“If this isn’t what UWM is about, I don’t know what is.”
UWM Chancellor Mark Mone was referring to nonprofIT, the School of Information Studies program that matches local nonprofits with teams of SOIS students who provide information technology assistance that the organizations might not otherwise be able to afford.
Mone spoke at a showcase this month at which the teams described their experiences working with each other and their clients.
This fall, 20 students offered their services to:
- The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation, to redesign an outdated website
- Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center, to update the website with new functionality
- Literacy Services of Wisconsin, to create a website with an emphasis on responsiveness to various devices
- ARMA International Educational Foundation, to build a website with an emphasis on member self-service
- GPS Education Partners, to develop a social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook.
This is the fifth semester that nonprofIT has given students the opportunity to take their skills beyond the academic setting to assist nonprofits. In return for their efforts, the students learn to work with clients that have deadlines and practical problems that need solutions.
NonprofIT recently received a $50,000 grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to support the expansion of the program.
Besides the nonprofits’ staffs, the students get the guidance of a mentor from the local business community.
Mone praised the “learning through doing” approach to the project, as well as the positive impact the program has on Milwaukee. And he encouraged the audience to spread the word about UWM’s contributions to the community.
“The region gets $7-8 in return for every dollar invested in UWM,” Mone noted.
You can read about this semester’s projects, as well as past projects, at the nonProfIT website.
