While this is not one of the deals we typically post on SmartCanucks, I know many SCers volunteer for charitable groups so I thought I would share this with those members.
I work for a non profit, and we have used TechSoup for a couple of years for legal software that we really wanted but could not afford. Having full versions of expensive software has helped us as a group to appear more professional than when using free versions with watermarks/advertising etc while remaining on the legal side of using these programs.
You need to register your group with them and send proof of eligibility and they will give you a list of software you are eligible to receive for just an administrative fee. The type of software depends greatly on what kind of group you are and your annual budget etc as some software partners restrict donations to their philanthropic aims.
To give you an idea of current pricing for the items we have ‘bought’ from them:
- Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium (Windows) $178 ($1899 direct from Adobe)
- Quickbooks Accounting Premier (inc NonProfit) $48 ($499 direct from Intuit)
So if like us, you are looking for software and not willing to pay hundreds (or thousands) but also don’t want to risk downloading fake or virus laden copies you can check them out at techsoupcanada.ca
I’d like to add that there are also a number or Open-source versions of many programs as well. For example – instead of MS Office, use Open Office. Instead of Photoshop, there is GIMP, etc. Completely free and file formats are generally compatible with their overpriced counterparts.
GIMP is not comparable to photoshop, usable and much better than most but not nearly the same, but yes – we use Open Office and other open source software
An alternative, your group could convert it’s computers to use the free, open source operating system Ubuntu (unix based, but graphical interface). This opens your universe to the world of free, open source software. You can find most types of programs that you want
Hank, I have a computer on Ubuntu at home, it is not for everyone. At work we use an office in a company’s building, we use their network etc but we are stuck with windows as an OS (and not even new versions of windows lol) but it saves us paying internet, IT people etc
Many small/local charitable groups are also run by retirees, many are not computer savvy – you gotta keep it simple
I’m glad you posted this. Not all non-profits are aware of this, especially when they don’t have an IT department. We’ve been accessing programs on here for a few years, and I love that it saves donor dollars!
Thanks for this great post! You’ve summed up the program well.
To further respond to Eric & Hank – absolutely there are many great open source options out there, which we frequently recommend to our members. As FallenPixels mentions though, there are various reasons why these aren’t always a good fit for nonprofits. We also did a series on open source for nonprofits on our blog as there’s always lots of organizations who aren’t aware of this option: https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/what_is_open_source
Thanks for the update TechSoup!