Free Geek Vancouver: Refurbished Computers and Electronics for Nonprofits and Community Groups

Free Geek is a nonprofit community organization located in East Van that reduces the environmental impact of waste electronics by reusing and recycling donated technology. Through community engagement we provide education, job skills training, Internet access and free or low cost computers to the public. We’ve got electronics at the same price as Craigslist, but with a warranty. http://freegeekvancouver.org

Free Geek Vancouver is a unique feature of the trendy East Van landscape. Growing over time to fit the needs of a mixed urban center, Free Geek has developed a strong relationship with the community and groups within it. While Vancouver strives towards a vision of a greener tomorrow, our recycling centers only break down electronics into components.

Free Geek Vancouver is different in that we refurbish computers and electronics in order to provide them at no cost to non-profits, schools, community groups, and our volunteers. We  provide high quality, low cost computers and electronics to members of the public in our thrift store at 1820 Pandora St, Vancouver. We also differ in that all of our broken-down materials end up being recycled ethically and as locally as possible so it doesn’t get shipped to a country with lower health and safety standards.

We are a safe, inclusive, and friendly space for volunteers to learn about computer hardware, to gain valuable experience, and to acquire references. We use the stuff you don’t want, to support others in a sustainable way.

 

 

We’re Almost ½ Way to Making the HiVE Accessible

Our favourite meetup hosts at the Hive need our help! There are 30 giant stairs standing in the way of making our events accessible to the whole community. Give them a  lift – literally! – by helping them buy a platform lift elevator.

We’ve already raised $11,715 and once we get to $12,500 we’ll open up opportunities for matching donations from other major donors.

Please give today and share this with other amazing people like you! We just need $785 more to show major funders how serious we are about making the HiVE accessible.

Why donate? Because accessibility looks good on everyone. And because the HiVE has been donating their venue to Net2van for the last four years – which has allowed us to bring free events to you every month!

P.S. We’re so excited about this campaign that the Net2van co-organizers have committed to matching your donations up to $2,000.

Give today! https://goo.gl/XaiPZr

Event Slides: What’s the Deal with Slack?

Slack is a team collaboration tool that has slowly begun to chip away at email’s dominance in the workplace. With over 4 million daily active users, it’s become an essential tool for thousands of organizations.

Slack’s David Fay offered an introduction to the tool for the unfamiliar, and shared some tips and tricks for the converted. Come and learn about this email-killer that’s changing the way we communicate at work.

Slides

 

Vancouver’s Nonprofit Tech Events Roundup for April 2017

Hey friends, there’s lots of great events for the nonprofit tech community. Check ’em out! Or for the latest updates join our group on Facebook and follow us on twitter at #Net2van.

NETSQUARED VANCOUVER EVENTS

Most NetSquared events are free, so don’t be shy – come join us!

How to Manage a Scattered Nonprofit Team

When: Tuesday, May 2
RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/net2van/events/237887095/

Do you work with remote volunteers and/or staff? Are you having trouble working effectively? Or perhaps you have a routine that works, but would like to improve the experience? Nejeed Kassam, Founder and CEO of Keela.co, will cover the best practices that make remote team management effortless!

Changemakers Summer Potluck

When: Tuesday, June 20
RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/net2van/events/237861519/

EVENTS FROM OUR COMMUNITY FRIENDS

Here’s a selection of upcoming learning opportunities specifically for nonprofits. If you have a suggestion for our next monthly event email us at info@net2van.com.

We also recommend you check out the workshops from our friends at Vantage Point and Ladies Learning Code, Camp Tech, Red Academy, Groundswell, and Spring.

Nanaimo: The New Societies Act: What You Need to Know

When: Thursday, April 6
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-new-societies-act-what-you-need-to-know-nanaimo-tickets-32893874464

All organizations that are incorporated under the current Society Act must plan to complete their “transition application,” with revised constitution and bylaws, by the time of their 2017 AGM. This workshop will provide the information on the bylaw and policy changes necessary for your organization to effectively make the transition.

Imagineering ~ a kudoz #openexperience

When: Friday, April 7
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/openexperience-imagineering-bring-the-craft-of-magic-into-the-everyday-tickets-33122454152

Have you ever watched in wonder as a magician seemed to do the impossible? Were you delighted? Unsettled? Curious how the illusion was constructed?

Come join us for an evening with world-renowned mentalist and Kudoz host, Christopher Taylor. You’ll learn some simple illusions. You’ll meet and mingle with some fantastic folks over food and beverages.

But more than that, you’ll discover how magic is as much about creating a narrative as it is about sleight-of-hand. You’ll learn how this craft can be more than entertainment – how it can be brought into the day-to-day and impact how you experience your life, and how it can become a dimension of seeing that opens new possibilities.

Not-A-Party Election Party Presented by the Urban Worker Project

When: Saturday, April 8
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/not-a-party-election-party-presented-by-the-urban-worker-project-tickets-32970733351

Join Gen Why Media and the Urban Worker Project for a celebratory event that explores the connections between precarious work, affordability, and a stronger social safety net ahead of the 2017 provincial election. We’ll explore the issues through music, art installations, and lightning talks from community leaders.

Revelstoke: Societies Act Transition Workshop

When: Wednesday, April 10
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/societies-act-transition-workshop-revelstoke-tickets-33126229444

All organizations that are incorporated under the current Society Act must plan to complete their “transition application,” with revised constitution and bylaws, by the time of their 2017 AGM. This workshop will provide the information on the bylaw and policy changes necessary for your organization to effectively make the transition.

SVI Vancouver

When: April 19-21st
RSVP: http://hollyhockleadershipinstitute.org/sviv/apply-to-attend/

Join business leaders and social entrepreneurs at the Social Venture Institute (SVI) Vancouver for an intensive, interactive inquiry into how to face the day-to-day challenges of running a socially conscious enterprise. Join social change business leaders to fine tune your strategies, learn best practices for solving problems and build long lasting relationships with business peers and mentors.

Salesforce Nonprofit User Group

When: Thursday April 20, 2017; 12pm – 3pm (PDT)
Where: Salesforce Vancouver Offices Office #710 – 375 Water Street (Gastown) Vancouver BC V6B 5C6

Timeraiser Vancouver

When: April 27
RSVP: http://www.timeraiser.ca/vancouver

Timeraiser is a party for social good, supporting artists and nonprofits. Here’s your chance to kickstart your art collection by giving back to your community. Bid volunteer time, not dollars, for original art by emerging Canadian artists. Bidding starts at 25 hours and maxes out at 150 hours. If a piece you love reaches 150 hours, anyone can match that bid and we’ll draw a winner at random from the max bids once the auction ends.
If you win, you have one year to finish volunteer hours and claim your piece of art. The best part? Volunteer with any nonprofit(s) you choose! Download the Timeraiser app to keep track of all your volunteer hours and send them directly to us!

Surrey: Black Boys Code Spring 2017 Hackathon

When: Saturday, April 29
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/black-boys-code-spring-2017-hackathon-tickets-32930167016

Black Boys Code robotics hackathon to take place at the Surrey City Centre Library on Saturday April 29th 2017. Participants will be asked to develop the best, smartest, and most creative solution they can over the course of the BlackBoysCode Spring 2017 Hackathon Challenge. By the end of the workshop they will have programmed a physical robot to traverse obstacles. The boys will have also learned skills such as collaboration (working in teams), critical thinking (programming), and communication (presentation skills)…

Tractionforce 2017

When: May 11
RSVP: http://www.tractionforce.ca/

TractionForce is back for a fifth year! We’ve been doing this long enough now to know what you’re looking for in a cloud technology and business transformation conference. For months, we’ve been thinking about how we can make this the most informative – and valuable – experience for you.

EXPANDED NON-PROFIT TRACK
Supporting non-profits is a huge part of what we do. That’s why we’ve built out the non-profit portion of TractionForce. Non-profits will enjoy keynote and customer panel sessions specifically geared toward them.

Psychology for Digital Behavior Change – Vancouver (2-day Workshop)

When: November 14-15, 2017
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychology-for-digital-behavior-change-training-week-vancouver-registration-30143121889

Over two days, you will learn the most mission critical lessons in digital psychology, and gain mastery in recognizing and applying over 40 principles of persuasive design psychology. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to reverse-engineer the psychological patterns behind the world’s most successful websites, apps, ads and social media. You will also know how to translate psychological strategies into creative content, and understand how to optimize impacts over time.

Emotion & Motivation for Digital Behavior Change – Vancouver (2-day Workshop)

When: November 16-17, 2017
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychology-for-digital-behavior-change-training-week-vancouver-registration-30143121889

This 2-day workshop provides participants with a deep understanding of emotional design, by covering the essential lessons in the psychology and neuroscience of user emotion, motivation, cognition, and behavior. This workshop focuses on interactive design and content strategies aimed at evoking positive emotions, and design patterns that will help you avoid accidentally triggering negative user emotions. By the end of this workshop, you will know how to build emotionally rewarding websites, mobile apps and digital campaigns. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of emotional design strategies that will help you win your users’ trust, shape their habits, and form long-term relationships with your brand.

===

Got a nonprofit tech event that should be in the next newsletter? Let us know! Tweet at us using the hashtag #net2van.

FREE TECH HELP

Free Tech Work at RED Academy

RED Academy is looking for suitable organizations to get free digital work done by our students! Our students specialize in digital marketing, user experience design, user interface design, front-end web, and application development. Apply at https://www.redacademy.com/community-projects or email andee@redacademy.com

Free Consulting with The Community Corps

The Community Corps connects nonprofits and schools to free online help from skilled tech volunteers from top companies who can assist with technology related projects. Volunteers can help with training on software like Excel and Salesforce to updating websites, or providing unbiased advice on a hardware or software purchase. To get started create your account and post a request for tech help.

JOBS AND VOLUNTEER POSTINGS

The Changemaker Summer Potluck BBQ returns this July and Eli and Ajay need your help!
We are looking for committee members who want to help lead the following roles:

  • Wrangling the musicians and BBQ DJ
  • Facilitating games! Start the group in a game of frisbee or bocce ball.
  • Communications – drafting social media and email invitations to our communities. We have the lists, but we need a writer!

If you’re interested please email eli@net2van.com or schedule me for a 15 call.

+++++++
If you have a job to share reach out on Twitter using the hashtag #net2van or post to our free jobs board.
+++++++

Tractionforce 2017: May 11

http://www.tractionforce.ca/

TractionForce is back for a fifth year! We’ve been doing this long enough now to know what you’re looking for in a cloud technology and business transformation conference. For months, we’ve been thinking about how we can make this the most informative – and valuable – experience for you.

EXPANDED NON-PROFIT TRACK
Supporting non-profits is a huge part of what we do. That’s why we’ve built out the non-profit portion of TractionForce. Non-profits will enjoy keynote and customer panel sessions specifically geared toward them.

The one thing that hasn’t changed, and will never change, is that all this is FREE!

Nonprofit Technology Show and Tell: #Net2van March 16, 2017

Chad Leaman’s notes and links from the March 16, 2017 NetSquared Vancouver event.

Tom – Makes software for Choirs

Kris

Hannah Wei

  • Shenomads – a community of remote workes
  • All on Slack
  • @herlifeinpixels
  • Mostly female
  • Made a typeform for people to sign up
  • Uses Zapier to feed the slack bot
  • Built engagemend campaign
  • Only been around since November
  • Looking for sponsors and mentors

Chad

  • TextExpander – make short codes to have full scripts
  • Cheap – $25
  • Works in cloud

Basil

  • Showing a CRM based in a Google Sheet
  • Bailjose88@gmail.com

Gillian

  • Periscope – Webstreaming – can reshare across networks
  • Trello for Project Management – lots of free powerups for plugins like DropBox
  • Slack – OpenDataBC

Ianick

  • Software to enable easier volunteering
  • Atria.coop
  • Skilled based philanthropy

Veronica

  • Canva.com – design software for non designers. Great for online > than print
  • Mostly free
  • Has great templates

Stas

  • Canadian Business Network – funding respurce
  • 99designs.ca – cheap outsource designs
  • Fivrr – cheap outspurcing
  • Codeacademy
  • Chatbots – autochat robots
  • Steals competitors google keywords for facebook ads.
  • Kittysplit –

Ellen – www.Keela.co – all in one nonprofit management

  • Contacts – can group them and message them in one
  • Campaigns
  • Projects
  • Tasks
  • Donations – with tax reciepts. They take 0
  • $35 a month for 1000 contacts and 10 users.

Jason

  • Tip one! Slack has voice chat
  • Www.rumie.org – gets online content to be offline, so a “library for less than price of a textbook”
  • Learncloud – http://learncloud.rumie.org
  • Rumie is a Google Canada

Eli

  • Lav mic – $15 for sound make the video sound professional. Wired. Amazon link.
    • Get a battery pack for phone.
  • Livestreaming multipoint video. Mevo camera. Streams right into your phone. Can set up multipoint hot spots. Does nice pan cams. Looks like multicamera setup. Can save to memory card or push to facebook.
  • Gillian says GoPro can do 2 people.

Stephanie

Bryan 

Appear.in

  • Video chatroom
  • Can creat a link and joint people

SVI Vancouver: April 19-21st, SFU Woodward’s

Join business leaders and social entrepreneurs at the Social Venture Institute (SVI) Vancouver for an intensive, interactive inquiry into how to face the day-to-day challenges of running a socially conscious enterprise. Join social change business leaders to fine tune your strategies, learn best practices for solving problems and build long lasting relationships with business peers and mentors.

Apply to attend now: http://hollyhockleadershipinstitute.org/sviv/apply-to-attend/

March Nonprofit Tech Events in Vancouver

Hey friends, there’s lots of great events for the nonprofit tech community. Check ’em out! Or for the latest updates join our group on Facebook and follow us on twitter at #Net2van.

NETSQUARED VANCOUVER EVENTS

Most NetSquared events are free, so don’t be shy – come join us!

Nonprofit Technology Show and Tell

When: Thursday, March 16
RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/net2van/events/236276934/

This is a crowdsourced session, where participants are given up to five minutes to share a tool they use in their non-profit tech life. Learn from the best – each other.

Share anything that helps you do the amazing work you do. It can be a CRM, communication tool, fundraising platform, some social media magic-sauce, automation or other clever web genius that helps you further your mission or cause or execute your work. We only ask that you can show the solution and say what and why you use it.

How to Manage a Scattered Nonprofit Team

When: Tuesday, May 2
RSVP: https://techsoup.nationbuilder.com/managing-teams

Do you work with remote volunteers and/or staff? Are you having trouble working effectively? Or perhaps you have a routine that works, but would like to improve the experience? Nejeed Kassam, Founder and CEO of Keela.co, will cover the best practices that make remote team management effortless!

FREE TECH HELP

Free Tech Work at RED Academy

RED Academy is looking for suitable organizations to get free digital work done by our students! Our students specialize in digital marketing, user experience design, user interface design, front-end web, and application development. If you have a project that needs RED’s help apply here: https://www.redacademy.com/community-projects or email andee@redacademy.com for more information.

Free Consulting with The Community Corps

The Community Corps connects nonprofits and schools to free online help from skilled tech volunteers from top companies who can assist with technology related projects.

Volunteers can help with training on software like Excel and Salesforce to updating websites, or providing unbiased advice on a hardware or software purchase. To get started create your account and post a request for tech help.

JOBS AND VOLUNTEER POSTINGS

Volunteer Newsletter & Social Media Curator

Apply: http://bccic.ca/volunteer-newsletter-social-media-curator/

BCCIC is seeking a volunteer curator to be responsible for the design and development of the monthly e-newsletter as well as the regular maintenance and monitoring of our social media content. This is a flexible position, with location and hours that can vary over time. Your time can be split between the BCCIC office and home, with regular contact by phone and email in-between.

The Changemaker Summer Potluck BBQ returns this July and Eli and Ajay need your help!
We are looking for committee members who want to help lead the following roles:

  • Wrangling the musicians and BBQ DJ
  • Facilitating games! Start the group in a game of frisbee or bocce ball.
  • Communications – drafting social media and email invitations to our communities. We have the lists, but we need a writer!

If you’re interested please email eli@net2van.com or schedule me for a 15 call.
+++++++
If you have a job to share reach out on Twitter using the hashtag #net2van or post to our free jobs board.
+++++++

EVENTS FROM OUR COMMUNITY FRIENDS

Here’s a selection of upcoming learning opportunities specifically for nonprofits. If you have a suggestion for our next monthly event email us at info@net2van.com.

We also recommend you check out the workshops from our friends at Vantage Point and Ladies Learning Code, Camp Tech, Red Academy, Groundswell, and Spring.

Jim Green Memorial Lecture 2017: Cooperative Social Innovation

When: Wednesday, March 1
RSVP: http://www.sfu.ca/sfuwoodwards/events/events1/2017-2018-Spring/JimGreenMemorial2017.html

For the fifth annual Jim Green Memorial Lecture, Ashley Proctor explores the cultural impact and complexity of collaboration between residents, activists, artists and entrepreneurs as the coworking movement expands around the globe.

Attend to learn more about the 312 Main Social Innovation space.

Peacetalk: Women’s Human Rights at Risk

When: Thursday, March 2
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1294786107240235/

This talk aims to uncover how women and girls around the world are disproportionately impacted by mega-projects and resource extraction. Too often, the economic development model adopted by government violates Indigenous land rights, threatens Indigenous cultures, and heightens the risk that Indigenous women and girls will experience violence.

Vancouver Open Data Day Hackathon

When: March 4
RSVP: https://www.opendatabc.ca/pages/2017-vodday-vancouver-open-data-day

Celebrate International Open Data Day by participating in Vancouver’s Open Data Day Hackathon on March 4, 2017! Mashing up one or more Open Data sets, teams will create meaningful open data apps or visualization that help address challenges we face, creating a prototype to be demoed at the end of the day. A competition panel will vote for the best prototypes that help address challenges on a local or global scale.

HTML 500

When: Saturday, March 11
RSVP: http://www.thehtml500.com/en/cities/vancouver

Interested in trying your hand at HTML and CSS? Learn to code along with 499 other Vancouverites at the HTML500, Canada’s largest learn to code event, on March 11th presented by Lighthouse Labs and TELUS Digital. RSVP here http://www.thehtml500.com

Vancouver Nonprofit Salesforce User Group

When: Thursday, March 16
RSVP: https://vnugmeetupmarch162017.splashthat.com/

Psychology for Digital Behavior Change – Vancouver (2-day Workshop)

When: November 14-15, 2017
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychology-for-digital-behavior-change-training-week-vancouver-registration-30143121889

Over two days, you will learn the most mission critical lessons in digital psychology, and gain mastery in recognizing and applying over 40 principles of persuasive design psychology. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to reverse-engineer the psychological patterns behind the world’s most successful websites, apps, ads and social media. You will also know how to translate psychological strategies into creative content, and understand how to optimize impacts over time.

Emotion & Motivation for Digital Behavior Change – Vancouver (2-day Workshop)

When: November 16-17, 2017
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psychology-for-digital-behavior-change-training-week-vancouver-registration-30143121889

This 2-day workshop provides participants with a deep understanding of emotional design, by covering the essential lessons in the psychology and neuroscience of user emotion, motivation, cognition, and behavior. This workshop focuses on interactive design and content strategies aimed at evoking positive emotions, and design patterns that will help you avoid accidentally triggering negative user emotions. By the end of this workshop, you will know how to build emotionally rewarding websites, mobile apps and digital campaigns. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of emotional design strategies that will help you win your users’ trust, shape their habits, and form long-term relationships with your brand.

===

Got a nonprofit tech event that should be in the next newsletter? Let us know! Tweet at us using the hashtag #net2van.

Help Make the HiVE Accessible to Everyone

Our favourite meetup hosts at the Hive need our help! There are 30 giant stairs standing in the way of making our events accessible to the whole community. Give them a  lift – literally! – by helping them buy a platform lift elevator.

Please give today and share this with other amazing people like you!

Why donate? Because accessibility looks good on everyone. And because the HiVE has been donating their venue to Net2van for the last four years – which has allowed us to bring free events to you every month!

P.S. We’re so excited about this campaign that the Net2van co-organizers have committed to matching your donations up to $2,000.

Give today! https://goo.gl/XaiPZr