Wired Causes

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Originally posted on my blog at AmySampleWard.org - join the conversation and comment on the original post, too!

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Aashika Damodar & collaborative technology for social impact

Every day I field questions from organizations and community groups looking to use facebook, Twitter or YouTube.. Most all of these groups are excited and enthusiastic but are coming from the wrong direction: focusing on the tools first. Our programs, services, and campaigns are successful, instead, when we focus on the community first, and that’s why Aashika Damodar’s work impresses and inspires me.

Survivors Connect is an organization supporting activists and building survivor advocacy networks using collaborative technologies to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Aashika, the founder and executive director, starting learning about and looking for ways to support the community of survivors when she was studying Anthropology and Political Science at University of California, Berkeley: “When I was in college, I learned of a labor/sex trafficking case right across from my dorm. I myself was also almost a human trafficking victim for the purpose of forced marriage in India. By that point, the issue of gender-based violence and trafficking had crept into so many facets of my life, prompting me to make it my life’s work to end it.”

Building programs and services to support a community means not just learning about the problems they face, but understanding how technologies can help make a difference. Aashika admits to being “a big tech-enthusiast by hobby” and she “found that the anti-slavery movement was lacking in terms of participation in this field, as well as innovation.” According to Aashika, “It is these very same technologies that often enable transnational human trafficking; so I felt that I needed to get involved in this way to make our activism smarter, and innovate on both the “process” and “product/software” frontlines.”

The Survivors Connect online platform includes various opportunities for those wishing to report abuse, take action, or otherwise support the network of activists, and relies on a variety of collaborative technologies, from data mapping to online seminars, SMS-powered communications to an online community network. Different regions around the global have a very different level of access than those in North America or Western Europe. Recognizing which tools are available to your community can make the biggest impact on your project’s success.

“It has always been quite interesting to me that in many parts of the developing world, there is near ubiquitous ownership of mobile phones,” explained Aashika. “Here is really where the innovative thinking began. Communication tech, in a sense, is shrinking us as groups while increasing our ability to connect. Why not use this to work on preventing some of the most egregious human rights abuses in the world?”

Taking advantage of mobile technology, Survivors Connect created SMS: Freedom which connects individuals and communities with experts and resources via text messages. In this way, information about scams or risks can easily be distributed to communities, or reports can be shared throughout the network.

“The experiences and stories of survivors were and always are my call to action,” Aashika told me. “They are the strongest souls Ive ever met. Survivors of various forms of slavery give us a glimpse of how the broader crime of human trafficking works, and just how much is involved.” And it isn’t just Aashika that survivors are inspiring; through Freedom Connect all members of the global network fighting slavery and human trafficking are invited to create profiles, share calendars, create groups, share resources and join together in discussions.

Most importantly to the success of Aashika’s work, is her ability to remember that it is not about the tools. Survivors Connect is not just an online platform and network working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking, but a place to continue to learn and inspire—the technology is simply a tool for letting us connect and communicate. “We will not win the fight against slavery and human trafficking with egos, but with open and understanding hearts and minds.”

>> Learn more about Aashika and Survivors Connect today: http://www.survivorsconnect.org

In 2008, Aashika graduated from the University of California, Berkeley; she is now working on her Masters in Philosophy in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK where she’s a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Her honors thesis from UCBerkeley won the Ronald Frankenberg Prize and the Sylvia Forman Prize from the American Anthropological Association; it was also published in the 2010 Project Censored Journal.

How you can create an online collaboration space!

Working people and communities around the world can make sharing information and even just communicating a difficult task. Like Survivors Connect, maybe you want to share the stories and work from your community. There are various tools available, though, that make public networks or even private collaboration easy and efficient.

Top Tools for Collaboration

What do you want to do together? The tool to try: Just communicate by email, privately Google Groups is a free tool to create an email group that is private or public Share stories and updates, sometimes photos or videos, publicly Wordpress is an open source blogging platform that lets you have any number of authors Create an online network with options for profiles, diverse content, and multiple communication options Ning allows you to build your own public or private online network with various pricing options

Tips for Collaboration Online

If you want to replicate some of Aashika’s success bringing people together online, here are the top 5 tips you need to keep in mind:

• Evaluate your Community: where are they, what kind of access do they have, and what are they looking to do?
• Evaluate your Capacity: how much time do you have, what kind of technical experience do you have, what resources are available?
• Evaluate your Goals: what do you and the community want to accomplish, what do you want to do today and what do you want to do in a year?
• Try Something First: don’t be afraid to jump in and give a new tool a try; if it doesn’t fit your needs, then move on!
• Build on Success: if something is really working, analyze what it is and why to see if

The 5th Annual DoGooder Video Awards are off to a record start with over 1,350 videos from over 800 organizations - that’s a lot of tear-inducing, action-starting, video storytelling! Now comes the hard part: voting. Along with the other partners, See3 Communications and YouTube are hoping that you can vote now and vote often to help select the winners!

How to Vote

Public voting is open on  until Monday, March 14th at http://www.youtube.com/nonprofitvideoawards.

• Log into your YouTube account.
• Visit the contest website here.
• Vote “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on each video by the end of March 14th.
• Tune in to YouTube on March 19th to see the 4 winners’ videos on the YouTube homepage!

And a couple rules: You must be logged into your YouTube account for votes to be registered; Vote as must as you like, but only one vote, per person, per video, per day will be counted; Winners are identified by the highest number of green thumbs minus red thumbs.

See3 and YouTube will announce the winners live at the NTC and the YouTube homepage on March 19th.

Why Vote

What? You need more reason to get involved beyond the obvious two (procrastinating on the end-of-week reports, and getting inspired in one0minute bursts)? Well, fine. Your votes will make the final cut for which organizations win a whole lot of prizes, including: four $2500 grants from Case Foundation, video cameras from Flip Video, a free registration to next year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference provided by NTEN, plus all the oooing-and-awwwing from all of us in the crowd at the NTC when the winners are announced!

Plus, watching these submissions and voting on your favorites may just inspire you to go make next year’s winning video!

For full contest details, visit: http://www.see3.net/dogooder.

As you may have seen posted at the beginning of this month, I’m about to embark on the next adventure. But, before I get to that, I want to say thank you. All that has happened in the last two and half years has truly been a community-driven effort and I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to be part of the team helping this community achieve so much!

Thank you!

I am completely overwhelmed by the positive, kind, touching things that so many community members have shared about the work we have all done together during my time with NetSquared and TechSoup Global over the last two and a half years. A huge thank you to all those who participated in the #ThanksAmy meme (on the blog, on Twitter, or on facebook), and especially to my friend and NetSquared Local organizer Ivan Boothe for starting the meme after my departure was first announced, and to Claire and Laney for taking it to the next level.

I want to thank Daniel, Rebecca, and Marnie - the TSG co-CEOs. All of them bring such unique perspective to the organization and the sector. Their vision and leadership supported me in the belief that we can actually change the world.

A huge thank you goes to Billy. He brought me on board when our team was just a few people, spread around the world. We worked closely together for 6 months before we even met in person - and even then he kept me around! I am so thankful for the opportunity to have dreamed together and collaborated on community-driven projects around the world. I know we will continue inspiring each other and finding ways to bring our work together.

A thank you to Claire for all her hard work, passion, and dedication. It was really my pleasure to work with you and support you in your ever-expanding role on the team. I hope I never felt like your “boss” but only your teammate, friend, and co-conspirator!<

A thank you to so many others, too! Too many to list! All those on the CDI team; Laney, Anna, Sarah, Jim, Aletha, Alicja, and Ana. All those working on other TS community projects; Susan, Megan, Jessica, Evonne, Kristy and others. To those working on content and knowledge sharing with Lea, Shab, Elliot, Becky and many others. To all those that I had the distinct pleasure to work with in England (William, Richard, Sarah and others), Romania (Chris, Ruxandra, Zoltan and others) and Poland (Nick, Kris, Adam, Svetlana, Ellen, and others).

And a huge thank you to all those in the TechSoup Global office in SF and those in Partner organizations around the world. You are all part of a really amazing effort to equip this world with the technology and the knowledge needed to make transformation. Thank you for letting me be a part of it!

My Next Steps

Ever since Ivan started the #thanksamy meme a few weeks ago, I’ve had quite a few DMs or emails asking what exactly I’ll be doing next. I’m quite excited to share that I won’t be going far!

Starting tomorrow, I’ll join the team at NTEN as the Membership Director. I’m really excited that I will continue to be in a position to listen to and support the nonprofit technology sector and enthusiastic about the opportunities to co-design programs, services, and resources that deepen our collective capacity and push us forward to make lasting change.

You can still find me here on the NetSquared blog as well as my personal blog; and you can still find me on twitter at @amyrsward. I will also continue hosting the monthly Community Builder chats and hope you’ll join!

If you’re planning to attend the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference in DC this March, please get in touch as I’d love to connect with you in person!

The DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards, from See3, in partnership with YouTube, are back again for the 5th year! The Awards are open for submissions from members of the YouTube Nonprofit Program until March 2nd.

This year, winners will again have the chance to win one of four $2500 grants generously provided by the Case Foundation, awesome video cameras from Flip Video, a free registration to next year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference provided by NTEN and more. For small nonprofits that have small funds in the video department, we have a new category for the best “thrifty” videos produced for under $500. And… wait for it: the winning videos will be announced at this year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference hosted by NTEN and featured on YouTube’s homepage in March. (The YouTube part is sort of like having your nonprofit video seen during the Super Bowl.) Learn more about the contest guidelines and how to submit your video!

Over the last two weeks, we have posted parts 1 and 2 in a 3-part series, sharing some of our observations and planning concepts, and hoping to gather feedback and ideas from you. The first part in the series focused on Local and Gloal and the second highlighted opportunities to Expand our Impact. This week, we want to examine the ideas and framing for a Network Narrative - a topic we really think you can help with! As we share our early thinking about these areas of our work, we hope you’ll help to shape our thinking and direction by sharing your ideas, feedback and questions in the comments, or directly with us at net2@techsoup.org

Creating a Compelling Narrative

There’s lots going on and lots to talk about - whether it’s Project ideas that emerge and change the world, or Local groups that create the first opportunity to share and collaborate in diverse regions around the world. So, how do we pull it all together into a compelling narrative? One for funders vs one for techies, one for activists and one for organizations, and beyond? What’s the story that supports our work? And, from a strategic development perspective, maybe we need to further explore the difference between the overarching narrative and the various stories that support it and match the different groups within the network. Your story is the one we want to tell and we would love to hear how you see the NetSquared programs helping you change the world!

We are so thankful to have members willing to make time to share, ask questions, and dream with us. And we are so thankful to community members like you who share your ideas here! We are looking forward to continuing this conversation and can’t wait to see what ideas you share.

Some questions to get you started:

• What is the story you see of this sector and your work?
• How can we capture a compelling narrative that empowers you to get involved?
• How would you tell the NetSquared story - how are the community-driven programs helping you change the world?

For 23 years, TechSoup Global has been working to build networks—networks of organizations that need technology support, networks of corporations that are willing to donate their products, networks of funders interested in building the capacity of civil society, and networks of technical volunteers. In the last six years, we have built two formal networks—one of more than 24,000 on-the-ground technology activists via our NetSquared initiative; and the other of capacity-building organizations, capable of delivering technology solutions to other NGOs in 35 countries around the world. At TSG, we see that we have reached a critical point: a place where our reach, our programs, our partners and our contributors can come together to develop and deliver solutions to the entire sector, worldwide, or, at the local level, to one innovative organization at a time.

The TechSoup Global Contributors’ Summit, taking place next week, will be the place where opportunity and action meet. Representatives of our networks and other affinity groups (funders, corporate donors, social media experts, capacity-building organizations and other social change technologists) will convene at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus to participate in two days of programming focused on provoking discussion about how these networks, and the capabilities that power them, can be effectively leveraged to create greater impact. We will especially focus on welding together product donations, data services and human capacity to help build truly resilient civil society, both in the wake of a disaster like Haiti’s and in the developing (as well as the developed) countries of the world.

Over the next week, participants will begin introducing themselves and the ideas they want to explore through posts on the blog. You can follow these posts as well as any notes and other posts that emerge from the sessions next week by following the TSG2011 tag.

Stay tuned for introductions and highlights from the Summit!

Over the last two and a half years, I’ve had a great opportunity and a whole lot of fun working to build community around the world at the intersection of technology and social change through the NetSquared program and TechSoup Global’s partner network. From my contribution in helping to expand the reach and depth of the NetSquared Local network from 18 groups to 79 (in 25 countries!), to launching the NetSquared Camps model, and collaborating on regional events like The Local Philanthropy Workshop, to supporting the other community programs across TechSoup.org, I have met incredible changemakers, entrepreneurs creating tools that will change our world, and emerging leaders with the passion to support communities of all sizes. Needless to say, it’s been a whirlwind and a real adventure!

At the end of the month, I will be leaving TechSoup Global for the next chapter in my work. I will not, however, be leaving this community! After March 1st, I will continue organizing the NetSquared New York City group, and be part of the Local organizer network. I will also continue to collaborate with the Community-Driven Innovation team (Billy, Claire and Laney especially) on various projects and ideas.

This means, though, that I’m looking to ensure the team has an excited, talented, passionate community development manager to pick up the reins! My role covered a lot of ground and shifted from program planning and long-term visions to day-to-day operations and program implementation on a daily basis. There’s communications, research, strategic planning, and community building all wrapped up together. It’s a unique position that needs a unique skill set - and a unique person.

If you’re interested in learning more about the various opportunities to contribute to building communities working at the the intersection of nonprofit-tech and civil society, please let Billy Bicket know how you imagine contributing to the growth, impact and sustainability of the NetSquared community, and why you’re the person for the job. You can reach him at billyb @ billybicket.com. (Stay tuned for a formal job description in the week to come.)

Last week we started a 3-part series, sharing some of our observations and planning concepts, and hoping to gather feedback and ideas from you. The first part in the series focused on Local and Gloal - if you missed it, please do check it out and let us know what you think! This week, we want to focus on expanding and evaluating impact - a topic we really think you can help with! As we share our early thinking about these areas of our work, we hope you’ll help to shape our thinking and direction by sharing your ideas, feedback and questions in the comments, or directly with us at net2@techsoup.org

Expanding our Impact

We like to pay attention: to what the community is up to, to what’s working and what isn’t, and what we all might like to try. We also like to share what we notice and think. Some of that has very real implications: like changing up the early model of an annual conference to instead provide more opportunities to Local organizers with the Camps model. We have had our brains spinning with opportunities to further extend the platform for the community to step up and shine, including:

• Making Camps bigger and better: Let’s get the regional events out to more cities and more countries! (see some of our learnings from the Pilot)
• Expanding Challenges: What if the Challenge platform could be deployed at the Local level and with more partners? (share your feedback on the Camps + Challenges idea)
• Peer Mentorship: The Local organizers are filled with experiences and knowledge to share, there’s definite opportunity to facilitate mentorship city-to-city and around the world.

There are far more ideas out there to extend our programs and impact, and provide more opportunities for the community; if you have recommendations or ideas, let us know!

Some questions to get you started:

• Which programs do you think could grow without us, and which need more support?
• What lessons have you learned in extending your impact and exanding your work?
• Where should we start?

Do you ever wonder whether your current phone system is best suited for your needs? With the new technologies available, perhaps there is a system out there that is less expensive and more robust. With all the acronyms like VoIP, vPBX, UC, and POTS, who can understand all the options?

Attend this free webinar and hear from Matt Bauer, CEO of BetterWorld Telecom. He will discuss:

• How to assess and evaluate what you have
• Give options for different size orgs
• How do you make a decision and total cost of ownership
• Set up and what do you need
• Ongoing costs
• What to do with your old phones

We will also tell you about the new BetterWorld Telecom donation through TechSoup, as well as GIPS PC Handset and Speaker Switch for VoIP.

Do you have a question or comment about telecom you’d like our hosts to cover? Post it to our Community Forums; and we’ll make sure your question gets addressed!

Details

• Date: Thursday, February 3rd
• Time: 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
• Topic: Is it time to upgrade your phone system?
• Register: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/ug9shp2vran4

Like so many people working on projects focused on the issues, technologies and strategies that help strengthen communities, we spent the end of 2010 reflecting on our findings (check out the year-in-review post series). As we dash forward with our plans for 2011, the NetSquared team would like to begin a dialogue with our users around the evolution of the NetSquared initiative.

Recent conversations with community members surfaced three key topics that we’ll be exploring in a series of posts over the coming weeks: The Inter-Play Between Local & Global Programs, Expanding & Evaluating Impact, and Developing a Compelling Network Narrative.

As we share our early thinking about these areas of our work, we hope you’ll help to shape our thinking and direction by sharing your ideas, feedback and questions in the comments, or directly with us at net2@techsoup.org

The Interplay Between Local & Global Networks

From our perspective, there are a few primary ways to develop programs: Top-down; Bottom-up or a hybrid approach that aims to strike a balance between the two.

• Top-down: The organization determines the content, activities and plans, then distributes the plan to members to implement. (For example, a company with various locations, like Starbucks)
• Bottom-up: The organization creates a platform for local community to organize themselves around the actions, content and plans that are most valuable to them. (For example, Crisis Commons)
• Hybrid: Mixing the strengths of top-down and bottom-up with focus on striking a balance between needs of local participants, the global network and the NetSquared program. (For example, Wikipedia’s strategic plan process.)

With all of NetSquared’s programming (the NetSquared Blog, Local and Camps - LINKS), from the outset, we have been deliberate about designing a hybrid approach to our work for a number of reasons. We feel that our unique position in the world as a convener, aggregator and delivery mechanism for both informational assets and tools, coupled with the relational capital at TechSoup Global, provides us with a strong position for creating a framework for networks and communities of practice to flourish.

Local Planning

The above logic drives our approach to local events (built on the success of the “Meetup” and Barcamp models) and provides local volunteers to self-organize, design, and reuse any number of NetSquared’s global assets and resources to the benefit of their communities. In recent weeks, we’ve been designing plans for local and regional event activities for 2011 including:

NetSquared Local - Support another round of content swarms to build out the Organizer Handbook, develop peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and support, and plan for regional training opportunities.

NetSquared Camps - Hold more events, in more countries while building in the option for a local Challenge (learn more and share your feedback on the announcement post).

The Interplay Between Local & Global Programs

Currently, most of the interplay between local and global programs requires intermediaries (our team) to relay stories, opportunities, resources and content back and forth between organizers and communities with those managing TechSoup Global as well as partners, sponsors, and funders. What if we could get out of the way? No one likes a bottleneck or a gatekeeper, but we definitely don’t need more information without context, either. As much as we want to create systems and opportunities for NetSquared Local organizers to support each other directly, we also want it to be just as easy and just as accessible for Local organizers to better define what’s needed and what’s developing in the community with national and global funders and other organizations.

We would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations about our thinking, our approach and the interplay between the local and global level of our work.

Some questions to get you started:

• What do you think about the collaborative design - how would you modify or improve it?
• Where can we improve or change?
• How would you design for local communities to connect at the global level?