World NGO Day honours the nonprofit organisations and volunteers who give their time and resources to help make a difference; acknowledging the hard work NGOs do to create positive change in the world and the awe-inspiring results they achieve.
Microsoft is committed to empowering nonprofits to advance their missions through digital transformation enabled by secure and trusted technology. Over the past three years, we’ve supported by donating technology worth over $98 million, benefiting 4,303 NGOs in Middle East and Africa. These technologies help NGOs to do their work more effectively, because most NGOs have limited resources.
We work closely with NGOs to leverage technology to help solve the most challenging issues in their communities. Our aim is to find ways for technology to improve people’s lives and bring the promise of technology to those who are most at risk of being left behind.
In South Africa for example, the James 1:27 Trust leverages Microsoft solutions like Azure to improve the quality and reach of care for some of Africa’s most vulnerable children, while supporting other NGOs across the continent. Microsoft technologies are helping the Trust save 17 percent of its total cost monthly, helping the NGO to focus its resources on serving the people it has pledged to help.
In the same vein, aided by technology support from Microsoft, Turkey-based NGO Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) empowers humanitarian organisations across Syria to better serve those in crisis by providing timely, mission-critical data. Powered by tools like Azure, Power BI and Office 365 Enterprise ACU’s Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) and Information Management Unit (IMU), the NGO is moving ever closer to real-time crisis monitoring and information management, helping better serve Syria’s most vulnerable.
By building schools in Pakistan’s slums and rural communities and providing training for principals and teachers, the Citizens Foundation (TCF) is another NGO in the Middle East and Africa working to build a brighter future for all. Aided by cloud technology from Microsoft, the organisation is better equipped than ever to communicate, improve operations and monitor student progress.
“We implemented Power BI to enhance our business intelligence and analytics dashboards. This means we can track the performance of our students, teachers and the schools themselves on a daily basis.” says Naveed Younus, Head of Information Technology at TCF.
At Microsoft, we believe technology should benefit everyone, not just the fortunate few. It is our responsibility to create and implement technological solutions that serve the broader good.
