A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post to address some frequently asked questions about Windows 7 that opened with a plea for patience and understanding as our customer service reps work to dig out for the overwhelming demand for the new operating system. I'm gonna take a minute to expand on that request a bit.

Ya see, TechSoup is a nonprofit. I've spent my whole adult career working for nonprofits that I believe do pretty darn good jobs of serving the needs of their communities, providing valuable services, advocating and educating on behalf of important policy decisions, and do all around good work for the world. TechSoup is high on that list from my vantage point. If you don't believe me, check out the reach and impact we've had from 2008 alone. As much as we might want to be like Amazon.com, where you jettison through an order and get your package delivered the next day, it just doesn't work that way for TechSoup. And I'll explain why.

First, we don't "sell" the products listed on our site. We are the conduit via which those for-profit companies listed on our site distribute donated products to nonprofits and libraries. With being that conduit, we have a whole host of guidelines we need to follow to ensure that each organization that applies for a donated or discounted product actually meets the eligibility requirements set by the donor partner.

That means, we need to take all the info you give us when registering your organization, then get your IRS tax determination letter to confirm that you're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or a public library. Then, Adobe or Symantec can say that they want their donations to only go to organizations that work with, say, youth or homelessness. We need to sort through all of that in order to determine if your organization is actually eligible — based on those restrictions — to receive that donation. All that info is fed into a system that matches your organization type to which donated products you may be eligible to receive. Even if you're already registered, we still need to make sure the items you're requesting aren't exceeding any limits the donor partner sets and that you still qualify for an item you may have received two years ago (since our partners can change their restrictions at any time).

"The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit." - Moliere

Some of my favorite calls that come in to TechSoup's customer service start with something like "I've read the program information and restrictions about the products on your website but since this is my first time placing a request I'd like to make sure I'm doing everything right!" I know the feeling. There's a lot of information to understand and absorb, and decisions to be made when requesting donated and discounted products through TechSoup.

I have experienced working in a number of unique and cutting-edge environments and with "unique and cutting-edge" there is always a bit of a learning curve and TechSoup is no exception.

Sure, you can go to a retail store and buy whatever you want whenever if you have the money and you can usually return it if the boss says "No. Not THAT one. That OTHER one." But of course you are paying full retail price for these products. At TechSoup, nonprofits and public libraries have an opportunity to request products through specific discount and donation programs — so you should really know what you want as well as the ins and outs of the partner program BEFORE you submit a request.

Today I'd like to highlight the layout of our Partner and Product pages — both of which have a lot of helpful information for nonprofits and libraries who may be requesting donations through TechSoup.

Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month? Agility Recovery Solutions, a disaster recovery specialist, together with FEMA, is hosting a series of weekly webinars this month. Readers and followers of TechSoup are no doubt familiar with our resources on disaster planning and recovery, and Agility's webinars introduce some interesting topics as well such as "Pandemic Planning: How to Prepare your Business for the Upcoming Flu Season" with a former associate Chief Medical Officer from the Department of Homeland Security on September 16, and "Social Media: What Role Does It Play in Business Preparedness" with a Public Information Officer from FEMA on Sept 23. The free webinars are also archived in case you can't make those times.

Photo: Robert Thomson, CC license

If you are a small to medium-sized nonprofit, why should you care about cloud computing? Because it can save you time, money and help spare the environment.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Here is how the CyberOptic Group describes it:

Essentially, cloud computing enables computer software and hardware resources to be accessed over the Internet without the need to have any detailed or specific knowledge of the infrastructure used to deliver the resources, much like a utility model. You really don't need to know what the phone company or electric company does on there end to enable calls and allow the lights to go on when you flip the switch; and, you really don't want to know as long as when you plug into it, it works.

I bet many of you are using a form of cloud computing without knowing it. Current examples are Gmail, Yahoo mail, Google Docs, Salesforce, and Microsoft Office Live Workspace. They are often called Software as a Service (SaaS). A company provides access to their software applications over the Internet and you access it through your web-browser. If you are using email hosted by a company, like one of those mentioned above, you and your staff don't have to manage an in-house email server like Exchange. You simply sign up for the accounts and all the back-end stuff is handled for you.

In April, I blogged about the NPower and Accenture survey of nonprofits and technology and encouraged people to respond. Well, thanks to everyone who participated. More than 1000 nonprofits responded and the results and analysis are in!

You can check out the full report (PDF) on NPower's site but here are some key highlights I think are interesting for others in the nptech community:

Heather Carpenter's Nonprofit Leadership 601 blog posted a list of resources for people who are new to the field of nonprofit technolology.

This post lists books, reports, Web sites, blogs, and conferences that nonprofit techies — and not just those newbies — should know about.

We're happy that TechSoup is listed right at the top of the list. Feel free to add your favorite nonprofit tech resources to the list by way of commenting on the post.

Photo: Neil T

From our colleagues at NPower and Accenture. By the way, three people who complete the survey will be chosen at random and will win an iPod Shuffle so get on it today!

In an effort to get a fresh sense of what software is being used daily amongst nonprofits across the country and to understand nonprofit satisfaction with these options NPower and Accenture have joined together to put out a Community Technology Survey. The survey aims to identify not only which applications are in use, but the patterns of use and what drives selection.

• Read more

A couple weeks back, IntraHealth International — a supporter of TechSoup Global — launched a terrific new collaboration with great music artists, technologists, and health care workers in order to further benefit programs for urgent health needs in Africa.

The InterHealth OPEN Initiative has brought together a cadre of famous artists including Youssou N'Dour, Nas, Peter Buck from R.E.M. (a fav of mine), Duncan Sheik, and others to help raise awareness and support of putting open-source software technologies directly in the hands of health care and aid workers around the globe.

Pape Gaye, IntraHealth's CEO explains the Initiative best:

The IntraHealth OPEN Initiative will foster a new generation of technology professionals, eHealth workers, and national leaders who understand, use, and support open technologies to improve health," said IntraHealth's CEO Pape Gaye.

Open source technologies let us address health challenges collaboratively with African developers in the lead," said N'Dour. "If we invest in open source development training in Africa we will be supporting self-sufficient health professionals able to use technology and customize programs to address their critical health challenges.

TechSoup Global is proud to be part of the OPEN Council in support of this truly important work to improve public health around the world through better use of technology. Check out this YouTube video starring Youssou N'Dour and other artists participating in the charity album to learn more.

NTEN is running a survey on nonprofit IT salaries. They describe it as follows:

As a sector, we spend little time considering the investments that nonprofits make in information technology (IT). Yet, no organization today would be successful without any investments in technology. It is an area that raises questions that are difficult for any organization to answer on their own:

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Three ways to be a hero.

The Second Life Event April 26th will celebrate the launch of:

• Windows Server 2008
• Visual Studio 2008
• SQL Server 2008