Charity Technology Exchange - donations from Microsoft, Symantec and Cisco

There’s no doubt that effective use of technology can deliver significant benefits and this is particularly true for small voluntary organisations where any improvement in efficiency can help take the pressure off stretched resources. However, with fulfillment of your main mission clearly a primary concern, allocating funds to acquire the latest technology is often an understandably low priority.

The good news is that there’s now a way in which your organisation can get access to the latest technology in the form of a donation from some of the world’s largest technology companies; the answer?

Through the CTX Programme eligible UK Registered Charities and Charitable Housing Associations can request donated technology products from Partners such as Microsoft, Symantec and Cisco.

Eligible organisations are required to pay a small Administrative Fee to cover the costs of the programme. Whilst the Administrative Fees vary, charities will still make savings of between 92-96% on typical retail prices.

Charity Technology Exchange (CTX)

Is the brainchild of Charity Technology Trust (CTT) a six year old charity that has benefited from grant funding through CAF’s Collaborative Grant Programme. The scheme, operated in partnership with US non-profit TechSoup, enables UK registered charities to obtain a broad range of software and networking equipment through a simple application via the CTX web site. Charities pay a small fee, typically around 4% of the retail value of the donated technology, to CTT to cover the costs of running the scheme.

In practice, this means that a small charity with say 10 computers, can acquire the latest office, anti-virus, publishing and server software to equip the organisation, for around £200. The affordability of the scheme means that even the smallest organisation can afford to allocate a small amount of additional budget for help with installation and support, in order to ensure the ongoing reliability of the charity’s systems.

Nearly 2,000 charities have benefited from the scheme since it was launched in the summer of 2006. As CTT’s Chief Executive, William Hoyle says: ‘The Matthew Project and The Freeplay Foundation are typical of the organisations that have taken advantage of this programme. For small organisations, often with a budget of £100,000 a year or less, the impact of the technology donation on the way in which the organisation operates can be truly transformational.’

For more information please visit CTXs website