.0 technologies.

Because ReliefPoint is securely accessible via the web, the various organizations involved in a specific disaster relief effort are able to input information directly into the software which can immediately be utilized by call center operators for communication it to the public. In addition, information about the origin and nature of the calls coming in from the public can be used to provide real-time trend insight to relief agencies and public officials. ReliefPoint has been used by disaster relief organizations responding to the 2008 Midwest floods, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Ike, the 2009 Santa Barbara fires and, most recently, the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) to transform how disaster services are delivered and reported across America.

In a World Plagued by Disasters… Finally There’s Help

Organization Information:

Organization Name

Pangea Foundation

Organization's Mission Statement

Pangea Foundation delivers custom-fit software-as-a-service to nonprofits. By integrating enterprise-class software, visual analytics, and interactive web 2.0 technologies into an extensible service offering, we empower nonprofits to visualize and communicate the impact of their programs on demand.

Organization Website

http://www.pangeafoundation.org/

Submission Information

Impact Essay

Transforming Microsoft® technologies into a real-time intelligence hub for nationwide disaster relief coordination

Pangea Foundation is what you get when you merge the heart of a nonprofit with the mind of Silicon Valley. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a trusted partner to nonprofits since 1996, Pangea Foundation delivers innovative, custom-fit web solutions using the Microsoft .NET 2.0 framework, which enables rapid development, enhanced security, and optimized scalability.

We rely on the Visual Studio 2005 Integrated Development Environment to develop extensible applications. Further, we utilize ASP.NET AJAX to build applications that are highly interactive and responsive. To enable our software developers and extended IT team to manage and track the progress and health of our software projects, we use Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server. We also employ Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to ensure high performance and scalability in our hosting environment. Lastly, we host and traffic email with Microsoft Exchange 2003 and we maximize productivity with the Microsoft Office 2007 toolset.

Harnessing these robust Microsoft technologies, Pangea Foundation added innovative disaster relief software to its service portfolio in 2008. The solution, branded ReliefPoint™, was custom-designed to meet the unique needs of America’s disaster services organizations. 

From volunteerism to innovation to extraordinary impact creation

What began as a volunteer effort in San Diego has been transformed into a powerful impact multiplier that now serves people all across America. Today, when disaster strikes, ReliefPoint serves as a single, unified communications point for nationwide disaster relief coordination. And without the generous support of TechSoup and Microsoft, ReliefPoint would not have been possible. 

2007 California wildfires: Beauty from ashes

The idea behind ReliefPoint stems back to October, 2007 when wildfires consumed Southern California and more than a million people were evacuated from their homes. Major highways were closed as fires spread ferociously. Information about evacuation routes, shelters, and road closures changed by the minute.

Recognizing the need, Pangea Foundation voluntarily created a custom-fit software solution to empower 211 San Diego and its 1,200 volunteers to communicate real-time relief information to the public. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, 211 San Diego is recognized by the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services as a key communications resource during times of disaster. Upon launch, the software empowered 211 San Diego to link people with vital resources. It also tracked services delivered to over 120,000 households during the fires. 

The old way: Paper-based processes that didn’t scale

Previously, the 211 call center operations were paper-based. Every two hours, volunteer call operators at five locations received an updated paper binder from authorized resource specialists. The binder included information provided by authorities, which was then communicated to the public when they called 211 for help. Not only did this approach not scale, the information was up to two hours old.

The new way: Less time buried in paper—more time serving people

After a few days of round-the-clock software development using Microsoft technologies, Pangea Foundation helped to transform the 211 call center operations from a paper-based environment to a vibrant, scalable, intelligence hub. With accurate emergency information now instantly accessible via a live connection to a SQL database, 211 call operators no longer had to waste valuable time sifting through paper binders to find what they needed.

Instead, resource specialists were able to input information received from authorities directly into the software. Call operators were then able to instantly access that same information and communicate it to the public. Lastly, 211 could track the origin and nature of the calls to provide real-time trend insight to relief agencies and public officials.

A commitment to building the technological foundation for impact-enablement

Following the fires, Pangea Foundation and 211 San Diego made a commitment to work together to make the software even more robust, with an ultimate goal of equipping disaster services organizations nationwide with the software, to ensure they were prepared to meet the demands of future disasters. Incorporating lessons learned from the fires, ReliefPoint was born.

2008 Midwest floods, Hurricane Gustav, and Hurricane Ike

During 2008, ReliefPoint was donated to accelerate relief during the Midwest floods, Hurricane Gustav, and Hurricane Ike. Because ReliefPoint is web-based, relief workers can access and communicate updated information to the public in real-time—whether they are working inside the disaster zone or 3,000 miles away.

This was particularly important during Hurricane Gustav when 211 call centers based in the Gulf Coast region were immobilized. Because ReliefPoint is securely accessible via the web, distributed 211s from across the United States were able to backfill critical gaps by receiving forwarded calls originating inside the disaster zone, and using ReliefPoint to provide callers with relief information.

With ReliefPoint, call operators were able to answer vital questions immediately: From questions about road closures to evacuation routes to the nearest shelter; from determining if it was safe to return home to identifying power outage updates to pinpointing boil water alerts. Without ReliefPoint, people would not have had access to the information they needed to remain safe.

2009 Santa Barbara fires and the H1N1 influenza (swine flu)

Most recently, ReliefPoint was donated to facilitate relief coordination during the Santa Barbara fires. It was also used to link people to services related to the swine flu, as well as deliver trend insight to stakeholders and public officials.

A smarter approach to disaster relief

Thanks to TechSoup and donated Microsoft technologies, ReliefPoint is transforming how disaster services are delivered and reported across America. In only a short time, ReliefPoint has already been used to serve over 330,000 households nationwide.

With additional support, we will build upon these efforts, make ReliefPoint even more robust, and help ensure that America’s communities are better equipped to withstand the demands of the next disaster—before it happens. 

“We first used the software during the 2008 Iowa floods. It was then that we began to realize the strategic role of technology in disaster risk reduction. The more prepared a disaster services organization is before an emergency, the more effective and credible it will be during an emergency. We will either save lives—or lose them—depending on the steps we take today to prepare for tomorrow’s disasters.” 

Chris Juett, 2-1-1 Program Manager, United Way

Submission Category

Transformations to Maximize Impact

URL

http://reliefpoint.org/

Files

Raising the Bar - Serving Hunger and Poverty in Cincinnati

Organization Information:

Organization Name

Freestore Foodbank

Organization's Mission Statement

Mission:  We provide food and services; create stability and further self-reliance for people in crisis.

Vision:  To be the leader of a community mobilized to end hunger and address its causes.

Organization Website

http://www.freestorefoodbank.org

Submission Information

Impact Essay

          The Freestore Foodbank is the third largest food bank in Ohio and the largest emergency social services outlet for the greater Cincinnati area. It is unique among the nation’s food banks in that it operates an emergency client services center in one of Cincinnati’s most impoverished inner-city neighborhoods, Over-the-Rhine. This area has a 25% poverty rate, twice the national average, and residents have an average median monthly income of $690.00 with 56% of families living below poverty. Our clients represent the city’s most vulnerable citizens, including the homeless, the unemployed, and the working poor. Those who come through our doors are offered a full array of services to assist them with housing, food, clothing, transportation, access to healthcare/treatment programs, identification, referrals to job training and other social services agencies, and other every day needs. Our choice pantry serves over 7,000 individuals a month and those numbers double in November and December when we provide additional food for the holidays. In the City of Cincinnati, the Freestore Foodbank has earned the reputation for being “the place to go” in times of need.

            On the food bank side of the house, we provide food resources for approximately 450 agencies in 20 counties in the tri-state area (Ohio, parts of Indiana and Kentucky), and serve roughly 160,000 individuals a year. With our new mobile pantry, and working in conjunction with faith-based and community organizations, we will be able to reach further into rural areas to serve those who are unable to come to our agency pantries for emergency food assistance. In addition to serving member agencies, we also offer feeding programs for children. Our Kids Cafe program provides nutritious hot meals for children and currently operates 12 sites. In 2008 we delivered 85,090 meals. Our Power Pack program provides shelf-stable, nutritious food for children to take home over the weekend to help prevent them from becoming hungry. Our Cincinnati Cooks! program assists adults with culinary training over a 10-week program to help them learn new job skills and as part of the process, these students prepare the meals served at the Kids Cafe locations. Since the program’s inception in 2001, there have been more than 400 students who have graduated and in working with approximately 120 employers in the Cincinnati area, more than 70% of the graduates have obtained and maintained consistent employment.

            Our growth was previously hampered by our ability to communicate and share information over multiple sites on a reliable network using standardized software. The servers were old, the software was ancient, and no one had the same version of word processing or spreadsheet software. It was difficult to share files between sites let alone between computers, as well as send things out to donors, board members, or anyone asking for information. Our mail was hosted externally for the upper staff and through POP mail from our internet provider for the remaining the staff. Without a common desktop platform, working together was difficult and cumbersome. There were no backups because the DAT tape drive that was being used had quit working, and there were no monies to replace it. Through the Microsoft donation program at TechSoup, we have been able to purchase software that we would not have been able to afford otherwise, make a multi-year plan for network and desktop standardization, formulate a reliable backup plan, and find a way to protect ourselves from potential disasters, bring e-mail in-house, and work towards bringing stability and security to our organization. A monumental task given our small budget, limited resources, but definitely one that had to happen for the vitality and growth of the organization.

            We began with the implementation of updated server technology. A server was purchased for each site and new server operating software and licenses were purchased and loaded onto them. Having a common operating system helped to end some of the issues that were happening between sites which was a huge time savings for the 1.5 members of the IT staff. It allowed us to take advantage of Active Directory for the first time and control access to files, form policy groups, enforce policies and helped us to secure some of the holes that were causing problems. From there, the standardization of the desktops began with the purchase of XP licenses and office licenses to bring us up to a level where we could share documents and not worry about what version or what program the document was created in. Productivity rose and fewer client files were delayed in reaching necessary desks as most of the paperwork is now available electronically. This is especially important now because we are seeing more than 200 clients daily.

            One of the most critical purchases that we made was the Data Protection Manager (DPM) software for doing shadow copy/replica backups of our files. It allowed us to take our data and save it off-site by having each site have its own DPM server located at the opposite site. It also allowed our user base to recover different versions of documents if they are accidentally overwritten or deleted. This advantage became especially important during the September 2008 windstorms when our Liberty Street location was without power for four days. We were still able to be partially operational because the site’s data was protected at another location and was restorable to another server.

            By purchasing and installing Exchange 2007, we were able to move everyone onto a single mail platform saving the Freestore Foodbank over $7,000 a year and allowing us features and options not previously available. With the Global Address Book, now no one is left off of important internal announcements when previously the administrative staff had to keep their own distribution lists. Calendar sharing has opened up a number of organizational time savings with departments having shared calendars for scheduling client appointments, vehicles, and meetings. With the Scheduling Assistant, they know who is available and when, no more calling around to find a time for everyone to meet – no more of the “Where’s Waldo” syndrome.

            Our future plans include implementing an Internet Security Acceleration server and dabbling with the Systems Management Server (SMS) product to see if it can cut down on upgrades and software deployment time so we don’t have to visit everyone’s desk every time something is rolled out or updated. One of our dreams is to have the Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) program so we can have real time monitoring of our servers from a central location and the ability to be notified immediately if there are problems. If awarded this prize, we will be able to accelerate our plans which would come at a perfect time as we are opening a new location in March of 2010.

Submission Category

Stable and Secure Technology

Files

nytheatre.com

Organization Information:

Organization Name

The New York Theatre Experience, Inc.

Organization's Mission Statement

The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. (NYTE), is a nonprofit corporation that uses new and traditional media to provide tangible support and advocacy for the theatre community in New York City. Through our two primary programs, NYTE New Media and NYTE Small Press, we help theatre companies and theatre artists—especially those in the nonprofit and indie theater sectors, and those in underserved communities—attain the recognition and rewards that their work deserves.

Organization Website

http://www.nyte-inc.org

Submission Information

Impact Essay

NYTE’s 7 interconnected websites highlight, nurture, promote, and advance the work of thousands of indie/nonprofit theatre practitioners making groundbreaking and foundational art in New York City and around the US, and inform and grow theatre audiences. The oldest and largest of our sites is nytheatre.com. Last year, it generated more than 7 million hits: people use it to learn what’s playing in theatres in New York City, how to get to those theatres, and how to buy tickets; then they click on ticketing links and buy tickets (an estimated 1 million dollars’ worth in 2008) and attend performances—and then they return to nytheatre.com to use our venue listings, read interviews with artists, or check out specific reviews.

 

nytheatre.com differs from other theatre sites by focusing on the nonprofit theatre community. More than 90% of shows in New York are produced by nonprofits; most of these are small companies struggling for limited funding and audiences. Because their marketing budgets are modest (or even nonexistent), it’s hard for these companies to get noticed by media and audiences. And notice is what they need and deserve:  they are the laboratory and experimental wing of American theatre, the incubator for new artists, new forms, new styles, new ideas.

 

Our vision is to level the playing field within the New York theatre community—to make sure that underfunded emerging nonprofit companies are given ample, enthusiastic  coverage to help them reach the public and build the audience they need to survive. We do this by listing more shows on nytheatre.com than any other website we know of (more than 2,000 of them in 2008) and by reviewing more shows than anybody else (910 in 2008). Our success in serving the nonprofit/indie theatre community was acknowledged last year when we received the Stewardship Award from the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation.

 

We are a very lean organization (annual budget under $100K), with one full-time staffer (Executive Director Martin Denton). He edits nytheatre.com and our other websites, creates much of their content, and handles all web/systems development. The rest of our content (there’s nearly 56 megabytes of data within nytheatre.com right now) is created by a team of volunteers, all theatre professionals in the nonprofit sector. They give freely of their time, writing reviews and other material, to spread the word about this diverse, inspiring, and underserved community.

 

NYTE is a Microsoft shop. (TechSoup donations make this possible, and we’re grateful for that!) We use Office Professional 2007 for all of our administrative tasks:  Word to compose documents and letters, PowerPoint for presentations, and our entire accounting system is programmed in Excel. We use MapPoint to geocode locations of more than 200 venues listed on nytheatre.com (so that the maps on our website are more accurate than the ones Google would automatically serve based on address).

 

Visual Studio 2005 has proved truly transforming for our organization. All of the data that drives nytheatre.com is on a SQL Server Express database. Using T-SQL and Visual Basic 2005, we have built a system that converts this data into XML files that in turn serve as the back end to nytheatre.com.

 

We love the flexibility this approach enables, and our budget loves its extremely low cost. Using XML means we don’t have to host SQL Server databases on the Net and we don’t have to worry about administering or securing them. We would have to pay people to do those jobs, or ask volunteers to assist in these tasks in lieu of creating content for the website—in other words, we would be diverting our very scarce resources from doing work that directly serves our constituency (reviews, listings, articles on nytheatre.com). We can’t afford to do that.

 

The SQL Server/VB 2005 system enables us to manage and mobilize our volunteers more effectively too.  One of the biggest projects we undertake each year is to review every show in the New York International Fringe Festival. We’ve been doing this since 2002, and it’s a vital service that fills a need no other outlet has ever been able to meet. FringeNYC is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, bringing together artists from around the world, who present about 1500 performances of over 200 diverse theatre, dance, puppetry, comedy, and dramatic productions in 20 venues in Lower Manhattan during a 17-day period in August. The festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors and was last year recognized by Mayor Bloomberg for its contributions to the city’s cultural and economic landscape. nytheatre.com covers this festival comprehensively, starting with previews a month before the festival begins and continuing with reviews of every show, posted during the short span of the festival in August.

 

We accomplish our FringeNYC coverage with the same one full-time staffer plus about 75 volunteers and with no addition to our annual budget. How? We use a proprietary automated scheduling system, built originally in Access and now being upgraded to SQL Server, which allows our volunteers to choose shows online and submit reviews via email, all the while being tracked by the site’s editor from his desktop. Producers and festival staff receive automatic email notification when reviews are posted. Using VB2005, we’ve been able to add features such as tagging (to our FringeNYC previews) and direct ticketing links (to both previews and reviews) with no additional investment in infrastructure.

 

Microsoft technology also enabled us to add the “Trip Planner” to nytheatre.com in 2007. This feature answers a question many visitors to NYC have: what shows will be running when I come into town? The SQL Server database consolidates information from all of the ticketing agents that service NYC theatres (TicketMaster, Tele-charge, TicketWeb, etc.) to produce a customized page that shows the reader exactly what shows are available during the period of interest. And the Trip Planner results include shows at all price points—small nonprofit/indie theater offerings as well as Broadway/off-Broadway hits.

 

The software we’ve received from Microsoft via the TechSoup donation program has enabled us to build a user-friendly, feature-rich website that promotes the work of hundreds of nonprofit theatre companies to an audience of 3 million people annually. It’s enabled us to grow and expand the site without having to invest thousands of scarce dollars in software/development; this in turn enables us to provide all of our services to our nonprofit constituents at no charge to them. The content on nytheatre.com builds audience, sells tickets, and helps hundreds of NYC theatre companies stay afloat and focus on their mission. Rather than having to spend money and resources they don’t have on promotion and advertising, these organizations are able to innovate, experiment, and create new art, contributing to the diverse cultural landscape of the largest theatre community in America.

Submission Category

Optimize Mission Delivery

URL

http://www.nytheatre.com

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