Sky’s the limit: transition to Google for Nonprofits

Earlier this summer we paired Chris Carther-Krone, IT specialist, with Tricia Robinson, Executive Director of the South Winnipeg Family Information Centre (SWFIC), and together they brought SWFIC up to the cloud. The Google cloud, that is.

When it became clear that SWFIC needed to move from its current email host, Tricia decided to take that opportunity to move the organization to Google for Nonprofits. Using online hosting made sense, plus she’d heard about some of the apps available through the service – apps that she hoped could help her and her employees stay in touch, especially since they all work part-time.

Tricia was able to follow the process right up to the point where she was ready to take the final step, but was a bit nervous about making the switch without someone who knows a bit more about making the transition, and could troubleshoot any issues that came up.

It took us a while to find the right volunteer, but eventually we met Chris, and he seemed perfect. He’d already gone through the transition to Google for Work, leading a company of 500+ employees seamlessly to the service.

This match is the perfect example of what we mean when we say that each match is unique, with its own rhythm and timing. Usually we wait until the match meeting to connect organizations and volunteers – our experience suggests that matches have a stronger chance of starting (and staying) strong when one of us Spark employees facilitate the first meeting, leading the volunteer and organization through our introduction and work plan facilitation process.

This time, though, I connected Tricia and Chris before we met, so that Chris could help Tricia make sure everything was in place for the meeting. Then, instead of having a standard match meeting, we had a two-hour working meeting, during which they not only met for the first time, but Chris helped put the final touches on the work Tricia had done. By the time the meeting was over, Tricia and her two employees were up and running on Google for Nonprofits, and Chris’ work was done.

If you work for a community development organization in Winnipeg and are looking for short-term, project-specific help, or if you’d like to volunteer your expertise, start here. Our matches make it possible for organizations to achieve what they can’t do on their own – be part of that change today!