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NPower Technology Innovation Award Luncheon

On Friday, I attended the inspirational 2007 Technology Innovation Award (TIA), which "recognizes nonprofits in our community whose innovative use of technology is enabling them to more effectively fulfill their mission." The event itself was very nice, presented by NPower Greater DC Region and Accenture and held at the National Association of Homebuilders headquarters in downtown DC.

There were 32 applicants, and the work of three finalists was featured during the ceremony; each of the three finalists received some award. The finalists included:

• Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, a local orchestra that provides many educational opportunities through programs at Fairfax County public schools and a free concert series. FSO recently introduced video podcasts to promote its work and stay connected with its audience.


• GlobalGiving, an online marketplace for global philanthropy that enables donors to find and support worthy grass-roots projects that help the needy in developing countries. Their new product, Give Certificates, enables you to donate money on behalf of another, allowing the recipient to direct the donation to the charity of their choice.


• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), operator of the first national rape crisis hotline. RAINN recently introduced the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline, an innovative service that reaches young rape victims through the medium that they use to communicate with their friends. (Over half of sexual assault victims are under 18.)

After seeing short films detailing the mission and project of each finalist – all of whom were worthwhile – the work of RAINN really stood out, and I was happy to see them take home the top prize. This was reinforced when Scott Berkowitz, RAINN's President and Founder, related that this award would help them to achieve the goal of expanding the already-popular Online Hotline from 12 hours/5 days to 24/7 coverage, so that this invaluable service will be available whenever its vulnerable clients need it.

I want to thank Ben Hendricks, NPower Senior Technology Project Manager, for inviting me to this event. I'm a long-time fan of NPower, and I've been a regular attendee of their IT Working Group lunches, where I've met some very cool people. The only award judge I knew personally was Jack Daggitt, now a private consultant and investor, who was one of my managers at AOL when I started there almost 15 years ago as an education producer.    Link: http://www.npowergdcr.org/events/technology+innovation+award/index.htm

¶ 10:28 PM | Permalink | |
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