We are an HIV medical research nonprofit that seeks and identifies
promising HIV therapies that are not of interest to pharmaceutical
comapianies (we can do this because we are driven by mission, not by
markets). We currently employee just under 20 people, in a Macintosh
technology envrionment. Because we want donor dollars to serve our
mission, we have neglected our technology infrastructure, but could
update the entire workplace with Emacs and two servers for under
$20,000. We have located several foundations and operations that fund
technology for operations. Most are for PC environments. Our
minimimal needs are for one emac per employee -- we have software
donations largely lined up -- running OSX 10.2 or greater. What are
our best bets for funding an upgrade of our ragtag mix of Mac legacy
systems to an economical shop of Emacs running OSX, with a couple of
compatible servers? Foundations, Companies, suggestions appreciated.
Could you tell me your city and state, or just state? This would help
in the search. Thanks.
Hello -
Thank you for your question. Please ask for any clarification you may
require prior to rating this answer. Thank you.
I spoke with a few organizations, two of which are the non-profit
technology enterprise network (N-TEN) (n-ten.org) and NPower
(npower.org) -- both are concerned with nonprofit technology funding
matters. Representatives from both organizations concur that most
foundations are not typically going to grant funds solely to upgrade
computer equipment. They are primarily interested in advancing a
company's primary programs, in which technology upgrades may be
necessary to carry out. For example:
"In order to properly research the effect of XYZ drug on HIV, we need
to model the drug's interaction with the virus at the molecular level.
This necessitates the use of a molecular modeling software
application that, at present, our organization's technological
infrastructure is incapable of supporting. We're writing to seek
financial assistance in this matter..."
Your best course of action to take is in identifying grant-making
foundations in your field that would be willing to further your
organization's purpose on a general level. In terms of the technology
platform issue (a la Mac vs. PC), N-TEN and NPower say that
foundations are more interested in the end product rather than the
nitty gritty issues of hardware/software implementation, so this
shouldn't be an issue in most cases.
With that in mind, a perfect resource to find applicable grant-making
foundations is through The Foundation Center's (http://fdncenter.org/)
"Foundation Directory," available at this link:
http://fconline.fdncenter.org/
Two sources I spoke to said that this may be available at your local library.
Through their website they have several levels of subscription
offerings, beginning at $19.95 (or $29.95) per month (you'd most
likely only need one month's access). This service is a goldmine for
grant-seekers looking to obtain information on funding sources. It
allows you to search for specific companies in several categories
based on various criteria, such as funding history, total assets, etc.
You can take an interactive tour of the service through this link:
http://fdncenter.org/learn/classroom/fdo_tour/fdo01.html
Ironically, the tour's example search takes you through a few menus to
find a Florida-based foundation specializing in funding AIDS/HIV
research-oriented companies:
The Campbell Foundation
http://members.aol.com/campfound/
5975 North Federal highway, #126
Ft. Lauderdale Florida, FL. 33308
954.493.8822 / fax: 954.493.8801
The Campbell Foundation was established as a nonprofit private
foundation in 1986 by the late Richard Campbell Zahn. It was Mr.
Zahn's wish that his foundation support other nonprofit organizations
conducting clinical research into the prevention and treatment of
HIV/AIDS, and related conditions and illnesses. The focus of the
Campbell Foundation's funding lies in alternative, nontraditional
avenues of research. Our Board of Directors remains dedicated to
pursuing Mr. Zahn's original goals. 1995 was the Foundation's first
year of substantial funding. (visit site for additional information,
incl. grant applications).
--
Guidestar's Grant Explorer(tm) is another similar resource for finding
foundations:
http://www.guidestar.org/services/ge.jsp
"Research more than 42,000 of the nation's largest foundations and
more than 1,400,000 grants of $5,000 or greater."
The database contains:
* Organization name
* Address
* EIN
* Total assets
* Total grants awarded
* Average grant size
* Dollar amount approved for future payment
* Officers?board members
* Guidelines?contact name, application format, submission deadlines
* State Breakdown?percentage of grant money by state
* Program Breakdown?percentage of grant money according to the 8 major NTEE codes
* Grants?a listing of all grants awarded, arranged alphabetically
within each fiscal year
It has a slightly higher starting monthly rate, however -- $49.
--
I found an organization called Tech Foundation, "a Cambridge-based,
nonprofit organization that delivers technology, expertise and capital
to help nonprofit organizations serve humanity. Tech Foundation
envisions a world where nonprofit organizations can access the same
resources to serve humanity that businesses use to create wealth." I
spoke with a representative named Kathleen, who informed me that they
are about to close on a round of funding within the next couple weeks
that your organization could potentially get in on. The amount would
be for $15,000, with no partiality to IBM or Mac-based systems. You
will have to move on it quickly to participate, though:
Tech Foundation
http://www.techfoundation.org
TechFoundation, Inc.
20 University Rd.
6th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
Main Line: 617 354 7500
--
It may be worth visiting the Technology Funders Collaborative website;
this organization's mission is "to collaborate as grantmakers across
sectors to advance knowledge, advocate best practices and fund
projects that use information and communication technology to
strengthen nonprofits and improve the lives of communities and people
worldwide." All of their members are technology funders, some of
which may be worth pursuing:
http://www.techfunders.org/info/membership.htm
--
Here is an article on the topic of grant making and seeking:
Enabling Technology Funding:
Issues for Grantmakers (and Grantseekers)
http://npo.net/nponet/computer/ETF_overview.htm
--
Additional links:
In the event you choose to seek out higher amounts of funding, you can
hire a paid consultant to do the job:
http://www.fundraisingweb.org/listings/capconsultants.htm
Select search strategy:
nonprofit tech OR technology funding
This is all terrific information, some new, and some correcting our
course a bit. One specific question: Apple itself, unlike other
computer companies, seems to be stingy in the noneducational nonprofit
market. Is that an accurate assessment?
(To answer your first question, we are in Los Angeles.)
Otherwise, a five star answer, to be sure.
Thank you for the rating.
Looks like the bulk of funding information on the Apple website is
concerned with Education (as seen by search results for "nonprofit,"
"funding" or "grants").
This link says indeed that Apple did give to nonprofits back in 1987:
http://www.savetz.com/ku/ku/applelink_grants_to_nonprofits_april_1987.html
"Under the Community Affairs program, Apple Corporate Grants awards
computer systems to nonprofit social service and arts groups. Awards
are made in five categories: the arts, the disabled, citizen action,
research and development,and innovation challenge (innovative uses of
computers in the nonprofit sector). Groups are working in such areas as
housing, substance abuse, the needs of the elderly, and refugeeism.
Guidelines require, among other things, that groups be classified as
501(c)3 by the IRS, have full-time paid staff, maintain regular office
hours, and have annual budgets of less than $500,000."
According to this link at nonprofits.org, looks as though "Apple
Community Affairs" limited giving to education at one point several
years ago (1995):
Is it possible to get computer equipment donated?
http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/05/05.html
A search of Apple Community Affairs on Google yielded this link:
www2.apple.com/communityaffairs/default.html
which appears to be dead.
To answer your question, seems like it may be true that Apple is not
giving to nonprofits any longer, but this is just an inference. For
more information you can contact Apple HQ at (408) 996-1010.
jbf777
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