Our fellow nonprofit capacity builder, Executive Service Corps (ESC) escwa.org, in collaboration with the United Way of King County, is recruiting volunteer technology consultants for database and other small scale technology projects with local food banks and feeding programs to amplify their use of volunteers.

Up to 5 consultants are needed for projects requiring 6-10 hours a month between July and the end of September. If you are interested in volunteering please go to escwa.org/volunteer and sign up.

Ann-Marie Archer of the CIO Council speaks at Powerful Connections 2010

I saw some puzzled faces in the audience at our recent Powerful Connections breakfast when we referred to our CIO Council,  and I’ve heard questions since like “What is a CIO?” and “What does the Council do?” So I asked Amanda Hatch, our Director of Services, to help me out with this quick FAQ on the Council. By the way, the Council is open to new members. To volunteer to serve on the Council, contact our Executive Director, Alison Carl White at alisonw@npowerseattle.org.

What is the CIO Council?

We believe there is a wonderful opportunity to engage high level technical people to help us put technology know-how in the hands of nonprofits. NPower’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council is made up of senior executives with technical expertise. NPower is benefiting from the perspectives of people who are passionate about how technology can be used to make organizations more effective and would like to see technology applied to the nonprofit sector.

Founded in 2009, NPower Seattle’s CIO Council is picking up momentum with representatives on board from Paccar, Seattle Bank, Accenture, Point B, The Gates Foundation and other local companies.

What does the CIO Council do?

The Council’s mission is to

• provide thought leadership to NPower staff on new innovations and best practices in the IT field
• advise the NPower team on the design and development of NPower’s service offerings, and
• assist NPower in the overall success of its strategies, programs and solutions.

Over the next several months,  the Council will be lending resources to NPower to help build a sustainable discovery process, to aid NPower in meeting our newly defined strategic direction. 

Join the Council
We look for people with wide networks in technology to leverage contacts and information sharing. This Council is a great opportunity to network with technical peers and to use your skills to help the community. If you are a CIO and would like to help the nonprofit community, please contact our Executive Director, Alison Carl White at alisonw@npowerseattle.org.

Learn more about the CIO Council
Visit the CIO Council page on our website to see the list of current Council members.

While volunteers can be a great resource for maintaining or updating technology at nonprofits, they also can present unique challenges for nonprofit staff. We usually spend some time whenever we are helping a nonprofit set up a volunteer project to make sure that it is set up in a way attractive for modern volunteers, but that is only the beginning of making sure that the relationship works well.

Our colleagues at TechSoup recently updated their great manual for helping nonprofits use volunteers effectively on technology related projects. This is a great resource for anyone considering recruiting tech volunteers.

I wrote up a tip sheet on this theme a while back that may also be helpful for nonprofits considering volunteers for a tech project. The NPower tip sheet is something that I wrote up as I first started coordinating our volunteer program here, and is advice based around what I was seeing from the projects posted to our site.

If  you are looking to recruit a tech volunteer, consider NPower’s Volunteer Matching Service. Open to all members, this program allows nonprofits to post tech projects to our website to be reviewed by our volunteers. We do not have any opportunities currently posted, so your project will have their undivided attention. Here you can learn more about this program and post a project. Feel free to email me at volunteer@npowerseattle.org if you would like to talk about the program.

Interested in hearing about new trainings, recent nonprofit Web site launches, opportunities to work or volunteer at NPower and the latest on our 5th Annual Nonprofit Technology event? We’d love to share the news and hear from you on Facebook.

Become a fan on our Facebook page!

Join TechSoup on Thursday, December 10th for their webinar on assistive technology:

Assistive Technology for Public Computers
Thursday, December 10, 11 a.m. Pacific time

Are you concerned about creating computer access for everyone? If so, you may want to consider using assistive technology. Not sure what that is or how it’s applicable to a public computer setting? This is the webinar for you! Kami Griffiths from TechSoup will interview Jane Vincent from the Center for Accessible Technology. We will discuss hardware and software solutions, their costs, and what it takes to get started.

This webinar is ideal for anyone who manages or volunteers in a public computer center in a library, housing development, or social service agency, but it’s also applicable to IT managers looking to better address staff needs.

Register now!