A huge thank you to everyone who entered – we have a fantastic range of entries which is going to make shortlisting really tough.  The finalists will be announced in ten days so keep your eyes peeled for news.

• building the new digital tools that help fundraisers in their work;
• designing and delivering successful digital campaigns;
• recognising new ways of working which impacts on the contribution people can make to a cause.

The Awards are being run in conjunction with NFP Tweetup, an informal network for people involved in digital communications for charities and other not for profit organisations. The range of members of the NFP Tweetup network shows the variety of ways that the web, social media and other digital technologies are having an impact on how charities generate support.

New tools for fundraisers

For many fundraisers it’s easy to forget how quickly services like My Donate and JustGiving have revolutionised how we collect funds. It’s now very easy for supporters to give money and to raise funds through their networks when they’re taking part in a sponsored run or similar activity.

Hot on the heels of the established players there all sorts of new ideas, such as enabling people to give through Twitter. A good example is previous winner Pennies.org.uk, which uses technology to enable people to donate off the change from every transaction they make on their credit card. We hope to see more ideas like this being submitted this year.

Digital campaigns

Beyond the act of handing over the money there’s also been a huge change in the way that charities are communicating through digital channels. Many charities, whether large or small are running campaigns that maximise the opportunities offered by social networks and the widespread use of video and other media. To some extent these campaigns can be seen to extend traditional campaigns. Charities are using digital/online channels alongside their offline activities, to promote their cause and generate action around fundraising campaigns that already had a life of their own.

This Award is a great way of showcasing the best examples of these campaigns – where the reach and cost-effectiveness of digital is used in creative ways and the results are shown in the bottoms line, whether through increased donation, greater awareness of a cause or other kinds of giving.

Childs i Foundation, last year’s winner of the Digital Fundraisisng Award, showed how they baked digital into the fabric of their work – making sharing a key p[art of how they build their supporter base and meet the needs of the people they exist to support.

New ways of giving

There are also many examples of new ways of giving that digital technology is making possible. These may not be brand new ideas but the growth of crowdsourcing, crowd funding and open-source-style collaborative projects is harnessing the internet as a platform for new ways of working together for a common good. For example the way that so many volunteers responded to create maps of Haiti which were a critical part of the aid efforts when Hurricane Sandy hit.

By extending this Award we hope we can show that giving is moving beyond the simple act of donating money. The web is helping create new ways of sharing time, expertise and other knowledge to support a cause you care about. And as we become more familiar with the tools we’re seeing all sorts of new ideas building on the success of previous projects.

If any of these sound like you, please enter the Digital Giving Award now!

The voting system was measured with light sensitivity using glowsticks, created by BAFTA-Award winners Plug-In Media. A spectacular display of vibrant colours filled the auditorium as voters waved  their glow sticks (some got a little hysterical with enthusiasm) in favour of who they wanted to win. It was a nail biting finish as Child’s i Foundation pipped LexAble to the post to scoop the top trophy. 

Photo by Alex Irwin

Child’s i Foundation finds imaginative solutions to the problem of child abandonment in Uganda and has successfully developed a blend of online and offline fundraising. At its heart, the work of the charity is collaborative and social media has been used to build a strong community and keep supporters up to date.

Already over 25% of its donations are made online and a recent campaign raised £10,000 in 48 hours for a life-saving operation for baby Joey – an abandoned baby who had recently been adopted. Best In Show Winners in 2011 Lifelites boosted their fundraising by £100,000 after winner a T4G Award. We talk to Kirsty Stephenson from Child’s i all about their T4G experience: 

1.       What made you decide to enter the awards last year?

Child’s i Foundation is reliant on its community of supporters, not just for fundraising and helping finance many of their projects, but on volunteers lending their skills to run campaigns and contribute to the website.

The strong community that has built up around Child’s i Foundation has been facilitated by the use of the internet and online social network sites, including Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Flickr. The internet provides the opportunity to share and exploit our most powerful asset – our story. We’ve been able to keep supporters updated using video, photos, blog posts and status updates. A critical part of our offering is that the entire proposition of the charity is collaborative, and the technology reflects and supports that.

We thought the Awards were a perfect opportunity to recognise how crucial technology has been in achieving our goals and celebrate our amazing community.

LexAble and Child’s i Foundation after head to head – Photo by Alex Irwin

2.       How did you feel from being shortlisted, to winning your category, to battling it out for the top spot and winning? 

We were absolutely thrilled to shortlisted – especially considering the number of applicants in a competitive category. We were honoured to win – and genuinely surprised.  Battling for the top spot was nerve-wracking to say the least but a lot of fun. It always fills me with pride to tell the story of Child’s i Foundation and thoroughly enjoy the well-deserved enthusiastic response that it receives though. 

3.       Where do you keep your T4G trophy?

Currently one award is on my mantelpiece and the other is on Matthew Knight’s (Voluntary Head of Tech). They are pieces of craftsmanship. 

Video below is of Matthew Knight talking at the Awards Ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTx6s6EptH4

4.       How did you find the Technology4Good Awards Experience?

It was such an enjoyable day. There was a real spirit of being in it together and sharing and enjoying the success of all of the great things others are doing.

Photo by Alex Irwin

5.       What has changed for Child’s i since winning Digital Fundraising Award?

It gave us great impetuous to continue to challenge ourselves with technology. It is easy to succeed and then rest on your laurels. Since then we have embarked on the new challenge of mobile fundraising in partnership with Open Fundraising. We’re aware that people are on their smartphones all the time and we can share information and video updates with our donors. It’s a complimentary technology to our social platforms.

6.       What does the Future hold for Child’s i?

We will endeavour to keep on finding families for abandoned children, building our community and sharing our story to our supporters. Here is the latest video update about a baby called Katie, abandoned at 1 day old, the team at Child’s i Foundation find her a new family: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nSwxY2urGo

“The experience has been great and we hope to continue to deepen our understanding of the value of technology…”

We’ve been catching up with some of last year’s winners from the 2012 Technology4Good Awards to find out what they’ve been up to since taking home a a trophy.
ActionAid, who last year celebrated their 40th Birthday, won the Innovation Award for the visionary use of mobile phones in Kenya.

ActionAid uses mobile phones to provide timely information to the community in Isiolo, a remote part of Kenya badly affected by the drought. ActionAid delivers monthly food supplies to over 70,000 people.

Knowing when food distributions will arrive means children no longer have to leave school to tell parents the trucks are on the way. Sharing cattle prices make it easier to buy at the right price. The two-way system also provides immediate feedback when deliveries are made, which means that agencies have up-to-date data about local needs. 

We spoke to Airlie Taylor from ActionAid’s International Emergencies and Crises Team to find out about life since Tech4Good 2012:

1.       What made you decide to enter the awards last year? 

Relief Committee Secretary Sara Lopeyok uses her mobile phone to coordinate distribution of food supplies        Photo: Piers Benatar/Panos Pictures/ActionAid © 2012

I initially saw the advert for the awards on Twitter and thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase the achievements of ActionAid’s project using mobile phones to link people affected by drought in Kenya with ActionAid staff and others.  The idea of gaining formal recognition for the success of the project from an Award that celebrates using technology for good was a real incentive.  

2.       How did you feel from being shortlisted, to winning your category?  

We were very excited to be shortlisted in the Innovation Award category, but knew that winning would be difficult as the competition was so stiff.  My colleagues attended the awards ceremony on my behalf as I was on leave at the time, but I was hugely excited to receive a text saying we’d won!  It was a huge surprise, but a really pleasant one! 

A mobile phone and solar charger provided as part of the ActionAid project - Photo: Collins Odhiambo/ActionAid © 2011

3.       Where do you keep your T4G trophy?

We took the trophy out to ActionAid Kenya as part of a training course that was scheduled to take place in Nairobi following the awards.  The trophy was presented to colleagues in ActionAid Kenya’s office in Isiolo who were critical in implementing the project with the support of colleagues back in the UK.  They were thrilled to receive the award.  

4.       How did you find the Technology4Good Awards Experience? 

It was great to see the success of ActionAid’s project acknowledged by the Tech 4 Good Awards, and be able to share our work with others.  The experience has been great and we hope to continue to deepen our understanding of the value of technology to facilitate two way communications in disasters.

 5.       Has life changed for ActionAid since winning an Innovation Award?  

The award has helped spark interest across the ActionAid federation (we work in 45 countries) of the potential of technology to improve communications between ActionAid and communities we work with who are affected by disasters, and in doing so become more accountable to them.  

6.       What’s new for ActionAid in 2013? 

Lots!  With regard to using technology to improve two way communications with disaster affected communities, we’ll be working with colleagues around the world to explore new opportunities, looking for external partnerships and hopefully rolling out one or two projects modeled on the Isiolo project which won the Innovation Award.

Technology4Good Awards recently got in touch with some of the Winners from 2012 to find out how life has changed for them since taking home a trophy.

Neil Cottrell is the Director of LexAble and the creator of Global AutoCorrect, a tool for people with dyslexia and literacy issues. At age 15 he wrote the software to help him with his own spelling difficulties, before releasing Global AutoCorrect to the public in 2009. Today the product is used by thousands of people in schools, universities and workplaces, in the UK and throughout the English speaking world.

1.      What made you decide to enter the awards last year?

We first heard about the awards through a past winner, but it immediately became clear that no other awards ceremonies were doing anything like this. All of the previous winners’ stories really resonated with us. Entering the awards was a great opportunity to share both my personal success story and the difference our product has made to people with dyslexia and literacy issues.

2.      How did you feel from being shortlisted, to winning your category, to battling it out for the top spot?

It was quite a whirlwind from start to finish! We were so thrilled to be shortlisted alongside well-known charities, a local authority and multinational corporations. When we were named as the winner of the Accessibility Award we couldn’t quite believe it! Then, after the panel discussions in the second half of the ceremony, we were chosen as runner-up by the audience. Finally, the subsequent messages of support from our customers, industry colleagues and friends were truly overwhelming and a delight to receive. I think winning the award has just about sunk in now, but it was an incredible honour and I still get excited when I think about it!

3.      Where do you keep your T4G trophy?

Our trophy, which is made entirely from recycled computer parts, takes pride of place in our meeting room. It’s such a unique object – very different than the usual glass or brass designs – and it’s the first thing our clients and business partners notice when they walk in the room! Seeing the trophy every day also serves as a valuable reminder of our mission and what we hope to achieve in the future.

4.      How did you find the Technology4Good Awards Experience?

It was a great day, filled with amazing examples of how technology can have a positive impact on the world we live in. Everyone was very friendly and it was clear that every shortlisted candidate, not just the winners, deserved praise and recognition for what they do. I particularly enjoyed the panel discussions in the second half of the ceremony because it gave each category winner a chance to share a first hand account of their story and what they have achieved.

5.      What has changed for LexAble since winning an Accessibility Award?

Winning the Accessibility Award could not have come at a better time for us. We made so many great connections during the day, many of which have led to new projects and joint ventures. Winning a Technology4Good award also brought the company and our message to a much wider audience. LexAble has grown so much in the past year, and we know that the Technology4Good Awards have been a significant factor in many of our recent successes.

6.      What does the future hold for LexAble?

We’re constantly improving Global AutoCorrect and working hard to share it with as many people as possible. Over the next year we will be bringing our product to many more schools, workplaces and universities. This summer we w

ill also be releasing, by popular demand, a Mac version of our software. As for the long term, we’re always looking for new technologies and ideas that will help our users to work on a level playing field with their peers, so look out for new products from us in the future!

View the video on the BT site using this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKh7DqtHtr4

The Awards are organised by AbilityNet and BT to recognise the many ways that people use computers and the internet to help make the world a better place. Professor Hawking received the Special Award for inspiring disabled people to achieve their true potential.

Accepting the Award he said: “I am delighted to accept this Award as recognition for all the truly great things that disabled people can achieve when technology has given them the chance to shine.  I was lucky to have been born in the computer age.  Without them, my life would have been miserable and my scientific career impossible.

“AbilityNet continues to help disabled people in all walks of life and the Technology4Good Awards remind us that technology is a vital part of human existence. They show us that the right tools in the right hands can help everyone, regardless of our frailties, to achieve our true potential and advance as a civilisation.”

• Accessibility Award LexAble
• BT Get IT Together Award Preston City Council/CitizenZone
• Community Impact Award The Stroke Survivors Group
• Community News Award Radio Free Brighton
• Digital Fundraising Award Child’s i Foundation
• Innovation Award Action Aid
• IT Volunteer of the Year Award Alison Crerar
• Working Together Award Social Care Institute for Excellence

Special Awards

• AbilityNet Excellence in Accessibility Award: Professor Stephen Hawking
• Winner of Winners Award: Child’s i Foundation

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners and a huge thank you to over 200 entrants who made this year’s event such a success. Pictures and videos of the event will appear on this site very soon.

A huge thank you to all the entrants for taking the time and effort to submit your nominations for the Awards. The quality of the entries was noticeably higher than last year, so many people who are doing extraordinary things using technology are going to be disappointed.

The judges will meet now to choose the winners, which will be announced at the Awards Ceremony which takes place in London on Friday 6th July 2012 at the BT Centre in London.

Are you a finalist? Take a look at the shortlist:

Accessibility Award, sponsored by AbilityNet and Microsoft

• BSkyB
• LexAble
• Panasonic Corporation
• Therapy Box Ltd

BT Get IT Together Award

• Castle Community Network
• Joining Communities Limited
• Preston City Council

Community Impact Award sponsored by Microlink and UK online centres

• The Stroke Group
• #RiotCleanup
• On Road Media

Community News Award sponsored by Media Trust and Third Sector magazine

• Radio Free Brighton
• Mind Waves Community Reporters Project
• Harringay Online

Digital Fundraising Award sponsored by Camelot and NFP Tweetup

• Child’s i Foundation
• Mencap
• Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability

Innovation Award sponsored by CTT and Microsoft

• Insane Logic for MyChoicePad
• ActionAid
• Apex Challenge
• Guess2Give

IT Volunteer of the Year Award sponsored by Cloud 9 Data Centre and IT4Communities

• Gerhard Weber
• Alison Crerar
• Richard Easton

Working Together Award sponsored by Go ON UK and Barclaycard

• Blackpool Wyre & Fylde Council for Voluntary Service
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
• Service/Kingston Job Centre PlusKingston Library and Heritage

Congratulations to everyone who has made it to the shortlists.

The not for profit partners will now shortlist their category down to three entries, which is going to be tough with some categories having over 40 entries. The judges will then meet in June to decide the winners who will be announced at an Award Ceremony in london in July.

A big thank you to everyone who has entered and the best of luck – hope to see you in London.