Tech-Savvy Charities vie for Innovation Award
Doug DeLoach
April 11, 2008

For the seventh consecutive year, TechBridge, the Atlanta nonprofit whose mission is to help other nonprofit organizations and agencies leverage technology to better serve their communities, will present the Technology Innovation Award (TIA) during the 2008 Digital Ball at the Georgia World Congress Center May 10.

"The concept behind the TIA award is to recognize nonprofit organizations that are making creative, innovative, strategic use of technology," said TechBridge CEO Jack McMillan, who retired in 2000 from Accenture Ltd., the technology consulting company that sponsors the award.

TechBridge is one of 12 affiliates in the Microsoft Corp. NPower network, which was created in 1999 to help locally based organizations deliver a wide range of IT services and technology assistance to more than 4,000 nonprofits and community organizations across the country.

"Technology has the power to transform society for the better and TechBridge works to make this a reality for nonprofits in Georgia," said Craig Ramsey, managing director of Accenture's Atlanta office. "One of the reasons Accenture works with TechBridge and other NPower affiliates is because of our shared vision of fostering innovation."

This year's Technology Innovation Award recipient will walk away with more than $45,000 in cash, software and services including $15,000 in TechBridge consulting services, $25,000 in software from Microsoft and a $5,000 cash grant. Two finalists will also receive recognition for their achievements, as well as $5,000 in TechBridge services, $10,000 in Microsoft software and a $1,000 cash grant. All three recipients will also get a one-year TechBridge membership.

Twenty-one judges determine the TIA finalists from among the submissions by nonprofit organizations. This year's co-chairs are Frank Modruson, chief information officer of Accenture, and Kristin Kirkconnell, senior vice president and CIO of Atlanta Gas Light, an AGL Resources company. The remaining judges include CIOs from other leading metro companies, such as Equifax Inc., Fiserv Inc., Infor, ING Americas, Mohawk Industries Inc., Simmons Bedding Co., Southern Co., The Home Depot Inc., Travelport and United Parcel Service Inc.

"We see a lot of diversity because each example represents a particular challenge within a particular environment or community," said Kirkconnell, who is serving as Technology Innovation Award co-chair for the second year in a row. "I can't think of a loftier goal than helping nonprofits perform better."

Past Technology Innovation Award winners include CHRIS Kids Inc. (2006), Hemophilia of Georgia (2005), Project Open Hand (2004), Atlanta Community ToolBank (2003) and Atlanta Community Food Bank (2002).

In 2007, the Technology Innovation Award was presented to the Juvenile Justice Fund and Fulton County Children's Advocacy Center for developing the Child Abuse Case Tracking Information System (CACTIS). An intra-agency database application, CACTIS allows information to be shared across the numerous and disparate programs and organizations within the child welfare community.

"It's changing my life," said Kimberley Borna, executive director of the Juvenile Justice Fund, who was instrumental in the development of CACTIS, which was introduced in January 2006. Soon after the Technology Innovation Award announcement in May 2007, Georgia legislators voted to provide funding that led to the expansion of CACTIS statewide.