TechSoup Program To Help US Foundations Support International NGOs

Picture: blogs.technet.com

Global technology resource organisation, TechSoup is to begin a program to help facilitate international grantmaking by US Not for Profits into Asia, including Australia.

In September, the US Department of the Treasury made a significant rule change designed to reduce the effort and cost for US Foundations to make grants to international NGOs.

Traditionally, foundations had to independently research each grantee in order to comply with U.S. tax laws; now, they will be able to rely on the opinion of a qualified third party provider.

TechSoup has partnered with the Council on Foundations to provide this service, which will be called NGOsource. The launch for this new program is currently slated for early 2013. Foundations that support the endeavor include Rockefeller, Hewlett, Bill and Melinda Gates, and many others.

“TechSoup is committed to serving the needs of NGOs in the Asia Pacific region. The addition of this service will significantly increase our value to the community and the benefits of participation for NGOs. We encourage all NGOs to sign up at www.techsoup.asia or their local country site,” the Vice President of TechSoup Asia, Mike Yeaton said.

TechSoup Asia, is a collaborative venture between TechSoup Global and its Partner Network, including Connecting Up in Australia and the Hong Kong Council of Social Services.

“It will now be easier than ever for foundations to make grants to NGOs in the Asia Pacific region. When a foundation wishes to make a grant, they will enter a request through a grantmaker portal.

“TechSoup and its partners will then work with the recipient NGO to complete and evaluate the required documentation, a process known as ‘equivalency determination’. Once this is complete, the documentation will be valid for any other participating foundation wishing to make a grant to the same NGO during a qualifying period,” Yeaton said.

“NGOsource will make global giving more accessible to the entire grantmaking community. Our collaboratively-developed process will save grantmakers and grantees valuable time and resources, enabling increased focus on mission-related work and scaling impact.

“We are thrilled that the US Treasury’s recent guidance now enables us to launch this pioneering venture,” said Sheila Warren, Director of NGOsource for TechSoup Global, and an attorney with expertise on tax-exempt law."

To keep up to date on the programs and plans, interested NFPs can sign up for the newsletters at www.techsoup.asia and www.ngosource.org.