#funderTech: What Funders Need to Know About Mobile
NCG member ZeroDivide rolled out a new report today (http://bit.ly/MobileZD) that ramps up the conversation on how to support nonprofits in using mobile to move their mission. The focus is on initiatives by underserved communities in the U.S. — and how funders can strengthen the quantity and quality of support for this work.
Co-author Jeff Perlstein mentioned the report last week in a #funderTech session with new grantmakers at NCG’s New Grantmaker Institute, where we discussed specific ways funders can embrace and support technology among their grantees.
The report contains some great research about the ubiquity of mobile devices, especially among underserved communities and communities of color, and surveys some examples of community impact using mobile strategies.
Funders Get In The (fast moving) Act
The report contains a set of recommendations for funders that can shape support, even with rapidly changing technology.
The sweet spot for funders working with underserved communities lies in increasing the value people can generate from the types of mobile devices and access they already have. For now and the next few years, this means ensuring accessibility—designing projects for feature phone users—and emphasizing the strengthening of community capacity, knowledge, and strategy development.
Find ZeroDivide at COF next week to learn more, and register for the May 22 webinar to dig into the report with peers.
About the author
Northern California Grantmakers is an association of foundations, corporate contributions programs and other private grantmakers. Its mission is to promote the well-being of people and their communities in balance with a healthy environment by the thoughtful and creative use of private wealth and resources for public benefit. To this end, NCG works to enhance the effectiveness of philanthropy, and to strengthen the ties between philanthropy and its many stakeholders; including nonprofit organizations, government, business, media, academia, and the public at large.
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Tags: #fundertech, publications, Technology, ZeroDivide