Geeks for free: tech help is available if you need it. (Special Report).Batya Harlow, office manager at Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services (ADWAS ADWAS Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services ) in Seattle, admits she lacks computer skills. But last fall she faced the daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task of resuscitating her organization's recently dormant newsletter using PageMaker, a desktop publishing software The following is a list of major desktop publishing software. A wide range of related software tools exist in this field, including many plug-ins and tools related to the applications listed below. . "I needed all kinds of computer help," Harlow said. "I didn't know how to do a newsletter. The template was in place but I didn't know how to do anything on top of it." Frustrations mounted until she found a short-term and cost effective answer -- a technical volunteer. She located one through a membership volunteer matching program provided by NPower in Seattle. A heightened need for technology know-how is increasing the presence and availability of technical volunteers across the country.The technical help available for free, or almost free, is available for hardware and software. The volunteer spent time with Harlow, about nine hours on site and countless others at home, giving practical advice, such as where text overflow went in the program. He also worked on the newsletter from home, Harlow said. ADWAS pays NPower a membership fee of $100, a significant savings compared to consulting costs. NPower Seattle's yearly fee ranges from $50 for an organization with less than a $100,000 budget to $500 for an organization with more than a $5 million budget, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. its Web site. "A lot of organizations are realizing that information communications technologies Noun 1. communications technology - the activity of designing and constructing and maintaining communication systems engineering, technology - the practical application of science to commerce or industry (ICT (1) (Information and Communications Technology) An umbrella term for the information technology field. See IT. (2) (International Computers and Tabulators) See ICL. 1. (testing) ICT - In Circuit Test. ), i.e. computers and the Internet, aren't just something extra that nonprofits might be able to do if they can find some money," said Jayne Cravens, online volunteering specialist, United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, Germany. "It's actually an integral part of meeting their missions." Nonprofits that grasp the importance of understanding technology place more value on technical assistance, which often comes from volunteers, Cravens said. A lot of volunteers are salivating to contribute. "You have individuals who are using ICT more and more, and I think they're hungry to connect," Cravens said. "They're hungry to add some meaning to their computer and Internet use.Volunteering to give technical assistance feeds that hunger." An abundant number (Math.) a number, the sum of whose aliquot parts exceeds the number itself. Thus, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, the aliquot parts of 12, make the number 16. This is opposed to a New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and includes a total of seven independent 501(c)(3) groups. NPower Seattle has about 600 technical volunteers, and uses about 250 each year in projects, said Jaime Greene, director of community resources at NPower Seattle. CompuMentor, based in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , lists approximately 1,900 volunteers. It doubles as the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay affiliate of the NPower Network. Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA (VMEbus International Trade Association, Fountain Hills, AZ, www.vita.com) A trade association that supports the VMEbus and other open standards. Founded in 1984, VITA was accredited as an ANSI standards development organization in 1993. See VMEbus. ), of Arlington Va., offers 500 volunteers. It once boasted 5,000 volunteers but weeded out those who weren't interested or are no longer around, said Gary Garriott, director of informatics Same as information technology and information systems. The term is more widely used in Europe. at VITA. The IT Resource Center in Chicago, which is aligned with CompuMentor, matches about 90 volunteers a year, said Associate Executive Director Tim Mills-Groninger. Expect technical volunteer numbers to increase as nonprofits get a better idea of how to use them and volunteers find their way to organizations with missions they support. Volunteer matching organizations, such as CompuMentor, help nonprofits define a good volunteer project. Karen Thomas Karen Thomas co-hosted The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime from the second season onwards with Jim Lange, and filled in as a guest dealer on the Bob Eubanks version of Card Sharks for a week in late 1988 while regular dealer Lacey Pemberton was on maternity leave. , CompuMentor's senior program manager, low cost services, said the best volunteer projects are those that can be done in a volunteer's free time in about 20 to 30 hours during three months and aren't urgent. CoinpuMentor takes about two weeks on average to find a volunteer and charges $175. VITA uses a different approach. The organization provides technical and project assistance to individuals and groups in developing countries. Questions are farmed out to volunteers who answer from their home or office via email or written letters, Garriott explained. A typical inquiry is how to build a biogas bi·o·gas n. A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by bacterial degradation of organic matter and used as a fuel. biogas Noun gaseous fuel produced by the fermentation of organic waste plant in India. Biogas is methane produced from decomposition decomposition /de·com·po·si·tion/ (de-kom?pah-zish´un) the separation of compound bodies into their constituent principles. de·com·po·si·tion n. 1. of human, animal or vegetable waste, Garriot said. Plants are common in India and China where they have large village and municipal bio-gas programs, Garriott said. VITA publishes how-to books on such subjects compiled by volunteers and charges organizations $5 to $15 for them. VITA also is rolling out new ground stations this spring that will connect people in rural areas to the Internet and email. VITA has used ground stations for many years, but the updated ones, designed with Wavix Incorporated of Landover, Md., will be spread across 15 overseas locations including Africa, Asia and Central and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Garriott said. The boxes will sell for about $3,000 and organizations will pay an annual $500 fee, that gains them access to VITA information as well as basic email connectivity. "Clearly someone who is dirt poor can t afford a $3,000 satellite ground station," Garriott said. "But the people we actually sell these to are not those living in the mud huts, but rather to NGOs (non-governmental organizations “NGO” redirects here. For other uses, see NGO (disambiguation). A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by private persons or organizations with no participation or representation of any government. ). In some cases it can be American or European-based NGOs that have projects in these areas. They're already there doing some level of support, and to make their operations work better they need this kind of communication capability." Technical volunteers can improve organizations' operations and save them money while doing it. But defining a volunteer's role isn't as simple as it may appear. "There is something different about being a technical volunteer," said Greene of NPower Seattle. "We know what it looks like to be a volunteer at a food bank or to give blood. We have a picture in our mind when someone says they do that. But what's so challenging about being a technology volunteer is that we don't yet have a shared picture of what that looks like. So it's kind of mysterious for both the volunteer and the nonprofit." Nonprofits must consider several factors unique to technical volunteers. Experts gave the following tips: * Don't have unrealistic hopes. A volunteer can help an organization learn to use a database, but rebuilding one may be too large for the time commitment; * Don't count on a volunteer for urgent projects critical to an organization's mission. if a project, such as work on a database, is critical to the organization getting funding, a volunteer isn't the answer; * Don't expect a volunteer to work during business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a . Evening or weekend hours may be the only time they're available; * Don't think volunteers are a long-term solution. Search for them on a project-by-project basis and; * Create projects that attract technical volunteers. "A volunteer isn't going to sign up for a project that they know is too big," said Thomas of CompuMentor. "They're aware if it's going to be more of a time commitment than they're going to be able to give." Nonprofits that use a technical volunteer face disadvantages. For example, the pressures of a volunteer's job may prevent them from completing the assignment. "There's always a risk that the volunteer won't be able to complete the task," Mills-Groninger said. "You need to do a back up plan." An organization should consider three basic assets when thinking about a technical volunteer: time, money and skill, Greene said. If time is ample, but not money, plan to wait for someone with the right skills to come along. Once an organization finds a technical volunteer, approach that person from a user's perspective, Cravens said. Nonprofits should talk about what they want from the finished project, and how they plan to use the software or hardware. Tell the volunteer that the "receptionist should be able to sit down and do this with it. The development director should be able to sit down and do this with it," Cravens said. "That gives a technical volunteer a much better idea of how to approach what needs to be done." Document the work a volunteer does so when that person leaves, a work history stays, Thomas of CompuMentor said. For example, if a computer crashed, a history will tell the organization what it needed and where the volunteer found it. Guide the volunteer to do less problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. and more staff training. "Use the volunteer for knowledge transfer as much as possible," Mills Groninger said. That's one lesson Harlow of ADWAS learned. Because she faced a deadline when she originally produced the newsletter, the volunteer didn't have the time to teach her in-depth. The volunteer convinced her to switch to a different design program. It's one she likes better but is struggling to understand, so she emails the volunteer simple questions. She's placed another ad for more support. "I really need someone who can come and sit with me for hours and tell me what to do but not do it for me," Harlow said. Her technical volunteer experience has opened a new facet of community volunteering to Harlow. When she talks with potential volunteers, she asks about their technical background. "Only recently, it's like 'hey maybe we can get a volunteer to do this'." RELATED ARTICLE: Where To Go For Help Following is a list of organizations that provide low cost or no-cost volunteer matching services, or low cost or no cost technical consulting to nonprofit organizations Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. . Visit their Web sites for more information. A significant part of this list was compiled from Techsoup.org and NPower resources. Action Without Borders Action Without Borders is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1995 and currently runs the Idealist.org website. Idealist.org is a portal for everyone interested in nonprofit organizations and issues, nonprofit careers, volunteering, events, and resources. Idealist. New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. www.idealist i·de·al·ist n. 1. One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. 2. One who is unrealistic and impractical; a visionary. 3. .org Austin Free-Net Austin, Texas www.austinfree.net CharityFocus Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif. www.charityfocus.org CityCares Atlanta www.citycares.org CompuCorps Mentoring Ottawa, Ontario www.compucorps.org CompuMentor (Npower in Bay Area) San Francisco www.compumentor.org Georgia Center for Nonprofits Atlanta www.nonprofitgeorgia.org IT Resource Center Chicago www.itresourcecenter.org National Executive Service Corps Affiliate Network An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between publishers (affiliates) and (merchant) affiliate programs. It allows publishers to find affiliate programs, which are suitable for their website and it helps websites offering affiliate programs reach its target audience. New York City (national office) www.escus.org NetAid New York City www.netaid.org New York Cares New York Cares was founded by a group of friends in 1987 who wanted to take action against social issues in New York City. Today, the organization engages 36,000 volunteers in service each year, helping 335,000 New Yorkers in need. New York City www.nycares.org Nonprofit Technology Nonprofit technology comprises information and communication technologies that support the goals of nonprofit, nongovernmental, third sector, grassroots, and other mission-based organizations. The membership association for this field is . Resources Philadelphia www.libertynet.org/ntr NPower Indiana Indianapolis www.npowerin.org NPower Michigan Detroit www.npowermichigan.org NPower Network National network www.npower.org NPower NY New York City www.npowerny.org NPower Seattle Seattle www.npowerseattle.org SERVEnet Washington, D.C. www.servenet.org TechBridge (NPower Atlanta) Atlanta www.techbridge.org Technical Assistance for Community Services Portland, Ore. www.tacs.org Technology Works for Good Washington, D.C. www.technologyworks.org VolunteerMatch San Francisco www.volunteermatch.org Voluntech New York City www.voluntech.org Volunteers in Technical Assistance Arlington, Va. www.vita.org |
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