TechSoup Sees Upside for Nonprofits in Downturn
TechSoup also is on its way to becoming the nation's clearinghouse for U.S. grant makers who want to fund organizations in other countries. The charities would be certified by TechSoup after meeting a set of 501c (3) equivalency standards being worked out with the Internal Revenue Service.
"We have a formal application in to the IRS to create a standardized methodology for approving equivalency determination for charitable organizations," said Masisak. "These are steps we will go through to make sure that money going across the border is really going to a charitable endeavor." TechSoup was selected as the repository agency by the Council on Foundations through a competitive bidding process.
At the same time TechSoup is branching out in new directions, it is working with existing corporate clients to find ways to give more efficiently and meet heightened demand.
"Adobe and Intuit recently increased their donations through us because they realized that now more than ever, social benefit programs need more tools," Webb said. Adobe plans to increase donations this year by 50 percent, and Intuit by 250 percent.
Tess Reynolds, executive director of New Door Ventures, which helps at-risk youth in San Francisco, said her nonprofit has spent less than $500 to receive about $5,000 worth of donated technology through TechSoup.
"It's fantastic to have access to these products and, as a nonprofit, not to have to settle for second best," said Reynolds, who has received Microsoft Outlook and Office and Adobe Acrobat.
The San Francisco Food Bank is another local organization that relies on TechSoup. Information systems manager Ben Bear said, "We've gotten tens of thousands of dollars worth of software through them for a small fee. If we had to spend retail on these things, it would mean we would have less money to purchase food."
Bear also uses TechSoup's community forum, which offers a weekly e-mail newsletter, blogs, surveys, social networking, and experts available to help on anything from new marketing to utilizing Web 2.0 technologies.
