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VMware’s Commitment to Nonprofit Digital Transformation - VMware News and Stories

VMware’s Commitment to Nonprofit Digital Transformation

Learn how pro bono digital transformation helps this rural school district.

VMware Pro Bono Digital Foundation_VMware Radius - VMware News and Stories

VMware Pro Bono Digital Foundation_VMware Radius

COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of technologies and behaviors, like a distributed workforce, that can be widely beneficial. However, we also have seen significant setbacks, especially for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7205696/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">historically marginalized communities</a>, exacerbating existing inequities in our society.
The <a href="https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/COVID19-survey-mid-size-nonprofits-June2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repercussions of COVID-19</a>, ongoing disasters, and social unrest in 2020 have strained nonprofit operations when their services are needed most, especially by vulnerable populations. Nonprofit organizations that hadn’t yet invested in technology have been forced into a digital transition to keep serving their communities.
Now more than ever, we need to support nonprofits in their digital journey to accelerate their impact.
Recognizing the diversity and range of needs of the 12 million nonprofit organizations around the world, VMware has a three-pronged approach to advancing nonprofits’ digital transformation:
<ol>
<li>Investing in nonprofit’s digital journey through sector-wide resources.</li>
<li>Strengthening organizational capacity through pro bono service learning.</li>
<li>Enabling nonprofits to progress in their digital maturity by increasing ability to access VMware solutions.</li>
</ol>
VMware initially supported strengthening nonprofit’s organizational capacity with the launch of its first pro bono service learning program in 2012. We’ve continued to build upon that work. Here are our most recent updates:
<h5>1. Investing in nonprofit’s digital journey through sector-wide resources.</h5>
<ul>
<li>Supporting organizations rapid adjustment to remote service delivery due to COVID-19. The <a href="https://www.techsoup.org/techsoup-launches-covid-19-response-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 Response Fund</a> supports grassroots nonprofits in making critical technology investments, while continuing to serve the most vulnerable communities through the crisis and into the future.
</li>
<li>Leading a multi-company effort to develop a nonprofit digital assessment roadmap. <a href="https://meet.techsoup.org/about-us/mission-and-values.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TechSoup Global</a> and VMware, along with Okta, Box, Cisco and Adobe, <a href="https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/building-a-cloud-first-future-for-ngos-around-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched its Digital Transformation Initiative</a> by announcing the development of a nonprofit digital transformation roadmap. The tool will provide nonprofits with a customized digital blueprint and tangible next steps based on each organization’s needs.
</li>
<li>Increasing global access to resources to design and implement technology solutions. <a href="https://www.news.vmware.com/redirect/techsoup-nonprofit-digital-transformation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VMware also invested in TechSoup’s growth capital campaign</a> to expand TechSoup’s reach to serve 1.7 million organizations around the world.
</li>
<li>Developing a practical guide to more effective and sustainable technology pro bono. The <a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taproot Foundation</a> and <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/foundation.html">VMware Foundation</a> collaborated to explore how we can better address social sector needs with pro bono technical talent. <a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/resources/transforming-technology-pro-bono-compilation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transforming Technology Pro Bono</a> is the final compilation of how to discover, design, implement and maintain a more sustainable solution that meets nonprofit needs.</li>
</ul>
<h5>2. Strengthening nonprofit capacity through pro bono service learning.</h5>
<ul>
<li>Evolving Good Gigs, VMware’s pro bono program. Through <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZ86HEakg0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Good Gigs Projects</a>, VMware people apply their talents to co-create a sustainable solution with a nonprofit. Good Gigs Projects leverages the <a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/resources/transforming-technology-pro-bono-compilation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transforming Technology Pro Bono</a> framework and serves as a leadership development opportunity for employees to embody <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-code-operating-system-business-pat-gelsinger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VMware’s Leadership Code.</a> For nonprofit organizations, Good Gigs Projects is a way to <a href="https://blogs.vmware.com/careers/2020/08/we-are-citizen-philanthropists-building-digital-resilience-with-good-gigs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">build digital resilience</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h5>3. Enabling nonprofits to progress in their digital maturity by increasing ability to access VMware solutions.</h5>
<ul>
<li>Supporting nonprofit customers in amplifying their impact. Members of the Office of the CTO Ambassadors program, in partnership with the VMware Foundation, created <a href="https://octo.vmware.com/nonprofit-connect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nonprofit Connect</a> with the goal of building a feedback loop with VMware’s nonprofit customers. Responding to nonprofit customer input, the Nonprofit Connect team also created this <a href="/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/certification/Nonprofit-Connect-VMware-Education-and-Enablement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guide</a> of free VMware education and enablement resources.
</li>
<li>Supporting nonprofits with high need to access VMware solutions. <a href="https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/how-vmware-and-techsoup-are-powering-digital-transformation-for-nonprofits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TechSoup began offering</a> VMware vSphere and vCenter Server to eligible U.S. nonprofits in the TechSoup community.
</li>
<li>Designing and building technology with nonprofit customers. <a href="https://tanzu.vmware.com/act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VMware Pivotal Act</a> is a program that partners with nonprofit customers at a discounted rate to research, design and develop practical solutions to pressing challenges around the world.</li>
</ul>
At VMware, we are committed to accelerating nonprofit impact through digital transformation. We remain optimistic that technology can help address the most pressing societal issues when integrated with existing processes and in partnership with the people working most closely to the challenges.
Learn more about the VMware Foundation at <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/foundation.html">www.vmware.com/company/foundation.html</a>.

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Jessamine Chin

Supporting nonprofits to accelerate global impact.

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VMware’s Commitment to Nonprofit Digital Transformation | VMware

At VMware, we’re on a journey to put back more than we take, delivering long-term shared value for our stakeholders, and unlocking opportunities for all. As part of that journey, for the past three years, we’ve been working with the pro bono experts at Taproot Foundation, investing in tools and resources to help nonprofits build their technical capacity.
Many of the 12 million global nonprofits that are tackling the planet’s most pressing problems are struggling with realizing the benefits of technology due to lack of resources, funding and capacity. Well-intentioned companies, funders and volunteers want to jump in and help; however, what we’ve learned through our work with <a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/when-jumping-to-solutions-gets-you-nowhere-fast-technology-pro-bono" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taproot</a> is that in order to truly support a nonprofit so they can meet and exceed their mission, we must take a customer-centric, long-term approach to co-create solutions that build nonprofits’ organizational capacity.
As our CEO, Pat Gelsinger, wrote earlier this year, “Let’s be honest, this kind of long-term, multi-part collaboration is not easy. The issues you’re trying to address – education, poverty, and climate change – are so complex that they require deep understanding of the historical context, an ability to apply systems thinking, and a significant time commitment to embed yourself at the community level.”
<a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/resources/transforming-technology-pro-bono-compilation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transforming Technology Pro Bono</a>, released last week, is the final compilation of a four-step guide for both volunteers and nonprofits looking to engage in pro bono services. The Solution Development Framework in the Guide details how to Discover, Design, Implement, and Maintain a sustainable solution that meets the needs of nonprofits.
How the Guide Helps Volunteers and Nonprofits
Our intent for this free Guide is that it’s used by companies, foundations and volunteers who would like to offer pro bono service to nonprofits, as well as nonprofits who are looking for more effective technology pro bono projects. Using the Transforming Technology Pro Bono Guide, we hope to mitigate the “rush to take action mentality.” For example, we’ve found that many people often skip over the critical Discover and Design phases. While it may seem more efficient, rushing to Implement often leads to projects that are more costly and don’t ultimately serve the organization’s needs. We’ve intentionally focused on providing this practical Guide to support more effective and sustainable technology pro bono.
And it pays off. Investing in the Discover and Design phases with a nonprofit can result in 2x faster timeframe to deploying a solution; 75 percent increased alignment and efficiency; 301 percent return on investment; 33 percent less development and testing time; and 50 percent less defects or missed use cases1.
Nonprofits continue to report not feeling confident they have enough skilled staff or training to effectively use technology2. We believe this Guide will help with this issue, since the technology solution is co-created with the pro bono volunteer and nonprofit staff, with an emphasis on usability and sustainability.
<img loading="lazy" class="attachment-large size-large" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vmw-solution-development-framework.jpg?w=965" sizes="(max-width: 965px) 100vw, 965px" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vmw-solution-development-framework.jpg 965w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vmw-solution-development-framework.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vmw-solution-development-framework.jpg?resize=768,434 768w" alt="" width="965" height="545">
Putting the Guide into Practice at VMware
We do our best to “walk the talk,” so the Transforming Technology Pro Bono Guide has provided the theoretical foundation for VMware Foundation’s Good Gigs Projects. Evolved from previous pro bono programs and launched in May 2018, Good Gigs Projects invite VMware people to apply their pro bono talents to co-create a technology solution with a nonprofit. Through these efforts, we work to bridge the growing technology divide and equip social sector organizations with powerful tools to support them in delivering on their missions. Since launching, VMware people have led 14 projects in countries including the US, UK, and Costa Rica.
We are committed to strengthening the operational capacity of social sector organizations. Releasing the Transforming Technology Pro Bono Guide is a milestone in our journey to give back more than we take. We hope you find it useful and are able to put it into practice at your organization.

[1]Brown, Benjamin. “The Total Economic Impact™ Of IBM’s Design Thinking Practice.” Forrester Consulting. Feb 2018. p. 1-2.

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[2] Hulshof-Schmidt, Robert. “The 10th Annual Nonprofit Technology Staffing & Investments Report.” NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Network. May 2017. p. 8, 15.

Supporting Nonprofits in their Digital Journey

Supporting Nonprofits in Their Digital Journey

VMware technology forms a digital foundation for organizations that are changing the world. From virtualization to cloud computing and mobile technology, two decades of innovation have given rise to a more connected planet. Even as new technologies emerge and connect us, the world continues to face complex, interconnected and systemic issues like growing inequality, access to opportunity and education, and climate change.
At VMware, we are driven to be a force for good. We remain optimistic that technology can help address these societal challenges when integrated with existing processes and in partnership with the people working most closely to the challenges. As the world relies on 12 million global nonprofits to continue tackling the planet’s most pressing problems, we also recognize many of these nonprofits struggle with realizing the benefits of technology.
<h5>Strengthening Nonprofit Organizations to Amplify Impact</h5>
For the past three years, the VMware Foundation has been investing in research and tools to strengthen nonprofit operations through technology so that they can more effectively serve their mission. This week, at the TechSoup Global Network Summit, TechSoup launched their Digital Transformation Initiative by <a href="https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/building-a-cloud-first-future-for-ngos-around-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing the development of a nonprofit digital transformation roadmap</a>. The tool will provide nonprofits with a customized digital blueprint based on each organization’s technology capacity across five categories: Productivity, Security, Back-Office Process Automation, Reach &#038; Engagement, Data &#038; Impact Measurement, and Innovation.
VMware is leading this effort in collaboration with Bay Area tech companies Okta, Box, Cisco, and Adobe. “We’re in an era where our technology is interoperable and collaborative. To empower the social sector, we need to apply the same principles to our partnerships,” says Bryan Breckenridge, Executive Director, Box.org.
“TechSoup has built a powerful global network and identified a clear need for a better roadmap to help move nonprofits to the cloud. They understand how to harness the power of the nonprofit and tech sectors to drive us forward together. This is a challenge we’re excited to tackle,” shared Erin Baudo Felter, Executive Director, Okta for Good.
“Digital transformation is a tool for conversation,” says Mona Raina, Director of Services, TechSoup Global. “For the 1 million global nonprofits that we serve today, we want to help increase their impact and we cannot do that unless we connect the solution to the organization’s mission and goals. We know technology is not a solution without people and process.”
<h5>Technology Pro Bono for Digital Transformation</h5>
The VMware Foundation also continues a multi-year research project with Taproot Foundation, Transforming Technology Pro Bono, which provides a framework and practical guide<a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/digging-deeper-technology-pro-bono/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> for more effective and sustainable technology pro bono. </a>The research provides the theoretical foundation for Good Gigs Projects, launched in July 2018, a program where VMware people can apply their pro bono talents to co-create a technology solution with a nonprofit. Through these efforts, we work to bridge the growing technology divide and equip social sector organizations with powerful tools to support them in achieving and delivering on their missions.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZ86HEakg0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learn more about the VMware Foundation and Good Gigs Projects &#8211; Watch the Video!</a>
Today every organization needs technology to succeed and scale and yet, a digital divide still exists for the nonprofit sector, primarily due to constrained resources, so they are unable to fully realize the benefits of technology. At VMware, we are committed to equipping and strengthening the operational capacity of social sector organizations as they take on some of our world’s most challenging and complex issues.

TechSoup launches Digital Transformation Initiative led by VMware in collaboration with Okta, Box, Cisco, and Adobe.

Navigating Digital Transformation - Technology Roadmap for Nonprofits

Navigating Digital Transformation &#8211; Technology Roadmap for Nonprofits

<div id="attachment_18092" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18092" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-18092" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jessamine-Chin-VMware-Foundation-Director.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jessamine-Chin-VMware-Foundation-Director.jpg 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jessamine-Chin-VMware-Foundation-Director.jpg?resize=150,150 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Jessamine Chin, Senior Director, Social Impact, VMware</div>
Technology has the power to unlock amazing new possibilities for our customers and the world. Through pro bono service learning, we translate the incredible potential of digital transformation from the corporate sector to our communities. Recently, I was fortunate to see this potential unfold—and watch a community transform.
Havre sits in the rural plains of Montana. It was built around the Great Northern Railway, which runs through town bringing cargo from coast to coast. Havre is surrounded by both farms and Native American reservations. The nearest regional airport is a two-hour drive west, and the winters are quite harsh. About 40 percent of the Havre Public Schools students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and 35-40 percent of students are of American Indian descent. Without the resources or proximity afforded to many larger and urban school districts, Havre, with a population of roughly 10,000, has one of the most innovative school districts I have encountered.
We initially began working with Havre Public Schools because they were already on the path to digital transformation. As a rural school district with limited resources, they had already reached nearly 1:1 device per student and already ran VMware software. After initial conversations and a more detailed discovery assessment, it became obvious there was significant potential for VMware to accelerate the school district’s digital transformation through a pro bono service learning engagement.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="VMware Foundation - Good Gigs - Service Learning Trek - United States" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kck7PO6kq1g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>People + Technology: A Winning Combination for Digital Transformation</h2>
From June through August, a team of 12 VMware people worked with Havre Public Schools in the rural plains of Montana, in conjunction with the nonprofits Team4Tech and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). The team’s objectives were to:
<ol>
<li>Digitally transform the school district’s infrastructure.</li>
<li>Accelerate the use of technology to supplement and enhance teacher and student experiences.</li>
</ol>
As a multi-faceted collaboration, many organizations led to the success of our pro bono engagement with Havre Public Schools. With tight budgets, the school district’s IT staff operated outdated, out-of-warranty versions of VMware software. To bring the district further along its digital journey, the VMware Foundation donated current versions of VMware vSphere, VMware vRealize Operations and VMware vCenter. Dell Corporate Giving donated new servers that enabled the updated software to function. Further extending the ripple effects of our engagement, the CoSN team plans to use the lessons learned in Havre to create resources for similar rural school districts.
As part of their pro bono engagement with Havre Public Schools, the VMware team employed the Solution Development Framework, a phased approach to discover, design, implement and maintain sustainable solutions that meet nonprofit needs. Detailed in research findings published by the VMware Foundation and Taproot Foundation, <a href="https://news.vmware.com/to-help-enable-nonprofits-with-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transforming Technology Pro Bono</a>, this practical guide to approaching tech pro bono engagements is intended to bridge the gap between tech employees’ and nonprofit staffs’ knowledge and understanding of the potential impacts of nonprofit digital transformation.
<div id="attachment_18086" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18086" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-18086 size-large" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/VMware-Foundation-2-1024x540.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="540" />VMware’s Kiran S (Bangalore, India) and Fred Godoy (Georgia, U.S.) demonstrate Micro:bit with Havre Public Schools teachers.</div>
Following this methodology, our diverse and cross-functional VMware team used a customer-centric lens to discover the unique needs of Havre Public Schools. By taking the time to learn about the environment in which we were working, getting to know the various stakeholders involved and listening to their unique challenges, we co-designed solutions that fit Havre Public Schools’ needs. Taking the time for proper discovery assessment and design phases led to a much smoother implementation that will have lasting impact and will be more feasibly maintained over time.
<h2>Making a Lasting Impact that Changes Lives</h2>

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By applying their skills and talents in a different setting, the VMware team learned and developed alongside the teachers and administration in Havre. “I learned that you can deliver far more than you could ever imagine when you believe in yourself as much as you believe in the cause. That positive impact is multiplied when you add other like-minded colleagues with diverse skillsets and backgrounds, combined with an excellent support structure,” says California-based Carolyn Taylor, VMware Director, Global Compliance Services.

This was also an opportunity for the VMware team to embody the values, skills and mindsets inherent in the company’s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-code-operating-system-business-pat-gelsinger/">Leadership Code</a> and <a href="https://news.vmware.com/any/vmwares-culture-built-epic2-values">EPIC2 values</a>. As summarized by Bulgaria-based Miriana Nedeva, VMware Technical Writer, “All of our team members shared the same values: passion for serving others, attention to detail, trying to always be attentive to the quality of the work, having strong moral principles, being customer-centric and having a strong sense of community on a global scale.”

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“Ultimately, it is the relationships and personal interaction that makes learning meaningful and lasting. This amazing group of people consistently demonstrated this truth in every interaction they had with our staff, students and community,” says Carlson.

Aligned with <a href="https://news.vmware.com/al-impact-innovations-next-frontier/">VMware's focus</a> on creating a better future for the company, the planet and the global community, the software solutions utilized in this pro bono effort will enable Havre Public Schools to operate more efficiently so school district staff and administration can focus on creating value for their students versus operating their technology.

Our work with Havre Public Schools is a great example of the potential of pro bono service learning. While nonprofit digital transformation is uniquely aligned with VMware’s capabilities, every organization has the potential to utilize their talents to effect positive change by collaborating with nonprofits in their communities. Across industries, employing a customer-centric approach ensures that we achieve the best and most sustainable solutions.

Learn about the pro bono digital transformation of Havre Public Schools, powered a strong community and 12 VMware people dedicated to citizen philanthropy.

Unlocking Possibilities through Pro Bono Digital Transformation

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