Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Modern digital experiences to accelerate mission impact (IMP205)

Summary

Alison Fryhoff, the lead for AWS's global public sector healthcare and global nonprofit team, emphasizes the importance of a data-driven culture for nonprofits to have a positive impact on their missions.
AWS offers various programs to help nonprofits become data-driven, including the D2E (data-driven everything) program, solution architect partnerships, and team upskilling.
Brian Grywe, CTO of Project Lead the Way, shares his organization's journey toward a data-driven culture and how AWS has enabled them to scale their STEM education programs, reduce costs, and innovate.
Project Lead the Way has seen significant growth in student reach and teacher satisfaction due to their AWS-powered platform and data-driven approach.
Alicia Morrison, Director of Data Science at Mercy Corps, discusses how AWS has been instrumental in making data accessible, enabling rapid deployment of analyses, and influencing the humanitarian sector's use of data.
Mercy Corps leverages AWS for data accessibility, analysis replication across countries, and sector influence, with examples of hurricane tracking and agricultural monitoring in crisis contexts.
Both speakers highlight the importance of AWS in allowing their organizations to innovate, scale, and maintain security while exploring AI/ML and Gen AI applications.
The session concludes with a discussion on the future of cloud computing in the nonprofit sector and advice for organizations embarking on their cloud journey.

Nonprofits are increasingly recognizing the value of cloud computing, not only for its scalability and cost-effectiveness but also for its ability to foster innovation and rapid experimentation.
AWS's suite of services and tools, such as SageMaker, Lambda, and EC2 instances, are being utilized by nonprofits to address real-world problems and improve operational efficiency.
Data-driven decision-making is becoming a cornerstone of nonprofit strategy, with organizations like Project Lead the Way and Mercy Corps integrating data analysis into their core operations to enhance their impact.
The use of AI and ML in the nonprofit sector is still in its early stages, but there is significant potential for these technologies to transform how organizations approach problems and deliver solutions.
The speakers' experiences underscore the importance of partnerships with cloud providers and the value of AWS's support and training resources in helping nonprofits navigate their digital transformation journeys.
The session highlights a trend towards more sophisticated data management and analysis within the nonprofit sector, which could lead to more targeted, effective, and efficient mission-driven work.