Technology has enabled many individuals and institutions to bring change to the communities they care about. Civil society organizations can view that as a threat or they can evolve to take advantage of these trends and the enabling technologies. <a>This talk was given at UC Berkeley's School of Information in February, 2011.</a>

1. Using Technology for Social Change

2. A little bit about TechSoup Global

3. 1. We identify and understand NGOs.

4. 41% of the globe and 70% of its population.

5. 2. We get NGOs stuff.

6. $2B worth of technology products.

7. Answer questions from more than 400,000 unique visitors every month.

8. 3. We share the ways those organizations create change.

11. After two decades doing this work, I’ve come to believe:

12. Nongovernmental organizations are community hubs.

13. NGOs provide unique access to and insights about some of society’s most intractable issues and least visible populations.

14. But organizations must change to remain relevant.

15. And by relevant I mean: matter to and create impact in their communities.

16. But they need help.

17. And by help I mean: you.

18. But first, some trends.

19. 1. Free agents.

22. 2. Open data initiatives.

25. 3. Corporate Social Responsibility.

27. So how do NGOs need to change?

28. 1. Access.

29. The UN says:

30. “ For broadband is really an investment in an interconnected world of ideas and knowledge that can be spread in seconds from one corner of the earth to another.”

31. 2. Data.

34. 3. Innovation.

43. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.