This document summarizes a presentation by TechSoup Canada about their nonprofit technology donations program. TechSoup Canada's mission is to help nonprofits use technology more affordably and effectively. They provide a global network of donations including over $3.9 billion in donated technology. Their program allows Canadian nonprofits to request discounted or free software from major brands like Microsoft, Adobe, and Symantec. The presentation provides an overview of the registration process and eligibility for the program, and offers tips on maximizing donations within allotments and license restrictions. A variety of uses for the donated software for functions like data analysis, design, security, finance, and collaboration are discussed.

1. Talking Tech with
TechSoup Canada
OVCN Learning Network
January 28, 2014
with

2. Speakers
Tierney Smith,
Program Manager at TechSoup Canada
Joyce Hsu,
Communications Coordinator at
TechSoup Canada

3. A Few Things You Might Not Know
About TechSoup Canada

4. Our mission is to help nonprofits use tech
 We want to…
Make technology more affordable
for nonprofits
 Help nonprofits make better
decisions about technology
 Help nonprofits to use technology
more effectively
 We’re a small team of 7 staff
based in Toronto

5. We create and curate tech resources
@techsoupcanad
a
facebook.com/
techsoupcanada
feeds.feedburner.co
m/
techsoupcanada

6. We’re part of a global network
 60+ countries served worldwide
 $3.9+ billion worth of
technology donated
 200K+ nonprofits reached

7. Upcoming Events (Online)
Tuesday, February 11th
How a Good CRM
Implementation
Can Propel Your Nonprofit
Thursday, February 20th
Office 365 for Nonprofits

8. Quick Overview of the
Donations Program

9. How it Works
Microsoft Nonprofit
TechSou
p
Canada
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Adobe
Symante
c
ReadyTal
k
Sumac
Nonprofit Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit
Nonprofit

10. Registration
 Any nonprofit, charity or library in
Canada can register
 Registration is free
 Typically takes 2-10 business
days
 https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/join/signup

11. Eligibility
 Each donor partner (Microsoft,
Adobe, etc) has their own
eligibility criteria
 “What type of organizations do we
want to support?”
 Log in to check your
organization’s eligibility
Organization
Type
Eligibility
Activity
Code
Budget

12. Requesting Donations
 Request donations as often as
you want
 Similar to buying products online
from Amazon
 Admin fee 4-10% of retail value
 Each donor partner has an
“allotment”
 techsoupcanada.ca/support/how-much-can-i-order
Fiscal Year
(July 1 – June 30)
• Adobe
• Symantec
• Dharma
• ReadyTalk
• Intuit
• Sage
• …
2-Year Cycle
• Microsoft
• 50 licenses
from 10 “title
groups”
• 5 server
products
One-Time
Donations
• Citrix
• Huddle
• Shopify
• Sumac
• Microsoft Get
Genuine

13. OVCN members are already active
$1,000,000 saved to date!

14. Pro Tips for the Donations Program

15. Follow the cycle: Order in June & July
 Majority of donor partners limit the number of products you can request
between July 1st and June 30th
 Your allotment with these donor partners reset on July 1st
 E.g., Adobe allows four individual products OR one Creative Suite per cycle
(July 1 to June 30)
Cycle
Resets!
Cycle
start!

16. Order whenever you want!
You can also order as
many times as you like,
as long as you’re within
your allotment
 E.g., you can request
four orders of Adobe
Acrobat in one order,
or spread it out – as
long as you are
ordering no more than
four in one cycle
OR

17. Microsoft 2-year allotment cycle
50 50 50 50 50
 10 title groups
 50 Licenses per group
 Max. 5 Server Products in total
Cycle
End
Cycle Start
Calendar Year
1
Calendar Year
2
50 50 50 50 50

18. Check your Microsoft allotment
 You can check how much you’ve already ordered by visiting “My Microsoft Donations Centre”

19. Download your software
All of our software
donations & discounts
are downloaded
 No discs will be
shipped
 Check your email
– contains all the
info you need

20. Tips for installing Microsoft software
1. Check Your Email to get the
info you need for VLSC
2. Log into VLSC (or sign up for
a Microsoft Account)
3. Select “Downloads and Keys”
4. Download the product you
ordered from VLSC
5. Burn your download to a DVD
6. Install your program!
To view detailed instructions, visit
How to Install Microsoft
Software under TechSoup
Canada’s Help & Support section

21. But what can I DO with it all?

22. The Popular Stuff
Microsoft
 Analyze your data (Excel)
 Take meeting notes & organize
action items (OneNote)
 Share files (SkyDrive Pro)
Adobe
 Create fillable PDF forms
 Graphic design & photo editing
 Layout for documents, posters,
etc.

23. Servers & Security (for your IT staff)
Microsoft Server products Symantec (computer &
network security)
Red Earth (email security)
Mailshell (spam filtering)
Alpha (database
development)

24. Finances: Quickbooks & Sage
Sage 50 is fully bilingual
Quickbooks includes a
nonprofit edition
In both cases, the Payroll
module is extra

25. Tracking Donors & Contacts Using CRMs
Sumac is one of many CRMs that
allow you to track interactions with
donors and volunteers.
 Track Volunteers: Record
their expertise, preferred tasks,
qualifications, availability, etc.
 Track Donors: Last gift
amount, events attended, last
letter received, what mailing
list are they on, etc.

26. Collaboration: Huddle
 Share files securely outside
your organization
 Manage file changes,
approvals & comments
 Track tasks, schedule
meetings & manage
discussions
 Great for working with
boards, committees and
volunteers
 https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/huddle-review

27. Online Meetings: ReadyTalk & Citrix
Meet with remote staff, donors and volunteers online saves time and allows everyone to join.
You can share screens, take polls, conduct Q&As, allow attendees to use phone or their
computer (headset and microphone) to participate.
 Citrix  ReadyTalk

28. Payment Processing: Dharma
 Accept on payments online with
lower rates (compared to PayPal
& others)
 Discount on creating custom
donation pages for your website
 Accept payments in person at
events

29. Online Stores: Shopify
 Create an online store
 Sell products, get donations or
manage very simple
events/webinars (that can be
presented as a product)
 Easy to set up & manage
Need more ideas? Check out our
blog 10 Ways Nonprofits Can Use
An Online Store
 https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/
blog/10-ways-nonprofits-can-use-an-online-store

30. Bonus: More Nonprofit Discounts
Get email, Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, file storage,
calendars and more in the cloud.
E1 plan is free and E3 is
discounted for nonprofits.
You can manage your donors,
volunteers, members and more
with this CRM. Charities get 10
free licenses to Salesforce.
Send email newsletters and
campaigns to large groups of
people without being blacklisted
as spam. Mailchimp offers a 15%
discount to most nonprofits.
 Want more? https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/more-nonprofit-discounts

31. Questions? Comments?
www.techsoupcanada.ca
@techsoupcanada
facebook.com/techsoupcanada