TechSoup Global Launches Technology Portal for Canadian Nonprofit Community
"TechSoup Global recognized that partnering with the Centre for Social
Innovation was the best way to more fully reach and serve Canadian charities
and nonprofit organizations and to build a unique and effective Canadian
capacity-building resource to benefit social causes of all kinds," said
Rebecca Masisak, Co-C.E.O. of TechSoup Global. "We are excited by the breadth of support services and the community engagement that CSI has already brought to TechSoup Canada and expect CSI's vision coupled with the technology donation programs, community reach and network resources of TechSoup Global to enable greatly enhanced benefits for Canadian organizations."
"TechSoup Canada is in a unique position to voice the technology needs of
the non-profit sector and facilitate change by working with donor partners and
the ICT sector in Canada," said Barrie Marfleet, COO of ITAC and president of
ITAC Ontario. "ITAC is proud to support TechSoup Canada to increase the social impact of the ICT sector in Canada."
Quick Facts
- TechSoup Canada is the Canadian partner of TechSoup Global, which manages product donations to more than 80,000 organizations in 22 countries through its global network of capacity-building NGOs.
- TechSoup Canada is funded in part by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and is a collaborative effort by TechSoup Global, the Centre for Social Innovation, and the Information Technology Association of Canada.
- In March 2008, TechSoup Canada and its collaborative partners received a two year, $310,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario, to help with the costs involved with establishing the program.
- TechSoup Canada is supported by 25 leading technology corporations, including: Microsoft, Adobe, Intuit Canada, Symantec, Business Objects, SAP, and Cisco.
- For details on the product donation program, please visit www.techsoupcanada.ca/product.
- In 2008, 2,348 charities, non-profits and libraries received a technology donation in Canada, 1500 of these received a Microsoft software donation.
- In 2008, close to $21.5 million in software and hardware donations were distributed to the Canadian non-profit community, of which Microsoft donated more than $18.7 million in software.
About the Centre for Social Innovation
The Centre for Social Innovation (www.socialinnovation.ca) is a social
enterprise with a mission to catalyze social innovation in its home base of
Toronto and around the globe. We believe that society is facing unprecedented
economic, environmental, social and cultural challenges. We also believe that
new innovations are the key to turning these challenges into opportunities to
improve our communities and our planet.
