Press Release Details

Contact:
Joel Ginsberg
415.541.9000 joelg@compasspoint.org 

SAN FRANCISCO (7 March 2003) – On display for the first time, TrainingPoint version 2.0 made quite an impression on participants at the NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network) Conference this weekend in Oakland, California. Nonprofit trainers and others working in the nonprofit sector now have one place where they can freely find and also share technology related training materials. First launched in May 2002, TrainingPoint (http://www.trainingpoint.org) now has over 2000 registered users and has been redesigned to permit organizations to submit links to their websites. More content, an improved user interface, and other features make the site more powerful and easier to use.

Technology trainers, nonprofit organizations, and individuals working in nonprofits looking for up-to-date training manuals on Excel, FileMaker, technology planning and other software and technology topics can download these curricula for free. Registered participants can share their materials and write reviews about materials others have submitted.

“TrainingPoint is just a manifestation of what the nonprofit technology professionals already do – support each other through knowledge sharing”, commented Nelson Layag, Director of Technology at CompassPoint. “We hoped that by providing a centralized place for sharing resources, we could support that community’s willingness to share and leverage resources with like minded groups and individuals.”

Many of the participants at this weekend’s conference expressed not only excitement about accessing the material at TrainingPoint, but also the opportunity to support others by sharing their materials. “Knowing the investment we’ve made into our materials can be leveraged beyond our organization by sharing it with others is a satisfying thought,” explained Michael Stein of Groundspring.org, a nonprofit that provides Internet services to other nonprofits. “By posting our material on TrainingPoint, the reach and impact of Groundspring’s efforts are substantially increased.”

A primary feature of TrainingPoint is the ability to retrieve complete training materials for technology tools and software programs in the following major topic areas: Basic Computer Skills, Computer Applications, the Internet, Specialized Software, and Technology Management/Planning. The site includes submissions from some of the premier training and technology support providers to nonprofits in the country. Among the titles already included at the site are: CompassPoint’s Database Camp for MS Access, Summit Collaborative’s Barefoot Technology: Train the Trainers Program, and NPower New York’s Networking Basics.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services led the development of this curriculum-sharing tool. CompassPoint is a leading nonprofit training and consulting organization with offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Site design and engineering was provided by Prajna IT Consulting, a systems integrator providing start-to-finish architecture, implementation and deployment software services. Implementation of this project was made possible through the generous support of the California Consumer Protection Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and TechFoundation.

For more information about TrainingPoint, contact Joel Ginsberg at 415.541.9000 or visit the website at http://www.trainingpoint.org.

About CompassPoint Nonprofit Services

With offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a nonprofit consulting and training organization. Through a broad range of services including consulting, research, information dissemination, workshops, and conferences, CompassPoint strives to provide the best management tools and concepts to help nonprofits better serve their communities. For more information, visit http://www.compasspoint.org/ or call 415.541.9000 in San Francisco or 415.541.9505 in San Jose.

Related Links:
http://www.trainingpoint.org