The power of a river to sustain a community is something Charles Buchanan often thinks about. It’s his metaphor—a vision, if you will—for doing good.
In the six years since his Calgary- based company began helping not-for-profit organizations transition to the digital world, his approach to ending “technology poverty” has evolved. The president and CEO of Technology Helps now sees the lack of digital literacy as a systemic global problem.
One of the company’s first clients was Children’s Link, a service that matches special-needs children with service providers. Buchanan’s team helped them move from an inefficient homegrown application to a secure cloud-based system where resources are at their fingertips, allowing them to concentrate their energies on helping their clients.
Technology Helps has worked with more than 200 non-profits. Now Buchanan has set his sights on building a “single-system” solution that can be scaled and used by organizations facing similar tech problems. His vision now: “Imagine, if you will, a river, and all these organizations we serve are sitting on the banks of the river, drawing from it, according to their needs.”
Like a river, Buchanan’s vision has far-reaching implications—and benefits.
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