What you missed at the first Australian IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference

Earlier this month, for the first time, the IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference was hosted in Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. This event brought together leaders, technologists, and mission-driven innovators in the nonprofit sector to learn, connect, and inspire. Over the three days, attendees explored the ways technology helps nonprofits make a positive impact around the world. At the keynote, Kim Jackson, head of nonprofits at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Australia, and Mitchell Kelly, head of engagement for Australia and New Zealand at AWS, highlighted how nonprofits are on the front lines of addressing some of society’s greatest needs, and how harnessing the power of data can be a force multiplier for change.

These were some of the top moments from IMAGINE: Nonprofit Australia:

Nonprofits digitally transform to meet dynamic needs

Jackson highlighted the transformative power of technology for nonprofits, emphasising how creative utilisation of emerging technologies can help them think bigger, reach wider audiences, and build a better world. Jackson’s message underscored the profound impact that purposeful use of data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) can have on nonprofits. From expanding literacy to delivering scaled solutions in response to some of world’s greatest humanitarian crises, these technologies are transforming how nonprofits navigate challenges and capitalise on opportunities in our increasingly connected world. Jackson’s words inspired the audience to envision building a better future through the innovative application of emerging technologies such as generative AI.

Kim Jackson speaks during the IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference. (Photo by Teri Hanlon)

Mitchell shed light on how embracing emerging technologies in innovative ways can enable nonprofits to not just envision a better world, but actively create it. For instance, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) developed the Living First Language platform, which preserves and revitalises Indigenous First Languages, transforming them into dynamic, community-driven, and interactive digital literacy applications. The Living First Language project employs technology to stem the loss of First Languages and empower children to become learners in their Mother tongues. ALNF’s technological solution offers a more scalable means to effectively capture and share languages.

“You’re utilizing technology in ways we never could have imagined, and we’re building a portfolio of nonprofit solutions for you,” said Mitchell.

Jackson shared how AWS’s dedicated nonprofit team offers scaled programs, repeatable solutions, and technical expertise. One of the resources AWS provides is the AWS Nonprofit Credit Program. This program offers AWS Credits to organisations globally, with three tiers based on organisation size: $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000 in AWS Credits annually. This opportunity empowers nonprofits to leverage AWS services and harness the potential of cloud computing for their missions.

Nonprofits scaling for even greater impact

The events continued with a series of lightning talks. Graham Link, CTO of Movember, shared how the men’s health nonprofit is using AWS technology to better engage with supporters and beneficiaries globally. Link shared how the charity leverages AWS technology to drive deeper engagement and understanding of the global audience they serve. He discussed how AWS supports Movember’s annual charitable campaign, which raises funds and awareness across 19 international markets spanning the UK, Canada, Europe, US, New Zealand, Australia, and beyond. With an extremely concentrated peak of activity each November, Movember relies on the scalable AWS Cloud to dynamically handle immense spikes in web traffic, donations, and other high-volume workloads. By partnering with AWS, Movember has been able to flex their infrastructure up or down as needed while maintaining a seamless global user experience.

Attendees got a closer look at how Library for All is leveraging cloud technology as a solution to end the global illiteracy crisis. Library for All’s tech-driven mission ensures children globally can access stories in their native languages. This transformative platform allows them to become lifelong learners and uplifts entire communities. Rebecca McDonald, founder of Library for All, shared how technology has fundamentally changed how they interact with beneficiaries, delivering culturally relevant digital reading materials via mobile phones to reach the most underserved populations. This includes rapidly deploying an online library in Ukraine to reach students during the war. Their innovative platform provides a digital library, made up of book collections in 13 languages spanning 16 countries. By harnessing the scalability of cloud infrastructure, Library for All is overcoming immense barriers to empower children with literacy, the most powerful tool for generational change.

Tiphanie Au during her presentation about ICMEC Australia. (Photo by Chere Koh)

Activating communities to empower collective impact

As organisations turn to the cloud to adapt legacy services to meet the needs of the digital era, successful nonprofits base their solutions on real-world, people-centric approaches. The cloud empowers organisations to act faster and smarter in protecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Tiphanie Au, head of impact at the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) Australia, shared how they are pioneering intelligence-led prevention to understand and dismantle the complex networks of human trafficking and modern slavery on a global scale. Au talked about how cloud technology enables the organisation to develop data strategies to deepen their understanding of complex problems, increase cross-functional and inter-organisational collaboration, and activate people in powerful ways.

Unifying data and systems to scale access for all

Screenrights, an Australian non-profit tasked with collecting and distributing royalties to 5,000-plus members, shared how they went from “paper to serverless,” undergoing a transformative digital journey to modernize operations and drive more value. Transitioning from paper-based systems to a FileMaker database that quickly reached scaling limitations, Screenrights migrated core applications and data warehousing to the AWS Cloud. This migration delivered stability, reliability, and the capacity to support 365 percent year-over-year data growth. Critically, Screenrights adopted a serverless, event-driven AWS architecture optimized for their specific needs while relentlessly monitoring and reducing cloud costs – realizing nearly 24 percent annual savings. Every technology decision focuses on maximising member services and funds distribution through enhanced capabilities and lean expenditures. Rebuilding continues iteratively, thoroughly documenting choices to guide future evolutions in lockstep with Screenrights’ mission of cost-effectively streamlining royalty management for creators.

Kirsten Hinze, senior director of digital experience at Queensland Health’s Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, shared Queensland Health’s vision for leveraging cloud technology to dramatically enhance patient care and improve patient access to outpatient services. She provided powerful examples of how the organisation is innovating with AWS to reimagine the patient journey through a patient-centric lens. This includes developing Kirra, a fully integrated web application. It was developed to address increasing demand, staffing constraints, duplication of work in multiple systems, and fiscal pressure. They decided on human-centred design and product teams that led to digital liberation and freed staff from mundane tasks.

Working with partners to build global solutions

In addition to the many nonprofit leaders presenting, several AWS Partners showcased how they are collaborating with nonprofits to drive innovation and impact through cloud technology:

• Monday.com highlighted their work operating system platform built on AWS, demonstrating how nonprofits can use visual boards, automations, integrations and reporting to streamline projects, operational workflows and mission delivery.
• User experience design firm Kablamo discussed their approaches for nonprofits to build accessible, human-centered digital products and services through cloud-native development on AWS.
• GWI Digital, an AWS data analytics partner, led sessions on implementing cost-effective cloud data solutions to turn nonprofit data into actionable insights.
• Kzen8, an Australian AWS Partner, spotlighted their managed cloud services tailored for the nonprofit sector, including cloud migration, security, networking and analytics to accelerate cloud adoption while optimizing costs.

By collaborating with AWS Partners like these, nonprofits can maximise their technology investments while concentrating internal resources on delivering their vital programs and services to communities worldwide.

Learn more about AWS for nonprofits

The leaders and innovators who presented at the IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference show how technology can help nonprofits scale their impact. But navigating new technology can be a steep learning curve for some. That’s why we created the Powering purpose in the cloud guidebook to help nonprofits navigate their move to the cloud. This cloud adoption guidebook, created specifically for nonprofits, was built using our experience helping more than 85,000 nonprofit organizations. It also shares findings from research AWS commissioned from hundreds of nonprofit decisionmakers in the US.

Dive deep into more AWS resources for nonprofits, from grants and credits, to open data access and strategy, cloud training, and more. Learn more about how AWS helps support nonprofits at the AWS for Nonprofits homepage.