Preparing for Disaster: NPower Pennsylvania and 82 Volunteers Help Dozens of Local Nonprofits Prepare for the Worst

Philadelphia, PA - March 18, 2006 — On March 16 NPower Pennsylvania mobilized 12 companies and 82 information technology professionals from around the region in order to help 42 nonprofit organizations complete information technology disaster planning and recovery audits. From food, shelter and medical care to historic preservation and the arts, our region’s nonprofits provide vital services to our community. Unfortunately, many of these organizations lack the resources and technological expertise to create plans that help them ward off disaster.

With financial support from Sunoco, NPower’s third annual Tech Volunteer Day, “IT Disaster Preparedness,” was free to nonprofit organizations. With the major disasters of the past year, especially Katrina, still fresh in their minds, this event generated significantly more interest among area nonprofits than any previous NPower PA Tech Volunteer Day. All volunteers met at 12:00 pm on March 16 in NPower’s office, received training, and then spent the afternoon with area nonprofits. They then returned to NPower’s office, shared their results, and celebrated their accomplishments at Ludwig’s, a restaurant and bar near NPower’s center city office.

A nonprofit technology assistance provider, NPower PA is dedicated to helping nonprofits use information technology more effectively in accomplishing their missions. NPower PA provides consulting and training to help nonprofits use technology as a capacity-building tool. For more information on visit www.npowerpa.org or call 215-557-1559.

Corporate partners for “IT Disaster Preparedness” included some of the leading companies in the area: Accenture, Computer Aid Inc., Deloitte, E-Brilliant, GMAC Commercial Mortgage, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Microsoft, Reed Technology, Rock River Star, Rohm and Haas Company, Strategic BCP, and Sunoco.

About NPower PA
NPower PA is part of the NPower Network, an affiliation of 12 NPower offices providing technology assistance to nonprofit organizations. NPower PA was founded in 2002 with support from Microsoft Corporation and local funders, including the William Penn Foundation and Rohm & Haas Company. The original NPower was founded in Seattle in 1999.

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