Annual Report2015-16

www.connectingup.org

Unleashing the Power of Your Not-for-Profit.

Partners

Contents

Chairperson’s Report ..................................................................................1

CEO’s Report ................................................................................................2

Staff .............................................................................................................3

Board ...........................................................................................................4

Donations & Discounts ...............................................................................5

New Programs & Services ..........................................................................6

Membership ................................................................................................7

Conference & Awards .................................................................................8

Events & Training ......................................................................................10

Information Services & SAcommunity .......................................................11

Financials ...................................................................................................12

www.connectingup.org

Connecting Up has had another impressive year, and it is my pleasure as the Chair of the Board to present the 2015/2016 report. Connecting Up has listened to its valued customers, and has delivered based on feedback and new ideas. Similarly, customer and partner relationships have been enriched in New Zealand. Achievements for this year include:

• Improving the reach and capabilities of the organisations with access to Connecting Up’s products and services

• Providing a greater range of product and service offerings

• Increasing the depth of education with a focus on technology to the sector

In addition to these great strategic achievements, Connecting Up delivered yet another successful technology conference, held in conjunction with the inaugural Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards. Combined, the Conference and Awards attracted 400 delegates.

A lively conference was also held in New Zealand in April. Many thanks to our New Zealand based board member James Austin for his contributions, and reminding us of the importance of technology education and the disparity in knowledge of the use of IT in the sector. Some small organisations have limited IT capacity, others have one or two smart operators, and very few have a sound technology plan. Our mission is to fill this gap.

I would like to thank Anne Gawen, CEO of Connecting Up, for her tremendous leadership and horizon scanning, which has seen Connecting Up enjoy another successful year. Congratulations to the Connecting Up staff team for their hard work and unwavering commitment to the not-for-profit sector. Special mentions go to two of Connecting Up’s longest serving staff members:

Rosalie Day and Josh Goodwin, who have both departed Connecting Up to pursue new career opportunities and life endeavors. Rosalie was with Connecting Up from the very beginning and helped establish the CISSA services directory (now SAcommunity), while Josh was a most successful manager of Business and Partners for Connecting Up for many years. We are sad to see Rosalie and Josh leave, but wish them all the very best for the future. Thank you to the tremendous support of Pankaj Chhalotre, Executive Manager of Technology Projects and Services, and Kate Preiss, Executive Manager of Programs and Sector Development, who have jointly shared the role of management of Business and Partners since Josh’s departure.

Thank you once again to all of the Connecting Up Board Members and their ongoing contributions, particularly at conferences and major events, and their efforts to circulate and remain in touch with those in the sector. Not only is this welcoming to the sector but this also provides insight and first-hand knowledge of sector issues. Andrew Culley has shared invaluable business advice and input in the role of treasurer, and Deputy Chair, Jane Brabham has given wonderful uplift to the group.

We are privileged to be a part of the global network of TechSoup, working towards the same common goal to strengthen the not-for-profit sector. Connecting Up are grateful to major partners TechSoup and Microsoft as they continue to show confidence in us as their gateway.

Like all, we are challenged to mould our services to consumer directed care, and will not waver from our commitment to strengthen the truly invaluable organisations that make up this great sector. Sue Vardon AO, Chairperson

ReportChairperson’s

Sue Vardon AOChairperson

This past year has been exciting and challenging for the not-for-profit sector globally. Connecting Up’s global colleagues have reported significant changes around giving, philanthropy and technology. Policy shifts, reductions in revenue and the need for accountability are all factors that have influenced the sector globally.

The term ‘the fourth technology revolution’, used to describe the enormous changes we are experiencing driven by technology is becoming much more prevalent. The changes our world is experiencing are astounding, and the consequences of these for the not-for-profit sector cannot be underestimated. The impact of these changes are highly visible in Australia and New Zealand as the digital world is moving rapidly.

As a consequence of these changes, in Australia and New Zealand Connecting Up are experiencing increasing engagement with organisations, with an average of 220 Australian and 50 New Zealand organisations qualifying each month for the programs and services offered by Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand. The need for Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand’s offerings continue to grow. As such, a key goal of this past year has been to increase available and relevant products, services and education. Listed in this report is information on the new products, services and education that Connecting Up have developed together with Connecting Up’s valued partners, as well as Connecting Up’s own initiatives. Connecting Up have achieved much this year, yet there is still more to provide in the coming years.

A brief overview of achievements this year include:

• Microsoft, Connecting Up’s largest donor partner, launched Windows 10

• Connecting Up continued to deliver the #GivingTuesday initiative in both Australia and New Zealand

• The Refurbished Technology for People with Disability Pilot Program was launched

• The inaugural Australian Technology Awards took place at the 2016 Connecting Up Conference, and the TechSoup New Zealand Conference recorded its largest attendance in its history

Another focus of Connecting Up this year was to ensure that not-for-profit organisations have choice regarding their technology needs including cloud technologies, hardware, software, ICT services, education programs and directories. Connecting Up is continually working with local, national and international partners to provide products and services at significantly reduced prices (or in many cases, no cost at all). As such, Connecting Up would like to extend a warm thank you to all of its major contributing Donations and Discounts partners throughout 2015/16.

The Connecting Up staff are a vibrant, innovative team with specialist skills. The Connecting Up staff team continue to grow with many casual staff and ongoing roles being developed and filled.

The Connecting Up Board is comprised of 10 highly skilled professionals who are committed to helping grow the not-for-profit sector in Australia and New Zealand. Connecting Up would like to extend a special thank you to Sue Vardon AO, for being an inspirational chairperson and and playing a key leadership role for Connecting Up.

As CEO of Connecting Up, and having worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years, I feel proud of the difference our sector makes. I am immensely proud of the work undertaken by the sector to lay the foundation for a greater community. Connecting Up is committed to supporting the sector to fulfill its mission. Anne Gawen, CEO

ReportCEO’s

Anne GawenCEO

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Staff

Board of Directors

Chief Executive Officer

Executive Management

team

Customer Support team Technical team

Business Development

team

Community team

Interns & Volunteers

Administration team

Board

4

ChairpersonChief Executive of various government departments for 23 years, including

CentreLink and the Department for Correctional Services

Sue Vardon AO

Deputy ChairpersonHead of Edge Labs, IAG Labs

Jane Brabham

TreasurerManaging Partner, South Australia, Deloitte

Andrew Culley

ObserverSenior ICT Strategist, Government of South Australia

Aron Hausler

Board MemberFundraising Manager, National Foundation, New Zealand

James Austin

Board MemberCEO, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia

Jon Bisset

Board MemberSenior Manager of Business Development, RAA

Kym Hume

Board MemberBusiness Development Manager, Management Consultancy International

Lisa Harvey

Board MemberCEO, Fernlea

Sue McIvor

Board MemberMore than 25 years leadership experience in information management

Susan Arthure

ChairpersonChief Executive of various government departments for 23 years, including

CentreLink and the Department for Correctional Services

Sue Vardon AO

Deputy ChairpersonHead of Edge Labs, IAG Labs

Jane Brabham

TreasurerManaging Partner, South Australia, Deloitte

Andrew Culley

ObserverSenior ICT Strategist, Government of South Australia

Aron Hausler

Board MemberFundraising Manager, National Foundation, New Zealand

James Austin

Board MemberCEO, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia

Jon Bisset

Board MemberSenior Manager of Business Development, RAA

Kym Hume

Board MemberBusiness Development Manager, Management Consultancy International

Lisa Harvey

Board MemberCEO, Fernlea

Sue McIvor

Board MemberMore than 25 years leadership experience in information management

Susan Arthure

Connecting Up continues to assist Australian and New Zealand not-for-profit organisations to reduce their technology costs and improve their efficiency through the adoption of improved systems. In 2015/16, the fair market value of donated product acquired through Connecting Up was $45,328,930 in Australia, and $12,431,930 in New Zealand. This is a significant increase on 2014/15 and continues increasing the yearly growth of this program. Connecting Up is justifiably proud of the significant difference this program makes to organisations in both countries.

The 2015/16 Financial Year saw growth in the Donations platform with new partners added to both the Australian and New Zealand platforms. These included:

• Slack: a collaboration application for teams which includes voice, video and instant messaging

• Go Daddy: an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company

• Adobe: While an existing Donations partner, Creative Cloud for individuals is now available to customers and proving to be very popular

• Little Green Light: a cloud-based donation software/not-for-profit CRM, which is an easy-to-use, affordable donor management system with powerful constituent management capabilities

• Autodesk: software used to design buildings, infrastructure, products, entertainment content, and more

The Discounts Program has also undergone expansion in both Australia and New Zealand, with new partners added for both programs. New Discounts partners include::

• EMT Distribution: a specialist security supplier with several offerings including document management and anti-virus software

• Acer: offering new computer hardware to supplement the existing refurbished program for customers. Prices have been confirmed by the vendor to be the best available in Australia through any channel

• LiveTiles: is modern UI design software that lets organisations build a fully functioning digital workplace over SharePoint, Office 365 and Azure in minutes.

For the TechSoup New Zealand program, work is underway to migrate these new Discount Program partners onto this program. EMT Distribution will be launching in New Zealand in the second quarter of 2016/17, while LiveTiles and Acer will be available in New Zealand later in the year.

The year also saw the inception of a new services program, where Connecting Up work through a services organisation to allow customers to access installation, commissioning, design and management support for their IT systems. This program, in a 6-month pilot phase, went live at the end of the year and it is hoped that this will be a success for both the community, the partner and Connecting Up. The Suppliers Directory which provides the community with access to support and advice from ICT integrators and vendors to assist their software and hardware choices, now contains 422 companies offering services right across the ICT spectrum. This directory offers great value to suppliers and the NFP sector.

DiscountsDonations and

Fair Market Value of donated product in 2015/16

was over $57 million in Australia and New Zealand!

$44m donated by Microsoft[

[

Refurbished Technology for People with a DisabilityIn the 2016 Financial Year, Connecting Up extended its refurbished technology offering to Australians living with disability, with after sales support available to facilitate the set-up and use of the technology.

Connecting Up has worked extensively with the Australian disability sector to ascertain the needs of people with disability, with access to high-quality technology at low cost being strongly identified.

Access to services such as the refurbished technology program is now more important than ever, with the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme empowering people with disability with choice and control to allocate where their resources are spent.

Technology will be a significant enabler in the process of choice and control. Prior to full project implementation, Connecting Up will pilot the refurbished technology program across South Australia and Victoria, partnering with local disability focused organisations to help deliver the service.

Connecting Up will also conduct a national survey of accessibility software needs for people with a disability to inform investigations into the provision of discounted accessibility software options under this program.

and ServicesNew Programs

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MembershipConnecting Up Membership continued to grow this year with increased interest and promotion boosting the program.

By the end of the financial year, total Premium Membership had increased by 20% on the previous year.

Feedback from members has shown that new membership tiers introduced in the previous financial year, Free and Premium Membership, provided clarity to new members joining Connecting Up.

By introducing membership tiers, membership benefits were better promoted to Connecting Up’s customer base. Membership prices and member benefits were clearly articulated.

As a result, mentoring became a more popular membership benefit, with a significant increase on the number of continued membership renewals – organisations being supported regularly with their websites, digital marketing, and more.

Among mentored organisations, Pets4Life, a website educating people on responsible pet ownership, was able to use their mentoring and support to set key goals in their growth. Using learnings from mentoring sessions, Pets4Life successfully increased their monthly traffic from 150 visits per month to 1500 visits per month over the course of the financial year.

The link between Premium Membership and other Connecting Up programs has increased, with benefits better promoted to Connecting Up’s entire audience.

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Conference & Awards

The 2016 Connecting Up Conference was held at the Hawthorn Arts Centre in Melbourne on the 18-20 May 2016.

This year’s theme was “Advance 2020: Connect. Innovate. Change”, a positive movement forward to 2020 and beyond for not-for-profit organisations and their use of technology. This theme was carried out consistently throughout the sessions, which were organised into Connect, Innovate and Change streams.

While the offerings of masterclasses, a leadership decision makers’ breakfast and a dinner as optional programs, in addition to the main conference sessions, were continued from previous years, the 2016 Connecting Up Conference brought several innovations, including:

• A third masterclass which was offered as an optional program, giving delegates the choice between digital marketing, finance and technology

• The inaugural Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards, aiming to recognise and celebrate the very best in technology innovation from across the not-for-profit sector in Australia

• An interactive networking session, the World Café

Feedback on the conference was consistent with previous conferences with many positive comments and high ratings. Both keynote speakers, Mark McCrindle and Laura Walker McDonald were particularly highly rated and a highlight for majority of delegates.

There were a total of 331 registrations across all conference programs, representing an increase from 2015. Some of the key highlights of the event for delegates were:

• The content of the presentations, in particular the keynote speakers and their delivery, were well received and considered relevant to organisations

• The quality and practical style of the Masterclasses

• The Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards Dinner

New initiatives implemented for the 2016 conference included:

• Presentations delivered in specific formats to ensure minimum issues affected presentation quality across all conference sessions

Connecting Up Conference, 18-20 May 2016 Hawthorn Arts Centre, Melbourne

Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards

• Transition time was allowed during sessions to ease delegate movement between rooms. The scheduling and timing of the sessions was well appreciated by delegates.

• New networking opportunities were provided to delegates in the form of the World Café activity, which was well received

• The chosen venue was dedicated to the Connecting Up Conference

The inaugural Australian Not-For-Profit Technology Awards, recognising the very best in technology innovation form across the Australian not-for-profit sector, was held in conjunction with this year’s Conference. Taking place on Thursday night (19 May) in the Main Hall of the historic Arts Centre, six categories of winners were announced, with two commendation awards also announced on the night. The judging panel consisted of:

• David Locke - Assistant Commissioner, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission • Anna Howarth - Microsoft Philanthropies Manager, Microsoft Australia • Brett Williamson OAM - Volunteering Australia, CEO • David Spriggs - Infoxchange, CEO Award winners included:

• Technology Volunteer of the YearDaniel Billing (Indigenous Reading Project)

• Best Social Media Campaign of the YearMotor Neurone Disease Australia Inc WINNER

• Using Technology to Connect to the Community, Best Small/Medium Enterprise (SME)Calxa Australia

• Not-For-Profit Technology Lifetime Service AwardAndre Foulon (Manjimup Family Centre)

• Using Technology to Connect to the Community,Best Government AgencyDepartment of the Premier and Cabinet, Strategic Engagement (Government of South Australia)

• Not-For-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year Barnardos Australia

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The 2016 TechSoup New Zealand Conference was the third New Zealand conference presented by Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand. The conference was held in Auckland on 11-12 April 2016.

It was the first New Zealand conference presented by Connecting Up and TechSoup New Zealand to be held over two days, with the inclusion of three Masterclasses. The 2016 conference encompassed the theme of ‘Advance: 2020 – Connect. Innovate. Change’, a positive movement forward to 2020 and beyond for not-for-profit organisations and their use of technology.

Conference sessions were categorised into two streams based on the conference theme, Connect and Innovate. The event received solid feedback and ratings, in regards to relevance and conference takeaways, particularly from small not-for-profit organisations (1 to 15 employees).

FINZ PartnershipAs in 2015, TechSoup New Zealand (TSNZ) partnered with the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) for their annual conferences. The TechSoup New Zealand Conference was held on 11-12 April, and the FINZ Conference was held at the same venue on the following days (13-15 April).

TechSoup New Zealand Conference Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre 11-12 April 2016

Conference delegatesThe main conference had a total of 108 registrations, an increase from 2015. Masterclasses were held for the first time in New Zealand. Some of the key highlights of the event for delegates were:

• The content of the presentations and their delivery, which were well received and considered relevant

• The quality and practical style of the Masterclasses

Initiatives implemented for the 2016 conference included:

• Stronger staff presence, venue technical support and strict presentation formats ensured minimum issues affected presentation quality during the conference

• Transition time was implemented during sessions to ease delegate movement between rooms. The scheduling and timing of the sessions was well appreciated by delegates

• The conference program was more detailed than the previous year and changes to sessions were easy to identify

Presentation Content SatisfactionFeedback on the quality of the speakers and the content delivered was overwhelmingly positive, as indicated by the post-conference feedback survey completed by attendees below (with 4 indicating a high level of satisfaction).

“Absolutely fantastic conference, I wanted more! Thank you.”

“Very well organised! Very interesting and helpful! Thank you!”

“Another good conference. Look forward to coming next year, plenty for me to be considering

back at the shop.”

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Events & TrainingCommencing in 2012 with the aim of increasing IT capacity and knowledge across the not-for-profit sector in Australia and New Zealand, the Connecting Up Events Program has seen continual growth. From 5 webinars and 8 face-to-face workshops run in 2011-2012 to 63 webinars, 4 online courses and 13 face-to-face workshops this financial year. The program has grown substantially over the past year, with an increase of 24% in total registrations in FY 2015-2016 in Australia.

A key focus this financial year was to gather more feedback and to conduct more research than in previous years, to ensure the Events Program met the sector’s needs. This saw Connecting Up running successful webinars, workshops and online courses throughout the financial year on many different subjects including:

• Finance

• Digital storytelling

• Social media

• Email marketing

• Websites

• IT security

• Adobe products

• Public relations

• Sponsorship

• Cloud computing

The New Zealand Events Program has also been increasing in popularity and size, with an increase of 11% in registrations in FY 2015-2016. While most of the events run by Connecting Up this year were shared between Australia and New Zealand, several events were specifically aimed at the New Zealand not-for-profit sector and its current needs and issues. These included:

• The new Charity Reporting Requirements

• Information Security

The Events Program in both Australia and New Zealand is promoted to a wide network of members. The program is promoted through email newsletters, via the websites, social media, at external events, and via direct customer phone contact.

To ensure relevance of event material, Connecting Up has been improving and diversifying its collection of feedback from members and event participants regarding event/training topics and relevance of the program to their current needs.

During FY 2015-2016, the Events Program has once again been very well received by participants, with an average of 91% of participants rating the events as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

3,900 registrations for events & training

in Australia

1,000 registrations for events & training

in New Zealand

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SAcommunity – an overview Connecting Up recognises that communities need reliable, accessible and current community service information to assist people in their daily life and allow them to provide services to others. As such, Connecting Up has continued to provide the SAcommunity directory service, a comprehensive online community information service for South Australia. This service comprises of approximately 14,000 up-to-date directory entries providing information about government and community organisations and services.

SAcommunity presents data from a user-centric perspective, based on the way people seek, use and contribute information. The service gathers and organises information that is dynamic, fragmented and dispersed across multiple government and organisational websites into one collaboratively editable site. The directory offers a web presence for many small but valuable organisations and services who may otherwise struggle to be discovered, allowing them to concentrate their resources into direct services for the community they assist.

Partners and stakeholders Connecting Up would like to thank the South Australian Government for their continued support for this well-utilised service. The SAcommunity website received more than 1.2 million visits, over 2.1 million page views and reached over 770,000 users over the last 12 months. Connecting Up also thanks our expansive stakeholder network of government agencies, councils and libraries, service providers and the public who work with us to promote, maintain and utilise directory information. Connecting Up staff provide training and support to SAcommunity’s contributing editors and participate in outreach activities at the local government level. This year SAcommunity focused on the Upper Spencer Gulf region to assist to connect people to services via the directory in order to build community capacity and resilience in response to recent economic and social changes.

and SA CommunityInformation Services

Open Data Connecting Up is committed to open data and connecting the community sector. Staff were involved in the GovHack Unleashed Open Data competition, providing the SAcommunity dataset and data mentorship to encourage the creation of innovative new services for public benefit. In addition, SAcommunity is working with Public Libraries SA to make SAcommunity available through One Card, South Australia’s networked library catalogue, over the next financial year to enhance the use and access to the directory by library patrons across the state. SAcommunity communication channels, including the creation of the SAcommunity film, newsletter, blog and Twitter account with its over 6,800 followers, continues to assist in strengthening community sector networks and relationships.

Volunteers Connecting Up volunteers are critical to the continued maintenance of the directories, they act as organisation advocates whilst addressing social sector needs through their work. The Connecting Up volunteer program in return, provides valuable work experience to people who are unemployed, underemployed or are undertaking student placements. Volunteers gain beneficial knowledge of the community service sector and skills to support their future careers and job prospects.

14,000 community

listings

2.1 million page views

770,000 users

Financials

A Global Network

Financial Health, year ended 30 June 2016

Fair Market Value of donated products in 2015/16 in Australia and New Zealand

$57,760,861

In FY 2014, the TechSoup Global Network had total revenue of US$38.7 million, reinvested in supporting local communities through TechSoup and our partner NGOs around the world. *The FY2015 global network savings will be updated once released by TechSoup.

US$38.7 MILLION

Total

US$20,882,193 EARNED REVENUE U.S

US$14,091,789 EARNED REVENUE OUTSIDE OF U.S

US$3,748,686 CONTRIBUTED REVENUE

Revenues from ordinary activities 4,760,529

Expenses (4,295,974)

Total comprehensive income for the year/(loss) $464,555

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For more info go to www.connectingup.org