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Engaging nonprofits: why free software is essential to the social good
Wendy Bolm
Many nonprofits today are at a disadvantage in the software they use to manage everything from donor management to graphic design. Staff members are often not focused on acquiring the best digital resources, and overcomplicated, restrictive, and expensive software programs dominate the nonprofit market. Free software could provide a much-needed revolution for the nonprofit world.
The good news is that some nonprofits are beginning to work with other organizations and free software developers and communities to start solving common problems.
In this session, I will review some tangible ways in which free software is having and can have a positive impact on the nonprofit world, and some of the challenges nonprofits face both with current software available and in getting involved. I will then discuss strategies for advocating for free software for nonprofits. With nonprofits across the globe facing issues of censorship, privacy concerns, and the need for more financial freedom than ever before, this is the perfect time for nonprofits to embrace free software.