April 24, 2002
Contact: Brittany Faulkner (509-963-1504/e-mail at faulkneb@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - As a way to provide technological education for area non-profit agencies, along with city and county government employees, three days of training and assessment will be available next month. It will be provided through the Open Spaces Technology Center (OSTC) at Central Washington University in conjunction with NPower, a Seattle-based organization that makes technology training available to non-profits.
The program is funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ellensburg will be the first rural community to benefit from the outreach effort.
“It’s hard for people in rural communities to get support and training for technology use and planning,” Brittany Faulkner, OTSC project coordinator, says. “Most non-profit leaders don’t have time to go and seek it out. The intention is to help them do what they’re good at even more efficiently, by bringing the training to them at a minimal cost.”
Wednesday, May 1, “Technology Strategies for Nonprofit Leaders” is slated. The classroom-based training, for non-profit executive directors or other senior decision-makers, will focus on the technology planning process and strategic planning for technology. In addition, there will be discussion about total cost of technology ownership, technology literacy benchmarks for nonprofits and related technology resources.
Friday, May 3, “Technology Maintenance and Troubleshooting” will be held. It is lab-based training for the “computer-responsible” person in the organization. The class will discuss: tools necessary to be an effective manager of technology resources; strategies for virus protection and back-up; ways to troubleshoot problems that arise, and methods to work effectively with outside consultants or volunteers.
A Friday afternoon session for all participants will include a review of lessons learned and a look at future steps.
Between the two days on training, on Thursday, May 2, NPower representatives will visit the offices of participating non-profit agencies to complete an assessment of its technology hardware, software and staff training needs. Information gathered will be used during the Friday afternoon session for future planning.
“Any non-profit leader or members of their staff responsible for their computers and technology use will benefit from this training,” Faulkner points out. “Organizations that participate in these sessions will be eligible for future on-site services – through both NPower and OSTC — specifically tailored to their individual needs and goals.”
For additional information, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-1504, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-3323.
