Microsoft Offers Technological Training for Nonprofit Organizations

Microsoft Asia Pacific organized a workshop in Manila to educate nonprofit organizations on how to fully utilize the merits of social media. Heather Mansfield, the founder of DIOSA Communications, was invited to share her years of experience in social media at the workshop. Twenty-three representatives from 20 nonprofit organizations, who are strategic partners and Microsoft beneficiaries of software donations, attended the workshop. Additionally, five students who are aspiring to be part of the 2012 Imagine Cup finals in Australia were also invited.

Many non-profit organizations are on the lookout for fresh and creative ways to communicate with their audience. Hence, there is greater emphasis on the use of social media today as a means for interaction. However, many employees in nonprofit organizations are often handling multiple roles, and are also not technologically savvy enough to understand how social media works.

As the principal blogger at Non-profit Tech 2.0, Miss Mansfield is also the author of a guidebook for nonprofit organizations, “Social Media for Social Good”. The workshop proved to be highly beneficial as attendees were able to learn much from Miss Mansfield’s 15 years of experience in social media and nonprofit communication. The participants not only learned more about social media, but also its ability to propel their public visibility to greater heights.

Nonprofit organizations learn how to maximize social media for social good.

With the aid of Microsoft solutions such as Windows Live Writer®, Windows Live Photo Gallery® and Windows Movie Maker®, Miss Mansfield was able to educate the attendees on the use of such solutions to engage the public. They learned how to translate data to a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) script via Windows Live Writer®. They also found out about the capabilities of the Windows Live account, which allows users to store 25 gigabytes of data for free. Furthermore, Hootsuite™, a social media communications dashboard, was able to help participants manage their social media updates.

Ace Diloy, the advocacy officer for Stairway Foundation Inc, was pleased with how much he learned from the workshop. “This has totally changed my view on how social web should be utilized.”

“I’ve also learned quite a bit about Windows Live, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and Live Writer – a suite of free tools that could definitely help nonprofits better tell their story through social media.”
- Heather Mansfield, Blogger, Nonprofit Tech 2.0