Updated programme expands eligibility and access to technology

28th July 2011 Microsoft Corporation today announced updates to its software donations programme to make it easier for charities to get access to affordable technology. The programme, which has already provided over £47 million worth of software in the UK since 2006, is being expanded to enable more charities to request software donations when they need them at any point in the year.

The updates to the Microsoft software donations programme, which is currently available in over 100 countries around the world, include:

•The number of different Microsoft software products that can be requested has been expanded from six to 10 to allow charities to get the software they need such as Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, etc.

•Three new categories of charities are now eligible for software donations, including: medical research organisations, private foundations and amateur sports and recreational organisations.

•The donations programme includes a new Get Genuine offering so charities can ensure their existing computers are running genuine versions of Microsoft operating systems to help keep their software up-to-date and secure.

•Charities can now request a software donation from Microsoft through CTT’s CTXchange -- part of the TechSoup Global Network -- whenever they need it instead of the previous limit of only one request per year.

•Charities ordering their donations through the TechSoup Global Network can now easily get key donation details in one place with the Microsoft Donations Center, a new web site where organisations can review their donation history and identify products their organisation can request.

UK charities such as Local Employment Access Projects (LEAP) are already benefitting from the CTXchange programme. LEAP aims to address the barriers that keep disadvantaged groups from the world of work, offering intensive coaching and training free of charge to participants. They approached CTXchange for Microsoft products to help meet the charity’s own office administration needs, but also to form a key element of the organisation’s training programme.

“If our users are looking for admin work, for instance, we want them to be able to use Word 2010,” says Lucy Dutton, community development manager at LEAP. “IT skills are generally a massive barrier for our clients, and having the latest software means that we can provide them with a better service.”

“Making technology more accessible helps charities to be more productive, reach more people and deliver new, improved services which directly help local communities,” said Matt Lambert, Director of Corporate Affairs and Citizenship at Microsoft.  “While we already help a sizeable number of charities, we want to help more. The changes we’re announcing today are designed to make the programme more relevant and accessible to a larger number of charities, which will in turn have a positive impact in local communities across the UK.”

“This initiative is good news for charities – it will give more not for profit organisations greater access to up-to-date technology,” said Richard Craig, CEO of the Charity Technology Trust. “We look forward to working closely with UK registered charities to help them acquire the right technology to help support their staff and to achieve their charitable missions.”

Microsoft works closely with the not for profit organisation TechSoup Global and its Global Network to operate the software donation programme in 35 countries including: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Rep., Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK, United States. TechSoup charges a small administrative fee which funds the programme to help not for profits not only get the software they need, but also the support and expertise they need to make the best use of the technology. Learn more at: www.techsoupglobal.org.