Innovations in COVID-19 responses, domestic violence awareness campaigns and an online marketplace for donated goods are amongst the winners who were last night awarded for their contributions to making a positive impact through technology.
The annual Australian Not-for-Profit Technology Awards is a Connecting Up initiative (part of the Infoxchange Group) now in its sixth year. The awards recognise the very best in technology innovation and excellence by organisations and individuals across the Australian not-for-profit sector.
Infoxchange Group CEO David Spriggs commented on the exceptional quality of the 2021 nominations.
“It was inspiring to see nominations for so many incredible organisations and individuals, particularly during a year in which COVID-19 continued to pose immense challenges for the not-for-profit sector,” says David.
“Our winners this year have set a new standard for innovation in not-for-profit technology and shown outstanding commitment to using technology to strengthen the sector and support communities in need across Australia and beyond.”
This year’s Not-for-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year Award went to Good360 Australia, for creating the country’s largest online marketplace for businesses to donate spare and surplus goods. The platform delivered more than $49 million worth of donated goods in the last year to people living in poverty across Australia.
For the second year running, Australian-based This Life Cambodia won the award for Best Social Media Campaign, this time for the “Not Her Fault” campaign, sharing the award with the Centre for Non-Violence’s “You Are Not Alone” campaign aimed at supporting victims of family violence through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards also focused on the contributions of individual volunteers and long-serving not-for-profit champions.
The Volunteer of the Year Award was shared by Jane Richardson of Generous & Grateful, who guided the small organisation through a revolutionising system change, and Karen Stuckey from Church Support Australia, who dedicated many hours of her time during COVID-19 to providing exceptional technology support and training to their members.
Not-for-Profit Lifetime Service Awards were presented to Pam Doughty from AUSOM News, Chris Deacon from ArtSound and Canberra Multicultural Service, and Andrew Mahar from the xpand Foundation.
The winners were judged by an expert panel from across the not-for-profit and technology sectors, including Hannah Frank from Google, David Crosbie from the Community Council for Australia, Megan Short from Women in Innovation and David Spriggs and Pankaj Chhalotre from the Infoxchange Group.
Complete list of winners and finalists
Best Social Media Campaign of the Year
Winners:
- This Life Cambodia’s “Not Her Fault” campaign
- Centre for Non-Violence’s “You Are Not Alone” campaign
Finalist:
- AusOcean, Underwater Live Stream
Best Technology Achievement by an Indigenous Australian (Individual)
Winner:
- Mikaela Jade, Indigital
Finalists:
- Brett Leavy, Virtual Songlines
- Janelle Turner, Murri’s on the Move
Not-For-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year
Winner:
- Good360
Finalists:
- Safe Steps
- Mercy Connect
- Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef
- Oxen Privacy Foundation
Not-For-Profit Technology Lifetime Service Award (Individual)
Winners:
- Pam Doughty, AUSOM News
- Chris Deacon, ArtSound and Canberra Multicultural Service
- Andrew Mahar AM, The xpand Foundation
Technology for Community Impact Award – Best Government Agency
Winner:
- CivVic Labs, Victorian Government
Technology Volunteer of the Year (Individual)
Winners:
- Jane Richardson, Generous & Grateful
- Karen Stuckey, Church Support Australia
Finalist:
- David Greer, Arcadians Theatre Group
Best Accidental IT Person (Individual)
Winners:
- Lauren Tuck, The Funding Network
- Matthew Sandstrom, Craniofacial Australia
Finalist:
- Jason Kimberley, Cool Australia
Technology for Community Impact Award – Best Private Sector Organisation
Winner:
- Communiteer
Finalists:
- Seer Data & Analytics
- Resilient Youth Australia
- Digital Services Lab
- Goanna Education
Commendation
UTS Rapido Social
About the Infoxchange Group
The Infoxchange Group is Australia and New Zealand’s leading not-for-profit dedicated to using technology to improve the lives of people experiencing disadvantage and the organisations that support them.
Infoxchange, Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand joined forces in 2018 to create the Infoxchange Group. We share a vision of technology for social justice, and with over 180 staff across Australia and New Zealand we tackle the biggest social challenges of our time through the smart and creative use of technology.
We work with community, government and corporate partners to solve issues around homelessness, family violence, mental health and disability, as well as supporting Indigenous communities, women, youth and families.
Our products and services are used by over 24,000 government and community services. We provide the right tools to improve efficiency and deliver greater impact – from nation-wide service coordination systems to IT support, advice, technology products and training that meet the needs of the not-for-profit sector.
And through our work in digital inclusion and social innovation we use technology to empower people experiencing disadvantage, driving social inclusion and creating stronger communities. We believe no-one should be left behind in today’s digital world.
Connecting Up operates as a subsidiary of Infoxchange and trades in New Zealand as TechSoup New Zealand.
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Grant Smyth
M: +61 411 494 850