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“And then along comes COVID, and you have a paper-based system but you’re suddenly in a world where you can’t work in an office together, or engage with donors like you normally do, or have a fundraising gala,” says Erik Arnold, the chief technology officer for Microsoft Philanthropies’ Tech for Social Impact. But since the groups generally steward their funds to prioritize the programs and services they provide above administration and overhead, many have been left behind in the increasingly digital world. alone, charitable organizations generate more than 10% of the country’s gross domestic product and employ more people than most other industries. The nonprofit sector has a significant presence. Right To Play, a charity headquartered in Toronto that uses the power of play to protect, educate and empower children in 15 countries, has been able to keep donors engaged in efforts to combat an increase in sickness, child labor and early marriage due to school shutdowns and economic hardships.Īnd HIAS, which was founded in 1881 as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and has grown over the years to serve people of all faiths who are fleeing persecution, is relying on technology to help more refugees than ever find safety around the globe. The Contingent was an early adopter of new technology, which helped it expand this year despite numerous challenges. The Contingent, the nonprofit supporting Oregon’s foster-care children and families that runs MyNeighbOR, not only managed to keep up with double the number of inquiries amid the pandemic, societal unrest in Portland and catastrophic wildfires - it even expanded and sees no signs of stopping.
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Technology is helping groups from Portland to Nairobi bridge those gaps in this critical time. Nelson’s story is a bright point in a year when nonprofit organizations are facing ballooning needs even as donors have lost jobs and stopped giving, fundraising events have been canceled, and volunteers have been stuck at home.
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But we’ve had so many blessings this year.” “It’s pretty scary, and you wonder how you’re going to get everything you need. “It’s just awesome to see people in my community do things like that for other families in need, especially with everything going on right now,” says Nelson, 31.
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And just like that, bags of groceries started magically showing up on Nelson’s doorstep, letting her and her kids stay safely indoors together. (Photo provided by The Contingent)Ī Native American Youth and Family Center advocate helped Nelson, a member of a Sioux tribe, sign up on a new platform called My NeighbOR. The Contingent’s new My NeighbOR platform connected community members in Oregon during several crises this year. She was ready for a healthy new start, but the virus meant she could no longer clean houses, babysit or even safely take her son, who was born with a rare congenital defect called Goldenhar syndrome and relies on a breathing tube, on bus rides to a crowded grocery store. The children had spent 14 months in foster care while she underwent treatment for a drug addiction.
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Samantha Nelson was just learning how to be a mother again when the pandemic sent her into lockdown with her two kids in Portland, Oregon.
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