Contents Chairperson’s Report .................................................................1 CEO’s Report ...............................................................................2 Staff .............................................................................................3 Board ...........................................................................................4 Donations & Discounts ..............................................................5 Events & Training .......................................................................6 New Zealand Conference & Awards ........................................7 Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards ........................9 Information Services & SAcommunity ...................................10 Innovation Lab ...........................................................................11 Financials ...................................................................................12 Impact Stories ...........................................................................13

1. Annual Report
2016-17
www.connectingup.org

2. Our Valued Partners

3. Chairperson’s Report.................................................................. 1
CEO’s Report................................................................................ 2
Staff.............................................................................................. 3
Board............................................................................................ 4
Donations & Discounts............................................................... 5
Events & Training........................................................................ 6
New Zealand Conference & Awards......................................... 7
Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards......................... 9
Information Services & SAcommunity.................................... 10
Innovation Lab............................................................................ 11
Financials.................................................................................... 12
Impact Stories............................................................................ 13
Contents

4. Chairperson
Report
Connecting Up has had another remarkable year and it
is my pleasure as the Chair of the Board to present the
2016/2017 Annual Report. Connecting Up continues to
deliver a range of capacity building programs and services
to the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, listening to its highly
valued customers and partners. Achievements for this
year include:
• Increasing the range of product and service offerings to
the NFP and charitable sectors with $54 million dollars
(Fair Market Value) worth of donated technology and
cloud services to Australian and New Zealand NFPs in the
2016/2017 Financial Year
• Improving the reach and capabilities of the organisations
with access to Connecting Up’s products and services, with
a total of 2,269 newly qualified organisations in Australia
and 727 newly qualified organisations in New Zealand
• Increasing the depth of education with a focus on
technology to the sector, with a total of 3,200 attendees to
Connecting Up events in Australia and New Zealand
We continue on our journey of increasing digital
capacity and decreasing the digital divide among those
organisations which make up the NFP or Profit for
Purpose sector. Of course, increasing digital capacity is a
staged process of procuring the appropriate software and
hardware and then making the best use of these tools to
the utmost benefit of the organisation. With the changes in
government policy emphasising citizen empowerment and
also reduced costs of services, our technological offerings
provide the potential for reducing back office costs to
the sector. We are working with partners to refine the
discounted and donated technology offerings available to
the sector, including Cloud Tools and Services, Fundraising
CRM/Database Management Programs, Security Software,
Governance Software, Disability Care Management
Software, Accounting and Reporting Programs, critical
Hardware and Networking Equipment, and more.
There is another special side of our work which needs
to be highlighted. We provide a very important Directory
of Services in South Australia, used extensively by
public libraries, government entities and community
organisations. This is made possible by the dedicated
volunteers who contribute to our organisation so greatly.
We have a dual goal – to keep this directory up to date
and to provide important workplace experience for our
volunteers that may evolve into employment.
Over the course of the last Financial Year, Connecting Up
hosted a total of 32 Volunteers, contributing over 3,000
hours to our Directory of Services and other programs.
We are proud to see our volunteers reap the rewards, with
15 volunteers transitioning into employment in the last
Financial Year. Connecting Up staff provide pre-employment
support and assist with practical work skills and references.
Volunteer evaluations state that the opportunity at
Connecting Up gave them unprecedented experience and
the opportunity to strengthen their skills in a real workplace
environment. Volunteers join with Connecting Up for many
and various reasons. For some it is an opportunity to get out
of the house, meet, interact and socialise with new people,
and to meet with those on a similar journey to seeking
employment. Connecting Up now has a strong foothold in
New Zealand and we have an annual conference there to
showcase our service offerings and supplier products, while
also acknowledging technology innovation in the sector. This
year we were pleased to host special guest, The Honourable
Minister Alfred Ngaro, at our inaugural New Zealand
Charities Technology Awards.
It is now 30 years since the origins of Connecting Up were
established with the support of SACOSS. The Community
Information Service or CISA was originally a SACOSS project
but was developed into an independent organisation in 1981.
From there Connecting Up was formed, evolving into what is
today a one-stop-shop for NFP and charitable organisations
and their technological and capacity building needs.
Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand are proud
to be part of TechSoup, a global network of 66 capacity-
building NGOs working together to support the NFP sector
across the world. Through the administration of technology
donations in both Australia and New Zealand, Connecting
Up has contributed significantly to the US$1.3 billion worth
of technology goods distributed to more than 180,000 NGOs
globally in 2016.
Sue Vardon AO
Chairperson, Connecting Up
$54 million in donated
technology product (FMV)
to NFP organisations in
Australia and New Zealand
2,996 newly
qualified
organisations

5. CEO Report
The past year has been exciting for our sector and
most certainly for the Connecting Up team.
All programs have had a positive year for Connecting
Up and TechSoup New Zealand. This evidences the
strong demand for technology solutions in our sector
and an increasing awareness of the importance of
technology for organisations to allow them to operate
efficiently to better serve their community. I know I
speak for our whole team at Connecting Up when I
say that we’re exceedingly proud of the significant
difference we make every day to improve the society in
which we live for all Australians and New Zealanders.
A trend that we’ve been watching for a few years is the
increasing prevalence of “cloud” services. Traditionally
our sector is slower in adoption of new services
than the commercial sector and while this is true in
this instance, we are pleased to see both an overall
increase in use of these services and an increase in
the overall speed of adoption.
Also very pleasing to report is the continued strong
growth in our membership across both Australia and
New Zealand. The team had a focus on increasing
our membership this year, this effort produced a 16%
increase in our membership in Australia and a 13%
increase in New Zealand.
Our Events Team has run some outstanding webinars
this year and the attendances from our sector has
broken all previous records. The Discounts Program in
both Australia and New Zealand has had very strong
growth. Our team targeted New Zealand to further
support the sector and achieve a growth of 35%. This
is particularly pleasing as we look to focus on the New
Zealand sector.
This year’s Conference in New Zealand was also a
great success. Well supported by our partners, the
feedback from sponsors, attendees and speakers was
very positive.
In Australia we have added many new partners
providing a greater range of options for our sector,
and in some cases providing the sector with heavily
discounted options that they could not previously
access. We are working towards being able to fulfil
all the technology requirements of our sector. Our
Business and Customer Care teams have been working
to identity areas of need and to source ethical partners
to fill this need. The implementation of new PCs and
laptops from Acer has been a great success, with Acer
quickly becoming our third largest local partner.
This year also saw the creation of our in-house
Innovation Lab. Capably led by Megan Short, the lab
has had input from the whole team at various points
through the year and a number of worthwhile projects
have been identified. Work has begun to launch these
in the next year.
Finally, the team is engaging with two exciting new
projects to support the Disability Sector. This is a
change to our normal engagement but the team feels
that these projects will make a large difference to
disability organisations and the Australians who use
their services.
Thanks to all of our wonderful staff, thank you to the
Connecting Up Board, especially Sue Vardon (AO), our
fantastic chair, and thank you to Andrew Culley, our
esteemed Treasurer. They are the steadfast backbone
for Connecting Up to ensure we meet the needs of the
sector now and in the future.
Anne Gawen
CEO, Connecting Up
2
29% increase in Membership
in Australia and New Zealand

6. Connecting Up Staff
Board of Directors
CEO
Executive Management
Community Team
Interns & Volunteers
Technical Team Business DevelopmentCustomer Support
Administration

7. Connecting Up Board Members
Chairperson: Sue Vardon AO
Deputy Chairperson: Jane Brabham
Treasurer: Andrew Culley
Observer: Aron Hausler
Board Member: James Austin
Board Member: Jon Bisset
Board Member: Kym Hume
Board Member: Lisa Harvey
Board Member: Sue McIvor
Board Member: Susan Arthure
Chief Executive of various government departments for 23 years,
including CentreLink and the Department for Correctional Services
Managing Director, Brabham Group
Managing Partner, South Australia, Deloitte
Deputy Director Operations, New Venture Institute
Fundraising Manager, National Party, New Zealand
CEO, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
Business Development, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Digital Mission Specialist, FlightLab
CEO, Fernlea Inc
PhD researcher in Archaeology, Flinders University

8. Connecting Up continues to support NFP and charitable
organisations in Australian and New Zealand to reduce
their technology costs and to improve organisational
efficiency through the Technology Donations and
Technology Discounts programs. In Financial Year 16/17,
the fair market value of donated products acquired through
Connecting Up totalled $48 million
in Australia and $6 million in New Zealand.
In Financial Year 16/17, Connecting Up added several new
partners to its Technology Donations and Technology
Discounts programs in Australia and New Zealand
respectively:
Technology Donations partners
DocuSign
The DocuSign Donation Program at Connecting Up provides
e-signature and transaction management software to
eligible NFP organisations, charities and public libraries
throughout Australia.
Used to sign, send and manage documents, DocuSign
replaces printing, faxing, scanning and overnighting
documents by making approvals and decisions digitally.
Benevity
Benevity, a leader in powering corporate giving, provides
access to donations from companies and their employees
for NFP organisations and charities worldwide. Many
corporations encourage their employees to give money and
volunteer time in the NFP and community sector and will
match and send those contributions through the Benevity
system.
Amazon web services
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Credits Program for
Nonprofits provides credits for eligible NFP organisations
to use towards AWS’s cloud platform, offering access to
high-powered cloud computing, storage, data warehousing,
development, analytics and more.
Airbnb
Through Airbnb, eligible NFP organisations can create and
host Social Impact Experiences to help build awareness,
engage their supporters and raise funds for their causes.
Airbnb Social Impact Experiences promises to provide NFP
organisations with access to millions of Airbnb users, and
a global audience of new ambassadors to promote their
cause. 100 per cent of the proceeds raised from Social
Impact Experiences goes directly to the NFP organisation
hosting the experience.
Technology Discounts partners
Infinity Sponsorship
Infinity Sponsorship specialises in helping NFP organisations plan,
find, connect with and keep corporate partners and sponsors.
I Do My Own PR
I Do My Own PR offers a DIY PR toolkit to assist NFP
organisations to raise funds and awareness around their cause
without having to engage a PR agency.
Strategic Grants
Strategic Grants is the unique provider of grant strategies and
Grants Expertise Management Systems (GEMS) in Australia.
Strategic Grants works with NFP organisations to build capacity in
applying for and earning grants through research, planning, project
matching, policy and process development.
Digital Cause
The Digital Cause program is designed to help the thousands
of charitable causes in Australia to attract more donations,
share their stories and to recruit more volunteers through digital
marketing grants and professional campaign management.
Donations and Discounts
$54 million in donated
technology product (FMV) to
NFP organisations in Australia
and New Zealand in Financial
Year 16/17
$50 million of this amount
donated by Microsoft
Our new Partners
Premium Partner

9. Events & Training
Commencing in 2012 with the aim of increasing
IT capacity and knowledge across the not-for-
profit (NFP) sector in Australia and New Zealand,
the Connecting Up Events & Training Program has
seen continual growth since inception. From 5
webinars and 8 face-to-face workshops delivered
in 2011/2012, it has grown to 43 webinars, 5 online
courses and 18 face-to-face workshops delivered in
the Financial Year 16/17.
A key focus for this financial year was to gather more
feedback from customers and to increase market
research to ensure the Events & Training Program
is meeting the needs of the sector. As a result,
Connecting Up delivered many successful webinars,
workshops and online courses during this financial
year, covering a range of different topics including:
• Cloud Computing
• IT management
• Grants & fundraising
• Data security
• Search engine optimisation
• Social media
• Digital marketing
• Adobe products
• Public relations
• E-mail marketing
• Websites
• Human resources
The Events & Training Program in New Zealand has
also seen increased popularity in the Financial Year
16/17, with an average increase of 50% in registrations
per webinar and online course.
The Events & Training Program in Australia and New
Zealand is promoted to a wide network of members.
The program is advertised via e-mail newsletters,
website, social media, external sector-related events,
and through direct contact with customers over the
phone.
To ensure relevance of events and training material,
Connecting Up has improved and diversified its
collection of feedback from customers. During the
Financial Year 16/17, the Events & Training Program
was again well received by participants, with an
average score of 4.1/5 for satisfaction rate per
webinar and online course.
2,700 registrations
for events & training
in Australia
Over 900
registrations
for events & training
in New Zealand
6

10. TechSoup New Zealand
Conference & Awards
Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre
16-17 March 2017
The TechSoup New Zealand Conference 2017, held
in Auckland on 16-17 March, marked the fourth New
Zealand Conference delivered by Connecting Up as
part of the TechSoup New Zealand programme. With
the theme of SYNC17: Tuning Communities with the
Digital Age, the 2017 Conference connected New
Zealand communities with digital tools to increase
organisational capacity and to provide support in the
evolving technological landscape.
The 2017 Conference was the second TechSoup
New Zealand Conference to be held at the Waipuna
Hotel & Conference Centre in Auckland. There were
a total of 126 registrations for the year’s Conference,
representing a 17% increase from the previous year,
a 20% increase from 2015, and 31% increase from
2014. There were a total of 53 registrations for the
conference masterclasses, an increase of 83% in
masterclasses registrations from the previous year.
The geographical spread of attendees at the 2017
Conference was significantly wider than that of 2016,
with 63% of 2017 attendees coming from outside the
Auckland region.
Some of the key highlights of the event for delegates
were:
• Attendees enjoyed the quality and delivery of the
presentations, especially the keynote presentations.
Presentation content was considered relevant by a
majority of organisations
• All masterclasses received a rating of 8.5/10 or
above, while all conference sessions received a rating
of 7.4/10 or above
• Attendees enjoyed the atmosphere of the Conference
and its sense of community, which greatly improved
their Conference experience
• Attendees praised the venue and catering
• Attendees praised the Connecting Up staff for their
availability and friendliness
Conference attendees gave positive feedback about the
exhibitors, praising their openness and friendliness as well as
the quality of information shared:
“I think it was seriously good. Well organised and purposeful.”
“I think the team did a fantastic gob at pulling off a great event.”
“It’s great. It builds knowledge & confidence for those of us that
are less tech savvy. Thank you TechSoup.”
“The organising staff were outstanding.”
“I really enjoyed it. Thank you, I hope to be back next year.”

11. New Zealand Charities Technology Awards
Charitable organisations and leaders from the
community and technology sectors gathered to
celebrate the very best in technology innovation and
service excellence in the New Zealand charity sector
at the inaugural New Zealand Charities Technology
Awards Dinner on March 16 at the Waipuna Hotel and
Conference Centre, Auckland.
The Awards Dinner was attended by over 90 guests,
including finalists and key event supporters Microsoft,
Google, Xtreme Productivity, Strategic Grants, Blackbaud
and RebootIT. Special guest, the Honourable Minister
Alfred Ngaro, Minister for the Community and Voluntary
Sector, delivered the official welcome to the Awards.
Members of the judging panel were also present,
including Volunteering New Zealand Chief Executive
Scott Miller, Microsoft New Zealand Philanthropy Lead
Belinda Gorman, and New Zealand Council of Christian
Social Services Executive Officer Trevor McGlinchey.
A total of 6 award categories were presented on the
night:
Strategic Grants Technology Volunteer of the Year:
Tim Wylie from Volunteering Auckland was recognised
for his work in developing an online platform to enable
more than 4,500 people to connect to their community
through voluntary opportunities across Auckland.
Louise Lum of Community Comms Collective was
acknowledged with a commendation award for her
technology volunteering, having created a free website
usability assessment tool for community organisations
across New Zealand. Key beneficiaries include Youthline,
Pregnancy Help, Parkinsons NZ, and Alzheimers New
Zealand.
Google Technology Service in the Charitable Sector
– Lifetime Service Award: Dermatologist Dr Amanda
Oakley, Founder and Editor in Chief of DermNet
New Zealand (dermnetnz.org), was awarded for her
innovative website dedicated to skin conditions and their
treatment. Maintained by dermatologists and health
professionals, and accessed by over 2 million people
around the world each month, all website pages are
written in plain English with a translation app to enable
reading in 100+ languages.
Xtreme Productivity Technology Innovator of the Year:
Figure.NZ developed an intelligent data solution ‘Creating
a data democracy’ – taking New Zealand’s dispersed,
disparate, non-personal data, and standardising it into
useful formats, all in one centralised location accessible to
the public.
Microsoft Best Government Agency: Recognised for
their extensive efforts in assisting charities to comply
with the new legislative requirements for financial
reporting, Charities Services were recognised with the Best
Government Agency award. Charities Services delivered
a series of educational road shows in 2013-2015 during
their standards development to 9,000 individuals, and also
partnered with the External Reporting Board (XRB) in 2016
to deliver a webinar reaching over 2,000 people.
Blackbaud Best Social Media Campaign of the Year: SAFE,
a national animal rights organisation actively involved
in campaigns to protect the welfare of all animals, were
awarded the Best Social Media Campaign of the Year
award for their integrated multi-media campaign to connect
people with the realities of animal agriculture.
Reboot IT Best Small to Medium Enterprise: The
Safeguarding Children Initiative developed the crucial Child
Protection Elearning platform to provide training for those
organisations who work with children and the community.
The platform helps organisations and individuals to detect
abuse and neglect, to understand its impacts, and also
gives advice on what to do about it if they are concerned –
a first of its kind in New Zealand and free to all users.
The Whanganui Learning Centre Trust was acknowledged
with a commendation award for its critical support to
the lower socio-economic and multi-cultural needs of
Whanganui through key technology programs. Partnering
with Microsoft, the Trust was launched as the first
‘Technology Centre’ in New Zealand, delivering technology
programming initiatives to the community since 1975,
including ‘Stepping UP’ and ‘Computers in Homes’.
The inaugural New Zealand Charities Technology
Awards showcased not only the outstanding technology
achievements of New Zealand charitable organisations and
individuals but also the critical importance of the charitable
sector in solving key social challenges and working to
protect and preserve New Zealand communities and their
way of life.
8

12. Australian Not-For-Profit
Technology Awards
The annual Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards
hosted by Connecting Up was again held at the historic
Hawthorn Arts Centre in Melbourne on the evening of
May 4. The awards highlight the significant contributions
made by individuals and organisations to the NFP sector
through innovative technologies. More than 130 guests
from the NFP, government, and business sectors, gathered
to acknowledge finalists and winners across six award
categories.
Social Media Campaign of the Year: This award recognised
the most effective and innovative use of social media by a
NFP organisation to promote its products and/or services
while having a positive impact on the sector. The winner,
Melanoma Patients Australia (MPA), developed a unique
digital advertising campaign, ‘Melanoma Likes Me’. An
online persona created for Melanoma made it possible
for MPA’s Instagram account and Twitter account to like,
follow and comment on the social media activity of young
Australians spending time in the sun. A unique algorithm
found and responded to popular hashtags and geo-located
images, sending millions of tailored messages to young
Australians about melanoma prevention and treatment.
Using Technology to Connect to the Community Award -
Best Government Agency: The National Disability Insurance
Agency (NDIA) was acknowledged as the Best Government
Agency to positively connect with local communities
through technology. Via the NDIA website, the agency
provides critical information about the National Disability
Insurance Scheme for people with disability, families and
carers, participants, providers, and communities. The
website also contains videos, stories, factsheets and
publications to support people during the rollout of the
scheme.
Not-For-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year:
Counselling and support service provider Holyoake were
acknowledged for the most innovative use of technology
in delivering programs and/or services to positively
impact communities. As part of their social enterprise
DRUMBEAT® (Discovering Relationships Using Music -
Beliefs, Emotions, Attitudes & Thoughts) the organisation
developed DRUMBEAT Quest® – the world’s first video
game for social and emotional learning incorporating the
latest neuroscience on emotional regulation and rhythm.
Using Technology to Connect to the Community Award
- Best Small/Medium Enterprise (SME): This award
recognised small to medium enterprises which made
highly-valued contribution to the NFP sector through
technology. There was not a winner for this category,
however two high-achieving finalists were highlighted for their
significant contributions. Evolve IT Australia, who provide IT
service support to businesses and NFP organisations across
Australia, were acknowledged for their private cloud products
and services specialising in Aboriginal ICT support, while
social enterprise Vollie thoughtfully connect skilled Australians
with NFP organisations for the purpose of online skills-based
volunteering, with a particular focus on engaging young skilled
professionals aged 25 - 34 in skilled volunteering projects.
Not-For-Profit Technology Lifetime Service Award: Mrs.
Nan Bosler OAM, volunteer President and founder of the
Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association (ASCCA), was
recognised for her outstanding commitment and service to
the NFP sector over many years. Nan was elected President
upon incorporation in August 1998 and by 2001 the association
was acknowledged as the national peak body for seniors and
technology. Today there are around 130 ASCCA affiliated clubs,
located in every state and territory throughout Australia.
Technology Volunteer of the Year: Damian Marken, Volunteer
at The Compassionate Friends Victoria, was awarded for his
exemplary voluntary contribution to the NFP sector and for his
positive impact on the lives of others through his volunteering
activities. Compassionate Friends Victoria supports parents
and siblings following the death of a child. With an outdated
website and social media channels unable to meet the needs of
both the organisation and grieving parents, Damian undertook
a complete website and social media overhaul. The new
website now creates a sense of calm and provides information
in a simple, easy to digest manner that no longer overwhelms
parents who have suffered the agony of losing a child.
More information about the Awards can be found at
www.connectingupconference.org/technology-awards.html
9

13. Connecting Up has delivered SAcommunity, a free, online
directory of community service information for over 35 years
in response to the need for an accessible source of community
information for South Australians. SAcommunity supports
informed decision-making, empowerment and action.
The SAcommunity directory provides the reliable, current and
relevant information communities need to allow people to find
the services they need in their daily life, to provide information
and services to others, and to discover and create opportunities
for community connection and participation.
SAcommunity comprises of over 14,000 directory entries,
presenting user-friendly, collated and organised data, with
92% of all listings updated within the last two years. The
SAcommunity website received more than 1 million visits
and 1.9 million page views, reaching over 700,000 users
over the last 12 months, providing a level of online exposure
for community service providers, including many small but
valuable organisations, allowing them to concentrate their
resources into service delivery.
Open Data and Social Media
SAcommunity connects the community sector by providing
news, information and community service recognition through
capacity building communication channels with an online
service blog, 7,030 followers on Twitter and 2,200 subscribers
to SAcommunity news. These social media channels were
accessed this year for a Flinders University community-oriented
project funded by the Australian Research Council.
Connecting Up is committed to sharing data for innovative re-
use and public benefit. Staff assisted with the GovHack Open
Data competition by providing mentoring and the SAcommunity
dataset. Technical staff continue to work on developing an
API to share data with Public Library Services, the association
representing over 130 public libraries in the South Australian
Public Library Network on their networked library catalogue.
SAcommunity data has also been provided to assist a Flinders’
University and local council project undertaken in conjunction
with Regional Development Australia for the Lower Eyre
Peninsula.
Partners and Stakeholders
Connecting Up thanks the Government of South Australia and
Public Library Services for their continued funding for this
valuable service, as well as the community contributors to
SAcommunity.
and SAcommunity
Information Services
The SAcommunity program is provided in collaboration
with an expansive stakeholder network. Staff provide
information, training and support to directory partners
and editors in local government councils and public
libraries, service providers, volunteers and the public
who work to promote, maintain and utilise directory
information and contribute relevant community news
articles for publication.
Volunteers
Connecting Up Volunteers contributed 3,000 hours over
the last financial year and are critical to maintaining
the directory. The program was expanded to host 5
university students last semester, working on projects
across Connecting Up. These included two placement
students from the Business School and Information
Management Streams respectively, who worked to
evaluate and enhance the SAcommunity program.
The volunteer program also fosters relationships, with
vocational education providers TAFESA and EQUALS
providing valuable work experience for graduates
and placements for their Business Administration
students. The volunteer program supports students, the
unemployed and underemployed to gain information,
digital literacy and customer service skills and
experience needed in the workplace.
14,000
community
listings
1.9 million
page views
700,000
users
10

14. Innovation Lab
Connecting Up introduced on an exciting new Innovation
Lab role in the 2016/2017 Financial Year. This role aimed
to identify, develop and implement new business growth
opportunities across Australia and New Zealand, and to
experiment with new approaches to enhance our overall
customer experience and journey. Many fantastic initiatives
spawned from this unique position.
YourSAy Share Initiative
Connecting Up has received $25,000 in funding for
a platform to improve disability access vehicle after
delivering the winning pitch in the finals of South Australia’s
Collaborative Economy Challenge. Connecting Up finished
ahead of 150 organisations from across Australia. The
pitch idea is for a new share platform in partnership with
disability access vehicle fleet management experts CARL
through which Australians living with a disability can access
idle or under-utilized vehicles. Companies and individuals
will eventually be able to post their available vehicles on the
platform for rental at an affordable rate, with Connecting
Up and CARL working towards a model in which insurance,
roadside assistance and fuel costs are included in
the rental fee. This could be a life changing service for
hundreds of thousands of Australians facing significant
restrictions on their mobility because of a lack of suitable
transport.
Techfugees Adelaide
Connecting Up was a major participant in the inaugural
Techfugees Adelaide, a collaborative ideas event bringing
people together to develop technology solutions for
local refugees. Techfugees is a global social enterprise
mobilising tech experts to respond to the refugee situation
in their local communities.
Techfugees Australia is the tech community’s response to
the current refugee crisis involving a network of concerned
individuals who want to help refugees settle happily and
more quickly into the Australian community. The Adelaide
Techfugees hackathon saw amazing teams of likeminded
hackers and humanitarians co-designing innovative tech
solutions to problems such as access to services, qualified
employment opportunities, and making sense of government
forms. Mentors from Connecting Up worked with teams
to develop solutions that included chatbots, mobile apps,
real-time anonymised data, and simple social messaging to
raise awareness of the untapped potential of refugees in our
community.
Website and User Experience enhancements
The Innovation Lab worked closely with the Technology
Team to review the existing organisation website and to
help implement improved user experience (UX) functions
including an enhanced website navigation menu to help more
easily distinguish between technology discount and donation
offerings for customers.
UniSA Graduate placement
In partnership with the University of South Australia
Information Technology Team, Connecting Up arranged for
student graduates to collaborate on internal projects, utilising
their business analytics skills on a data-centric lab projects.
Together, the Innovation Lab and university graduates explored
a range of projects including Data Storytelling, Website
Analytics, Community Datasets, and Customer Insights.

15. Financials
Financial Health, year ended 30 June 2017
Fair Market Value of donated products in 2016/17
in Australia and New Zealand
$53,968,088
Revenues from ordinary activities 5,251,924
Expenses (5,020,978)
Total comprehensive income for the year/(loss) 230,946
12

16. Mambourin Enterprises
Impact Story
Melbourne NFP uses donor IT to assist people with
disabilities to gain jobs & independence
Victorian not-for-profit, Mambourin Enterprises (Mambourin),
empowers people with intellectual disabilities by helping them
gain new skills. In 2015, access to up-todate software via the
Microsoft Donations Program allowed Mambourin to teach
participants how to create documents, helping them to gain
jobs and be more independent. At Mambourin day centres,
people with intellectual disabilities who cannot support
themselves are reducing their own social isolation by using
specialist publishing software to create videos and compile
newsletters.
Mambourin Enterprises (Mambourin) is an independent notfor-
profit organisation that creates learning and employment
opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. A
2,500m2 facility at Mambourin’s Derrimut head office assists
people with mild disability into various forms supported
employment, while eight day centres across western
Melbourne provide day-to-day support for 350 intellectually
disabled people. One of Mambourin’s greatest achievements is
transitioning people into employment. .
As a not for profit organisation, Mambourin has many
challenges of its own. One of them is ensuring its technology
up to date. Teaching computer skills to people with disabilities
is often a key to securing employment, but to do this
Mambourin needs up-to-date software. Also, attendees at the
day programs experience personal and skills growth when
engaged in writing newsletters or compiling videos, but these
activities require specialist software too. Additionally the
organisation’s own employees require mobility tools, so they
can plan and collaborate on the go. Since 2009, Mambourin
has gained access to successive generations of software
through the Microsoft Donation Program.
This has enabled Mambourin to equip 50 employees with
Microsoft Office Pro Plus, Exchange email and SharePoint,
and to install Windows on 30 devices. In 2015, Mambourin
also adopted the video collaboration suite, Skype for Business.
With Windows 7 and Windows 10 on Mambourin day program
desktops, attendees have begun using the Adobe Video Suite
to create and edit videos of day centre activities, which they
then publish on YouTube. Attendees also use Office Publisher
to develop and design newsletters that recount daily events,
and share puzzles and stories. Meanwhile, trainers at the head
office teach up to 50 attendees how to work on documents
and spreadsheets using the latest version of Microsoft Office.
Benefits of the Microsoft Donations program extend
to Mambourin internal systems as well. Using Internet
Information Service (IIS) on Windows Server 2012 R2,
Mambourin built an online enterprise resource planning
tool called MERP that transforms day-to-day operations.
By enabling Mambourin to keep its technology fresh, the
Microsoft Donations Program is helping to create job
opportunities for people who might never otherwise work,
empowering people to lead more fulfilling lives, and helping
dedicated employees to work more efficiently.
With skills developed on up-to-date software, participants in
Mambourin classes are transforming their own prospects
for open employment. Yates reports that some people with
significant cognitive disabilities have now found employment
with local businesses. For some, he says, this is the first they
are earning money and gaining a measure of independence
and meaningful social inclusion.
The opportunity to create newsletters and videos is giving
a sense of purpose and meaning to scores of people who
attend Mambourin day programs. With surprising proficiency,
many intellectually disabled people are becoming adept at
using Office Publisher to communicate ideas, create stories
and express opinions. Mambourin employees are also using
collaboration tools to provide more attentive support. With
email on smartphones and push-notifications from the job
management system, they liberate themselves from desktop
PCs, reduce risks (including attendees not taking medication
appropriately), and create best practice workflows that
sharpen day-to-day activities.
“By giving us access to latest-release software, the
program increases employment opportunities for
people with intellectual disabilities. It means that on
their first day of work – which can be very intimidating
– they have some measure of comfort in that they are
trained and working with familiar tools.”
Warren Yates, General Manager IT

17. Together SA
Impact Story
Together SA streamlines administrative work and
communication practices with Microsoft’s Office 365
for Non-profits program
Together SA ensures that communities are at the centre of
leading enduring social change. Operating across five South
Australian communities, Together SA works with community
residents, local and state government, businesses and service
providers to improve wellbeing outcomes for children. Through
their transition to a Microsoft Office 365 for Non-profits, with
assistance provided by Infoxchange, a growing Together SA
improved its efficiency in the workplace and began the process
of consolidating their disparate data.
Over six months in 2016, Together SA rapidly grew from a one-
and-a-half person operation to a 12-person fluid workforce,
with people operating in rural South Australia, outer Adelaide
and the CBD. Before their IT transition to Office 365, Together
SA’s emails were hosted on another organisation’s server,
documents were superfluously saved on both Dropbox and
Basecamp and they had no dedicated email domain. Together
SA made the decision in late 2015 to address these problems
by acquiring quotes from three IT providers, and decided on
Office 365 through Infoxchange as their solution.
However, Together SA was going through a transitional
period; a difficult time to start a project like this. As a result
of this transitional period, Jessica Attard was brought on to
manage administration, human resources, finance, information
technology and to help improve the operational culture of
the organisation.To help facilitate their transition, Together
SA purchased an Office 365 Readiness Assessment in May
2016. Facilitated by Connecting Up’s partner, Infoxchange, the
Office 365 Readiness Assessment provides a tailored report
on technical prerequisites for migration and key value-adds,
information on how to migrate and costings around moving
to Office 365 which includes establishing SharePoint and
configuring devices.
Assisted by Infoxchange, Together SA began their transition
to Office 365. Microsoft’s Office 365 program has four
different plans for not-for-profit organisations: two of these
plans are free while the other three plans have a discounted
cost per user.
Together SA opted to use the Microsoft Office 365 Nonprofit
E1 plan, with permanent staff utilising the paid Office Pro Plus
add-on while secondees, students and volunteers utilise the
Office Online features of Nonprofit E1.
From transitioning to Office 365, Together SA has lowered their
administrative burden, streamlined communication between a
geographically diverse staff, and eased collaboration between
staff, all while keeping costs to a minimum.
Together SA immediately improved their professional branding
through the use of the Nonprofit E1 plan. Office 365 allowed
Together SA to move their staff’s email domains from two
different providers (@togethersa.org.au and @gmail.com) to
a unified solution and the ability to keep and manage multiple
inboxes was also a bonus as a change in staff meant retaining
potentially lost data.
Office 365 has also been able to help improve communication
within the organisation; all staff members are now able to
access shared calendars making it easier to co-ordinate
meetings and projects. Skype for Business helps too, making it
easier for staff to stay in touch no matter where they are – vital
for a remote workforce.
With access to SharePoint, Together SA is now able to begin
the process of centralising all of their disparate data, making
it easier and faster for staff to find and save the documents
they need. The other major advantage of SharePoint will be the
ability for their staff to collaborate on documents and projects
together in real-time, no matter where they are.
The new collaboration between staff is likely to be extended to
Together SA’s external clients, the five community Leadership
Groups. These groups are up to 12-25 people consisting of
local Members, businesses, or government; state government;
service providers; and local residents, all with varying access
and experience in Office software.
“It’s all about continuity of service
and finding these little things that
make it easier for us.”
Jessica Attard, Office Coordinator

18. www.connectingup.org