Slovak non-profit organizations are moving with the times, as the 1st year of the NGO Awards competition showed. Modern technology has relieved them of many outdated processes, giving them more time and energy to devote to their mission. The award for this innovativeness went to ZPP Radosť and Business Intelligence Club (publisher of Prohuman magazine). Mamila o.z. also received a special prize.
At the 10th anniversary Microsoft NGO Day educational event, the Open Society Foundation and Microsoft awarded prizes to the best and most interesting projects of non-profit organizations registered for the NGO Awards in the categories Technology for target groups and Use for self-development. Each non-profit organization has a different story and mission behind it. "Technologies fundamentally change and make work more efficient if we can control them. It is great if they also help, for example, people with disabilities or socially vulnerable groups. Another example can be education in the field of IT or coordination of volunteers," says Ján Orlovský, director of the Open Society Foundation.
Excel and Word as a therapeutic tool
His words only confirm the experience of the Radość Association of Relatives and Friends, which won the award in the category Technology for the target group. "We focus on people with mental disorders, mental disabilities and psychiatric diagnoses. We show them how they can manage ordinary life, so that they can integrate into society, but also to recognize the pitfalls of the media world and social networks," describes ZPP volunteer Radosťa Magdaléna Hrivniaková. Their clients work with Office 365 applications. In Excel, for example, they learn to draw up budgets, which gives them a sense of self-sufficiency, in Word they write resumes or job applications, and thanks to Skype they maintain contacts with friends abroad that they would otherwise have lost.
In the Use for personal development category, the Business Intelligence Club was awarded. The organization supports education and information sharing in all areas of social work and conducts research in sports, school or youth facilities that provide social and health services. "Our members have regular jobs and work in the club on a non-profit basis. Office 365 allowed us a higher form of communication, we don't have to send data to each other, which brings us comfort and security, saves our time and money. OneDrive has become a storage, so we don't need external drives, we don't lose files and we don't have a problem with document conversions," explains Ján Báhidský from the Business Intelligence Club.
A special prize within the NGO Awards was given to the civil association Mamila, where they provide help, advice and support to breastfeeding mothers. "We use technology to create training materials, we prepare articles, invitations to events, as well as professional presentations for health professionals. Outlook allows us to effectively monitor, filter and archive emails, which we receive around 1000 per month. A mother who writes to us receives an answer to her question in a short time and can solve her problem, which is excellent," adds lactation consultant Daniela Barbosová.
Efficient and modern non-profit organization
Several projects entered the 1st edition of the NGO Awards, and the winners were able to present their solutions to 60 other non-profit organizations during the NGO Day in Bratislava. This time, the NGO Day interactive event focused on modern technologies and trends that non-profit organizations can use in their work and missions. "We hope that the winners of the first year of this inspiring competition will motivate their colleagues in the third sector and all those who help where needed. We will be happy if they try new applications, software or devices to make their work easier and more efficient," commented Ján Orlovský, director of the Open Society Foundation.
More information can be found at: http://ngoday.osf.sk/