Partnerships

TechSoup Global

Partnering with Microsoft to enable access to relevant and affordable technology

  • TechSoup Global, a nonprofit organization (NPO), helps other nonprofits around the world obtain and use technology to heighten their impact. Through its Web sites, events, and community-building initiatives, the organization works toward giving all nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) the technology resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential.

Through TechSoup, Microsoft donates software to tens of thousands of NPOs and NGOs around the world. Beyond software, TechSoup provides localized technology support, relevant content, and resources that help organizations successfully adopt tools they can use to better serve their communities.

Software Donations

Microsoft believes that information technology can change the world. By offering NGOs access to software, knowledge, and best practices, Microsoft can provide a meaningful contribution to organizations that are actively changing the world in their communities.

Partnering with TechSoup enables Microsoft to reach more organizations around the world with software donations. TechSoup and its global network of partner NGOs provide a localized interface for NGOs in more than 30 countries to request donated software, learn about how technology can improve their effectiveness, and access product donations from major technology companies like Microsoft. The TechSoup global partner network helps Microsoft reach 35,000 NGOs annually with over $300 million in software.

NGO Capacity Building

Microsoft is an advocate for the expansion of the TechSoup Global Network and provides ongoing capacity-building grants targeted at building a sustainable network of Partner NGOs. Providing more than technology donations, Microsoft and TechSoup work together to equip NGOs with the technology knowledge, community, and resources they need to fulfill their mission. Many of the NGOs benefiting from the Microsoft partnership with TechSoup are organizations that may not otherwise have access to the technology resources they need to continue their work. Examples include the following:

Unique Business Model

Founded in 1987 as CompuMentor, TechSoup Global is now the recognized leader in bringing technological empowerment and philanthropy to social-benefit organizations around the world. Founded by social innovator, Daniel Ben-Horin, TechSoup forges partnerships among a network of unlikely allies, including technology leaders like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Symantec; philanthropic foundations, like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, and Surdna Foundation; and government organizations, like the United States Agency for International Development. Together, they work to deploy essential technologies that help thousands of organizations increase the impact and efficiency of programs designed to alleviate poverty, protect the environment, and provide education and healthcare services.

Over the past two decades, TechSoup has become one of the most comprehensive nonprofit technology assistance providers in the world, employing a staff of 170 and deploying a budget of US$23 million. As of June 2009, TechSoup Global served more than 101,000 organizations, distributed over 4.9 million software and hardware product donations, and enabled recipients to save more than US$1.4 billion in IT expenses in 31 countries around the world. In 2001, Microsoft became the lead technology corporation supporting the establishment of TechSoup's donation platform. The early and ongoing support of Microsoft, through both cash and in-kind donations, represents its commitment to build a sustainable model for technology capacity-building for the NGO sector.

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