| Step 1: Eligibility |
Verify that your organization meets the following eligibility criteria:
- Is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (as defined by the Internal Revenue Service). The following organizations are not eligible: churches, or organizations whose primary mission is to promote a religion; private schools, colleges or universities; nonprofit hospitals or cooperative hospital service organizations; governmental agencies;
- Has an annual operating budget in the current or most recent fiscal year larger than $50,000;
- Demonstrates fiscal responsibility, the appropriate use of funds and accounting standards; and
- Follows EEOC guidelines and provides equal employment opportunity to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a disabled veteran or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
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| Step 2: Vision |
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The 2010 Award will go to a nonprofit that puts forward the most compelling plan for an innovative project to leverage technology to more effectively deliver on its mission and serve our community.
The winning award includes $25,000 (approximately 300 hours) of TechBridge technology consulting services. The prize package will be customized to meet the specific needs of the winning organization, however must fall within the realm of services offered by TechBridge to its’ clients. Specifically these services include:
- Web-enable your nonprofit
Are you happy with the look/feel of your website? Does your website incorporate your video assets? Can volunteers and/or members sign up on your website? Can you easily update and promote activities and online resource libraries? Do you collect payments or donations online? Can people register for events? Is there other information you’d like to gather online? Would you like that information to be dropped into another application you use without your touching it? Can people access a special secured area of the site with information tailored just for them? Do you have a blog? Do you want to leverage social networking to reach people? Do you dream of offering webinars or conducting educational events online?
- Collaborate and automate processes
Do you have repetitive, paper-based data entry processes you long to automate? Want to eliminate multiple spreadsheets/databases with one central secure source that everyone can view/edit? What if you could get approvals remotely without needing a paper form? What if you could automatically trigger other actions/emails upon approval? Can you easily find and securely share current documents with staff and other agencies? Can you easily conduct surveys? Do you have one place to share contacts? Can you see everyone’s schedule? How about having a central, secured info hub for your staff and another for your board, and another for your volunteers and/or partners? Do you want to have a knowledge base or a home for FAQ’s to resolve customer or internal questions?
- Stabilize and modernize your infrastructure
Do you want all of your computers running the same software versions? Do you want the confidence of knowing your system will work each day? Do you want to get an outdated server out of your building and have someone else worry about hosting your critical applications/data? Do you want remote access? Do you have wireless access? Can everyone in your office use it? Do you want the relief of knowing your data is backed up? Do you want a game plan for when/how best to replace your computers and hardware?
Please note the 300 hours must also include time for project planning, training and transition activities. TechBridge reserves the right to recommend technologies other than those proposed in the application.
Before moving on to the next step, verify that your proposed project meets the following criteria:
- The project can be implemented within 6 months and must start in June 2010;
- The technology and supporting processes implemented must be sustainable long term;
- Your management commits to support the outcomes;
- The technology will be used by a Georgia nonprofit;
- The project must have a material, measurable impact on the community.
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| Step 3: Application |
The 2010 Application Period is Now Closed. Please check back in the Fall for information regarding the 2011 Technology Innovation Award.
Note: Essays are limited to 6,350 characters with spaces– note that each section within the essay has its own character limit. Please use the word count feature in Microsoft Word to measure the length of your copy. Any portion of the essay exceeding the character limits noted will be truncated. All supporting information should be included in your online application.
You CANNOT "save as" in this form. For best results please develop the required free-form content in Microsoft Word according to the character limits specified and then cut/paste all information into the correct fields when you are ready to submit your application form.
A copy of your submitted application will be emailed to you to as an acknowledgement of receipt.
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| Step 4: Review |
To ensure all applications meet the criteria outlined above, they will be independently reviewed by volunteers from TechBridge corporate partners. After submitting your application, you may be contacted by a consultant to clarify information and help you round out your proposal. Please respond in a timely manner to any questions.
Email award@techbridge.org with any questions. |
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