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Centrecare is a Catholic not-for-profit that delivers professional counselling, support, mediation and training services throughout Western Australia. With more than 300 staff supporting almost 25,000 clients, Centrecare’s important work has been supported for the last 15 years by Connecting Up’s donations and discounts program. In the past year alone, Connecting Up has provided Centrecare with access to dozens of refurbished desktops and laptops running software that includes Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Creative Cloud and Tableau – enabling Centrecare to improve its efficiency and capability. All workers now have access to a quality desktop or laptop, and can collaborate with each other through Microsoft software such as SharePoint and Teams. This saves time by significantly reducing duplication and enabling access to key documents across the organisation.Posted on 12/11/2019 by -
Auskick program participants with AFL Queensland, MDA Limited, 2018
“The work that goes into helping new Australians also helps the broader Australian community to understand and accept how important migration is for Australia. So, in that sense, the broader Australian community is as much a beneficiary of our work as the new arrivals themselves. “Without good quality technology we wouldn’t be able to do as much, or do it nearly as well.” Speaking from his office in Canberra, Settlement Council of Australia Chief Executive Officer Nick Tebbey has just summed up the importance and impact of donated and discounted technology on the work of an organisation that affects the lives of millions of Australians every year, whether they realise it or not.Posted on 11/12/2018 by -
“I can’t imagine technology not being a key part of our organisation. We’ve used lots of tech right from the start because we quickly realised the more we used it the more people we helped.” Nic Marchesi’s answer to the question of what Orange Sky Australia would look like without technology reveals two profound truths about technology and Australian not-for-profits. The first is that ‘people-centric’ and ‘technology-centric’ are not mutually exclusive - even at an organisation that offers a service as personally impactful as a free mobile laundry and shower service for people experiencing homelessness. The second is that the Young Australian of the Year 2016 can’t even conceive of how his organisation’s 1200 volunteers and 27 services could achieve what they do without the technology that underpins every aspect of their work.Posted on 23/11/2018 by
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Every year on the Thai-Myanmar border eighty nervous young scholars gather for one of the world’s most inspiring graduation ceremonies. As they wait quietly to take the stage, watched by emotional, moist-eyed parents who comprehend the enormity of their achievement more than they will for some years to come, the group of young Karen refugees could be any class, anywhere. But their graduation ceremony, in the sprawling Mae La refugee camp in Thailand, is one of the greatest examples of the triumph of the human spirit you are every likely to hear about. As they accept their certificates, this special group of graduands are a beacon of hope for more than 45,000 of their fellow refugees; a shining example of what can be achieved even by stateless young people who have never known life beyond a refugee camp.Posted on 04/09/2018 by -
“I could not believe the presenter was looking at our actual Facebook page. She looked at around 10 organisations’ pages and gave expert advice on each of them. It was great to see the different things other people are doing and I was also able to use some of the advice she gave to the others.” Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand’s Rebecca Hawkins’ excitement shines through when she talks about what she has learned during Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand's recent “Facebook LIVE Feedback” webinar. Having also touched on everything from how to choose a CRM to how to create compelling digital storytelling, it’s just one of several courses she has completed with Connecting Up and TechSoup NZ. “I found the Facebook Live webinar particularly useful,” she says. “I went to a social media master class at the TechSoup New Zealand Conference last year that was given by the same presenter, Kirsty Wallett, so I already had confidence that she knew her stuff.Posted on 17/08/2018 by -
“I would highly recommend any charity doing an IT strategy to get in touch with Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand. We had been looking at band aids and were struggling to find a long-term solution to our IT problems, but In a year’s time we will be in a totally different position.” Multiple Sclerosis Auckland Business Manager Mark Blackie doesn’t mince his words when asked how useful he found Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand’s new IT Strategy on a Plate program. “The facilitator, Sandra, was amazing and went above and beyond what we could ever have expected from a private consultant,” he adds. “The big difference now is that we actually have a plan and are moving forward with it. Long term this will mean greater efficiencies and services and overall better support for people with Multiple Sclerosis.”Posted on 14/08/2018 by
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Proponents of one of the oldest self-help techniques are using some of the newest technology thanks to a Google AdWords grant and training from Australian not-for-profit technology enabler Connecting Up. The Google AdWords grant, facilitated by Connecting Up – which also provides online training - means the Lifeflow Meditation Centre is helping more Australians manage everything from anxiety to autism. Director of Teaching at Lifeflow, John Burston, says his not-for-profit organisation has seen a 25 per cent increase in web traffic, and a surge in inquiries from interstate since advertising through Google. “The AdWords grant has made it possible to reach a wider audience, and we even had several interstate attendees on our recent weeklong meditation retreat,” he says. “We simply would not have been able to undertake these kinds of advertising campaigns without the Connecting Up training and the Google grants.Posted on 03/10/2017 by -
When Elizabeth Serpell’s son David had to undergo hand surgery at just ten months because of an unknown condition called ‘symbrachydactyly’, she was inspired to help people in similar situations find help more easily in the confusing, jargon-heavy world of hand differences. Back in 2000, she could never have imagined that a set of Google online tools available through the Google for Non-profits program would become one of her most powerful tools. Fast forward to 2017, and thanks to digital tools including Google Drive, Google Ad Grants and YouTube for Non-profits, Ms Serpell’s Aussie Hands Foundation is reaching out to more children and adults with hand differences than ever before.Posted on 18/09/2017 by
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Connecting Up CEO Anne Gawen speaking at the launch of The Festival of Good Humans.
A new festival launched in Adelaide yesterday (Thursday 31 August) is reminding people of what it means to be a good human - and helping them use technology to become a better one.Posted on 17/09/2017 by