I had the great pleasure of attending my first South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference last year – and in the past few years, I've been following the growing number of amazing learning opportunities at the conference for folks in the nonprofit space. SXSW Interactive is no longer just a place for hard-core techies, but an opportunity for those of us who are enthusiastic and passionate about new technologies and applying them in a variety of sectors. As evidenced by the swift response from the SXSW community to the devastating earthquake in Japan during last year's event, the conference organizers and attendees understand the powerful impact technology can have for nonprofits and individuals working for causes they care about. For 2012, SXSW is once again recognizing the importance of helping leaders in the nonprofit sector stay at the forefront of technology and interactive trends through its Interactive Scholarship program. Whether a social entrepreneur, a nonprofit employee or executive, or any individual experimenting with new ways to use social technologies to create change in their communities, five lucky people will win a scholarship to the Interactive conference in March of next year. This is the second year SXSW will be awarding scholarships to attend the conference to people using technology to better their communities in new and innovative ways -- last year's program enabled five folks doing impressive work for nonprofit organizations to immerse themselves in the SXSW experience, including:
- Noland Hoshino from Heifer International, who explored opportunities to use QR codes to generate awareness and deepen donor engagement for the organization, as well as an opportunity to map projects and make their organizations more efficient.
- Amanda Levinson of VOZ, who was focused on new ways of leveraging mobile technologies to help immigrant day laborers served by her organization.
- Erika Righther of Concerts for Kids, who wanted to use web and mobile applications to better connect musicians and fans.
- Stephanie Jones of the YMCA of Austin, who hopes to create an app that will help kids learn the importance of exercise, and also raise money and create greater social media awareness.
- Alison Murry of Isha Foundation's Project Greenhands who is interested in leveraging emerging technology to help the project centers work with each other to trade best practices and automate requests for tree-planting efforts.
(To read more about last year's SXSW Interactive Scholarship winners, click here.) This year, the scholarship is open to anyone doing great work leveraging emerging technologies to make a difference in their communities. At the Case Foundation, we're thrilled to help spread the word about the scholarship program and find some new rising stars at the intersection of technology and social good, something we care deeply about. Do you know someone who fits the bill? It could even be you! Submit a 300-word essay to SXSW answering the question, "Who is using technology or new media to do the most innovative work for good within their community?" But hurry, the deadline is this Friday, August 26, at 11:59CT!
___________________________
*Update: The deadline has been extended to Sunday, August 28, at 11:59CT!*
Tags | 
The Power of Social Media: Connecting for Good 
