As the year draws to a close, Bucher Technologies (BucherTech) is celebrating another successful round of its annual Grant Program. The Valparaiso-based IT and managed service provider distributed $25,000 in IT products and services to nonprofit organizations across Northwest Indiana this year.
BucherTech President and Co-Owner Tim Bucher founded the program in 2019. His years of work in the Region’s IT sector had shown him a critical need among the area’s nonprofits. Many work with incredibly outdated software – computers over a decade old, flawed phone systems, and other problems that they simply lack the budget or know-how to solve.
“We wanted to help those that are helping others,” Bucher said. “We saw that so many of them were just getting by on things that they shouldn’t even be managing to get by on. One of our recipients, for example, was working with a PC that was over 10 years old and very slow. We wanted to help, so we established a grant program.”
Since 2019, BucherTech has distributed just over $77,000 in total products and services to its grant winners who are chosen by demonstrating and explaining a specific IT need. Some organizations opt to keep things simple, such as swapping out old laptops for new ones. Other organizations apply for the grant to tackle more complex problems, such as improving Wi-Fi connectivity or moving systems to the cloud.
“Often when you’re short on funds, you use funds to pay basic expenses and bills to get by, so you can’t afford to do something that would make a long-term difference,” Bucher said. “That’s why we do products and services instead of just handing over a check.”
One of this year’s winners, Family Focus Inc., works with children from struggling homes. Its budget is tight, and basic operating costs prohibited them from upgrading their aging computers. The $2,000 grant from BucherTech provided an immediate overhaul to their IT system.
“They were able to get three computers,” Bucher said. “It made a huge difference for their case workers.”
BucherTech selected 16 winners in this year’s round of grants: Family Focus Inc., Family & Youth Services Bureau, First Christian Church Valparaiso, Lakes of the Four Seasons’ Lions Club, LARC Lansing, MAKS Corp., Morgan Township Volunteer Fire Department, My Way 2 Work Inc., Porter County Aging & Community Service, St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center, St. Monica Roman Catholic Church, St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center, Salvation Army of NWI, Three20 Recovery, The Women’s Center of NWI, and Victory 4 Kidz.
“There are a lot of organizations that make a wide impact and so many needs,” Bucher said. “There are so many nonprofits out there and people down in the trenches with nothing to work with. When we delivered computers to one organization, the president of the organization was appreciative, yes, but the manager who oversees the fieldworkers was thrilled. Her people were struggling with what they had, and this will make such a difference.”
Applications for the 2025 Grant Program will not open until July of next year. Further information, including application requirements, is available on buchertech.com.