Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog: Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog

Today we are launching the Elevate America community initiative, a new grant program that will support nonprofit organizations offering employment services, including technology skills training and job placement, in local communities across the United States. To support this initiative, we are committing $4 million in cash, $6 million in software and technology skills training curriculum over the next two years.

We are inviting nonprofit organizations to respond to our request for proposal (RFP) , detailing their plans for partnering with us on proven, successful, scalable programs that respond to the 21^st century skills training and employment needs of people across the country.

The deadline for submissions is October 8, 2010 at 5pm Pacific Time with the successful projects being announced in January 2011.

Since 2003, Microsoft has been partnering with nonprofit organizations through our Unlimited Potential initiative to support technology skills training in underserved communities across the United States, with programs that have reached more than 27 million people to date. Through the Elevate America community initiative, we will continue to seek partnerships with organizations that support underserved communities, with a special interest in those that focus on the needs of women and young workers (ages 18-25) who have greater barriers to employment and re-employment than the broader population.

This is the latest extension of Elevate America, which was launched in February 2009 to provide people across the United States with no cost and low cost access to the technology skills they need to find employment. Since the program’s launch we have worked with 32 states and the District of Columbia to distribute nearly 900,000 no cost Microsoft training and certification vouchers. In March 2010 we announced the Elevate America Veterans initiative, focused on helping U.S. veterans and their spouses to transition from military to civilian employment.

How can you respond to this RFP?

Interested organizations are encouraged to review the full RFP and related information on our website to ensure their organization meets the full criteria for consideration.

To be eligible, all proposals must include at least one organization that is eligible to receive cash funding from Microsoft as defined by the following criteria:

• Qualify as an IRS registered tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. State tax exemptions alone are not considered eligible.
• Meet Microsoft general funding guidelines as outlined in “Eligible Organizations” .
• Successfully pass the Elevate America community initiative eligibility survey located here. Following successful completion of the survey, access to the grant application tool will be provided.

Online training resources

For more information about Elevate America and the no cost and low cost training and education resources we offer to help people develop better technology skills for the jobs of the 21^st century workforce please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/elevateamerica

I was recently invited to speak on a panel at an event being hosted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Australia.  The event was themed “Advancing Innovative Development and Aid Strategies in the Asia Pacific: Advancing the Millennium Development Goals”. The conference aimed to stimulate greater international interest in the Asia-Pacific, and enhance the quality of debate around how to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On reviewing the breadth of speakers at the conference I realized I was one of only a handful of people representing the corporate sector. It was to be my role to convince a group of key decision makers from government, civil society, multilateral and country donors of the important role that private organizations will play in order to achieve the MDGs.

As Community Affairs Lead for Asia, I witness firsthand the issues the MDGs are trying to address on an all too regular basis. Asia is home to approximately 56% of the world’s population and according to estimations by Aid Data approximately 23.92% of the world’s aid was distributed in this region, so to say I feel strongly on this topic and the role of the private sector in an understatement.

There is an amazing amount of work being done by technology companies around the globe to address the MDGs and I jump at any opportunity to celebrate progress and raise awareness of what the future may hold. I would argue there are few companies in our position who offer the breadth of programs and are able to align them with all the MDGs directly (you can read an update on our commitment to the MDGs here). As I walk people through Microsoft’s portfolio it is usually my experience that people are relatively unaware of the work we are doing and very supportive when they learn about it.   

This event was also special to me for another reason, I was humbled to be sharing a panel with Professor Peter Singer,  Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University.  I read the work of Professor Singer whilst I was studying, and his views on ethics were some of the driving influences for me to move toward the line of work I am in.

As you gaze through the MDGs it is striking how big a task it will be to even come close to achieving them.  Being at an event with people who are committed to achieving these results is inspirational and leaves me even stronger in my belief that public-private partnerships are imperative to us moving closer to success.

You can find a recap of the Lowry Institute event here.

You can find out more about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals here.

You can find a summary of Microsoft’s commitment and contribution to the Millennium Development Goals here.

Earlier today we announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft Office 2010. This new release of the world’s most popular productivity software provides a range of tools that help nonprofits work more efficiently and effectively from managing e-mail, to connecting and working with colleagues online, and creating and sharing professional documents.

Microsoft has long recognized the benefits technology can bring to nonprofit organizations. In keeping with our commitment to nonprofits, we are delighted to announce that Microsoft Office 2010 is available immediately for qualifying nonprofits through our technology donations program in the United States and in 32 other countries around the world through our partnership with TechSoup Global. Office 2010 is also available immediately through our other grant programs – learn more about our work in the community here.

What’s new in Office 2010?

Express ideas more visually

Office 2010 opens up a world of design options from new and improved picture formatting tools to a wide range of new customizable themes and graphic layouts.

Accomplish more when working together

Brainstorm ideas, keep versions in sync, and meet deadlines faster when you’re working in groups. Co-authoring in Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Excel Web App, and OneNote 2010 shared notebooks enable you to edit the same file at the same time with other people — even when they’re in different locations using your Windows Live account or Sharepoint Foundation 2010.

Microsoft Office Web Apps

Extend your Office 2010 experience to the Web. Store your Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files online and then access, view, edit, and share content from virtually anywhere.2

Stay connected to your business and social networks

Outlook 2010 is your hub for colleagues, donors, and friends. Use Outlook Social Connector to quickly view history of e-mails, meetings, or attachments you receive from individuals. Get additional information about people to stay on top of your business and social circles through SharePoint My Site, Windows Live, or other popular third-party sites.

Broadcast your message

Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation to a remote audience, whether or not they have PowerPoint installed. The new PowerPoint Broadcast Slide Show feature enables you to present right from your desk, while your audience views the presentation live in their Web browser. PowerPoint 2010 also delivers exciting new video editing capabilities for bringing your presentation alive!

Create powerful data insights

Track and highlight important trends with new data analysis and visualization features in Excel 2010. The new Sparklines feature delivers a clear and compact visual representation of your data through small charts within worksheet cells. Slicers let you filter and segment your PivotTable data in multiple layers so you can spend more time analyzing and less time formatting. {Beth Kanter recently shared how she is using Excel as a critical tool to guide the effective use of social media – Excel 2010 is full of features and imagery that will help her bring her data to life.

Manage large volumes of e-mail with ease

Save valuable time by streamlining your inbox. Outlook 2010 lets you compress long e-mail threads into a few conversations that can be categorized, prioritized, and conveniently filed. The new Quick Steps feature lets you perform multi-command tasks, such as reply and delete, with a single click.

Store and track all of your ideas in one place

Get the ultimate digital notebook for tracking, organizing, and sharing text, pictures, and audio and video files with OneNote 2010. New features such as page version tracking, automatic highlighting, and Linked Notes give you more control over your information, so you’re always on top of your content and changes made by others.

Work your way, faster and more easily

Microsoft Office Backstage view replaces the traditional File menu to give you a centralized space for all of your file management tasks, including save, share, print, and publish. The enhanced Ribbon, common across Office 2010 applications, lets you access commands quickly and create or customize tabs to fit your work style.

There are two versions of Office offered through the technology donations program:

For more information

· Find out how qualifying nonprofits can order Microsoft Office 2010 through the Microsoft Technology Donations program here.

· Discover information and resources on Office 2010 from the Microsoft Office site.

· Explore the new Microsoft Office 2010 Web Apps visit here.

The third session we are sharing from our recent Accelerator Summit was hosted by Lisa Brummel, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Microsoft and looked at how our employees are making a difference in the community from supporting existing nonprofits, volunteering their time, and even setting up their own nonprofits. There is also discussion on how the company’s support for social innovation and strong citizenship efforts enhances our efforts to recruit and retain great people.

Along with Lisa we have four employees who shared their experiences. Adnan Mahmud co-founded the Jolkona Foundation; Xiang Li co-founded Givology; Tom Moran was a Loaned Executive with United Way and Rajesh Munshi set up the Seattle chapter of CRY America.

I hope you enjoy the video, and you can also view the previously posted sessions:

• Video- How technology can enable nonprofits
• Videos- Innovating to help solve some of the world’s most pressing issues