Caritas Malta was one of the first local NGOs to invest in Information Systems as a capacitybuildingtool when twelve years ago, the organization implemented a comprehensive ‘Information Systems Strategic Plan’.

However, with changing technologies and needs the software developed then, had reached the end of its life and needed replacement. This is where Microsoft came in,” explains Mgr Carmel Farrugia, Assistant Director at Caritas Malta.

Microsoft recently hosted its NGO Connection Day at its Microsoft Innovation Center which was attended by around 60 NGOs from across Malta and Gozo. The aim of this event was to explain how Microsoft and its partners can assist NGOs perform more efficiently and at less costs

“We want to see Malta’s NGOs fully harness the power of innovation to meet the needs of our country and the various communities,” explained Adrianna Zammit, Country Manager for Malta & Cyprus.

“We believe in NGOs and the work they are doing in Malta. This means supporting the nonprofit and volunteer community, enabling its members to reach out to those in need. This is why to date we have donated over €1 million worth of software to NGOs in Malta,” added Ms Zammit.

Caritas is one of Malta’s largest and most active NGOs and as such it is also one of Microsoft’s main beneficiaries.

“Our systems were very outdates and after analysing the software available on the market it was decided to migrate to Microsoft products, namely Exchange/Sharepoint/CRM.  Due to limited financial resources an application was submitted to Microsoft and they provided us with Free Software Licenses. In fact, we hope to commence the development and migration process in the coming weeks,” added Mgr Farrugia.

With 30 MIC’s and 20 research and development centres around the world, Microsoft is the 2nd largest R&D investor worldwide. On a European level, Microsoft is very active within the business, health, education and community and has helped 16,000 startups and supported over 50,000 SMEs. In the field of innovation, Microsoft 18,000 employees out of which 3,000 are researchers and engineers.

Microsoft is also very active In the health sector and thanks to cloud technology, it has enabled hospitals to reduce costs by 20%, whilst collaborating with 6000 partners and health innovators. And when it comes to NGOs, Microsoft has donated over €612 million to over 42,000 NGOs.

“The above figures put all the work we are doing in Malta into a better context. Around 1000 jobs have been created through Microsoft’s partner ecosystem in Malta, 60 startups have been supported by Microsoft’s BizSpark and the Innovation Center, 3000 young people have been empowered through our YouthSpark package, 2000 young females reached through the Digigirlz program and 85% of students across the country use Office 365 for Education for free. Through flexible solutions, programs and partnerships and a business model that puts people first, our objective is not innovation for innovation sake, but innovation that empowers people to make an impact,” added Ms Zammit.

The event was also addressed by Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties who commended Microsoft’s initiative to support Malta’s NGOs. “Indeed it is commendable to note how many people dedicate their time and their efforts to help those  in need in our society. However it is also thanks to the unwavering support of companies like Microsoft that these NGOs can keep improving their operations. Seeing Microsoft’s enthusiasm and commitment in hosting what is now an annual NGO-dedicated event is encouraging and we do encourage more NGOs to come forward and seek opportunities on how they can learn more about Microsoft’s important products and services,” added Minister Dalli.

During the event, a team of students from St. Martin’s College who placed first in a competition organised during a Student Innovation Day, had the opportunity to present their winning idea to all the NGOs present. Their winning idea proposed a Facebook page to encourage more youths to take up volunteer work. This page would be supported by an App which would also generate online questionnaires,  the results of which would match the prospective volunteer to an NGO. The idea also proposed that volunteers clock in their volunteer hours and rewards would be given to those that volunteer most.

“We plan on continuing these efforts every year through such activities and we will also be looking to expand these events to Gozo.  NGOs are such a vital part of Malta’s community and we are truly appreciative of the great work they do across so many different spheres,” concluded Adrianna Zammit.