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How Can Techies Give Back?
KReilly asks: "As the school year starts back up for me, I have been looking for a volunteer program I could work in. This year I have been considering creating my own non-profit organization, but I still lack a clear picture of what I hope to accomplish. I have read about communities wiring classrooms for the internet in California, and repairing computers donated by businesses for schools. I would like to do this, but find many schools and libraries would deny this donation since its maintenance would be too big of an investment for them and they do not want to experiment with Open Source alternatives that would lower the PC repair cost. So my question to you is how do you, as a tech, give back to society and aid in social programs? And, any information/advice you wanted to share on my original idea would be much appreciated."
I work for NPower, a nonprofit that works with other nonprofits to help them use technology. We do all sorts of things around technology: training, planning, building networks, building applications--all at heavily subsidized rates.
We also match volunteers with nonprofits that need help and don't want/can't pay consulting rates.
I don't know where you are, but there are 9 NPowers nationwide [check our site] plus a number of "sister" organizations of ours do similar work in cities we don't have a presence in, like Compumentor in San Francisco.
Check us out. Also check out N-TEN, a national membership organization of nonprofit technical assistance providers.
I'm much funnier now that I'm a subscriber.