Agenda:Goals

At Aspiration events, non-profit organizations explore the range of issues and options involved in applying technology in their mission and operations.

These events convene stakeholders in the development, adoption and support of technology for non-profits to frankly address the range of challenges in scaling capacity, as well as to celebrate strengths and successes of open source in the nonprofit sector.

The events aim to:

• build new and enhanced relationships between key constituencies in the nonprofit technology communities;
• serve as a venue for learning and information sharing about development processes and nonprofit software needs;
• help participants develop a clearer understanding of where there are gaps and opportunities;
• challenge developers to provide flexible and appropriate solutions for non-profit mission-critical applications;
• empower non-profit users and support providers to better communicate their needs and serve as active partners in the development and maturation of open source technology for nonprofits;
• result in increased energy and passion to fuel ongoing collaboration.

Aspiration events exist to spark – and sustain – conversation about technology in nonprofit organizations. Some of the specific aims of these conversations include:

• Demystifying and creating comfort
• Building networks and make friends
• Helping NGOs find 'tech buddies' who can help with questions and problems
• Introducing people to less techie ways to get involved in technology development for the sector
• Communicating philosophy and ideas of Free and Open Source software in plain language
• Helping developers find ways to support NGOs / activists
• Identifying and overcoming challenges

Of course, what really matters are the objectives of the people who are actually in the room on each event. The dialog-oriented, participant-centric approach of the day ensures that everyone gets what they came for.