the digital agency that grows small organisations working for good

We supply cost effective software solutions for small groups to scale their mission and campaigns, using tools such as Action Network, Google Suite and WordPress.

We also supply skilled people and training to manage and maximise these software systems, creating jobs and income for community volunteers.

The challenge

Not-for-profits and community groups working for positive change are struggling with the rapid pace of technology, which places serious limitations on their impact and the scale. Poor IT systems limit an organisations ability to maximising their results and resources, including funding and people capacity.

In recent research from the University of Melbourne, IT support was ranked the most important capacity development needed by NFPs.

Currently IT businesses and training organisations are failing to provide affordable technological capability to NFPs.

The IT industry also has limited inclusivity of gender and people of colour, particularly First Nations people.

Solution

Our social enterprise will focus on:

1. Supplying low cost IT strategy and services to small NFPs and community groups to increase their effectiveness. These systems will be tailored to build financial and people capacity of the organisation. We will assess and choose proven solutions that will cover:
   • communications
   • people management
   • collaboration
   • fundraising
   • financial management
   • reporting and evaluation
   • campaign growth
2. Support effective ongoing operation of IT systems within organisations, through providing internal training, as well as offering outsourced services.
3. Increase the number of people in the NFP community with relevant technological skills to implement and run IT systems, by running intensive mentor programs and other training. This will also focus on campaign strategy and business skills. ActionSkills will prioritise training people from diverse backgrounds that are already volunteering or working for their cause. ActionSkills will include a “train the trainer” approach in order to scale the impact and encourage active sharing of skills.
4. Build capacity to source grant funding for organisations by implementing measurement systems which quantify impact and successes. We will also provide support for grant applications which are focused on building organisational technological capacity and the training of individuals.

How this will work

ActionSkills will supply IT strategy and solutions for NFPs, as well as training for their internal people. After initial systems setup, we will run a campaign to recruit and train volunteers to use their new systems, e.g. manage social media.

Together we will build their audience, and then run a fundraising campaign, using the new systems. This would aim to cover the cost of our services so they are cost neutral. We will scale our impact by building IT skills through mentorship, paid intern positions and training. We will prioritise people under represented in IT, including First Nations and women.