Free technology guidance for community organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Helping community organisations make sense of technology when they don't know where to start.
Four free one-hour sessions. No sales, no strings — just clear, practical advice.
Sessions are conducted remotely via video call at times tailored to volunteer and staff working schedules.
Serving all of Aotearoa
Delivered online across Te Ika-a-Māui, Te Waipounamu, and all regional districts.
100% Independent
Zero software vendor sponsorships or kickbacks.
Plain English
Clear human translation, no consulting jargon.
Public Good
Dedicated to grassroots community resilience.
Who it is for
Yarra Tech Clinic is deliberately shaped for frontline community entities that do crucial social, environmental, and civic mahi without the luxury of an internal systems lead.
You don’t need to know the technical question. Tell me what’s difficult, slow, risky or frustrating, and I’ll help you work out what the technology question actually is.
Eligible groups include:
- Registered small charities and not-for-profit charitable trusts
- Incorporated societies operating sports, social, or community hubs
- Volunteer grassroots groups and mutual aid collectives
- Organisations with no in-house IT staff or dedicated technology budget
Māori and Pasifika organisations are warmly welcome.
Whether you are supporting whānau initiatives, hapū projects, or Pacific community networks, I offer a patient, culturally respectful and unhurried space tailored around your operational realities.
What I can help with
Six focused technical areas designed to give volunteer-powered organisations immediate clarity, safety, and operational breathing room.
Choosing the right tools
Evaluating donor databases, member CRMs, accounting tools, and everyday office software to select affordable, not-for-profit discounted options.
Using AI safely
Pragmatic, low-risk guidelines for small teams using generative AI to draft grant proposals, simplify meeting notes, and summarise documents responsibly.
Automation that saves time
Cutting down repetitive volunteer busywork, manual data re-entry, and email follow-ups with straightforward, no-code integrations.
Basic cyber security
Sensible password managers, multi-factor authentication (2FA), and defensive protocols to protect your organisation from phishing and account takeovers.
Privacy-aware workflows
Handling member, donor, and sensitive client records respectfully and legally in alignment with the Privacy Act 2020.
A practical tech roadmap
A sequential 6-to-12 month action plan that prioritises what to fix immediately, what to defer, and how to allocate scarce funds.
How it works: Four focused sessions
A step-by-step advisory structure built to respect your committee's limited time while delivering tangible progress.
Listen & diagnose
Unpacking your operational challenges, tools, and everyday frustrations in plain English without condescension.
Options & models
Reviewing realistic, low-cost or free not-for-profit tools specifically tailored to your team's real digital capability.
Learn by doing
Hands-on walkthrough together on screen so your coordinators build real confidence navigating new workflows.
Roadmap & check-in
A tailored 1–2-page action plan and an optional “pass it on” idea, followed by a 30-day email and a 90-day check-in call.
What you receive
You will not walk away with a bloated 80-page slide deck. Every engagement produces clear, practical assets you can immediately use with your board and volunteers.
Tailored technology roadmap
A concise 1-to-2 page action plan detailing immediate priorities, estimated software costs, and milestone timeline.
Organisation health checklist
A clear snapshot evaluating backup health, user access permissions, and cyber safety hygiene.
Operational templates
Ready-to-use policy snippets for volunteer onboarding, device use, and client record retention.
Discount & vendor directory
Direct guides on securing verified not-for-profit discounts (TechSoup NZ, Google for Nonprofits, Microsoft for Nonprofits).
What it isn’t
To keep this service focused, sustainable, and genuinely effective, I provide strategic guidance and training, but do not provide:
Emergency IT break-fix or desktop troubleshooting
I can’t provide real-time callouts for crashed computers, network outages, or printer faults.
Direct website coding, design or hosting maintenance
I’ll guide you on requirements and choosing platforms, but I don’t write custom code or manage servers.
Hardware repairs or device provisioning
I don’t supply, repair or buy computers, tablets, or network equipment.
Administrator access or passwords to your live systems
For governance and privacy safety, you retain exclusive control over all passwords, logins, and accounts.
Each one, teach one.
“There's no fee. I ask one thing in return: pass on what you've learnt to someone else who needs it.”
Teach a skill, share your roadmap with a similar group, or help another organisation through the same checklist. It’s an invitation, not a condition. The phrase comes from African American history, where people denied an education secretly taught each other to read — I borrow it with respect.
Grounded, practical knowledge transferred directly between community workers.
Vishnu Devarajan (Vish)
Volunteer Technology Adviser
Technology architect with 15 years in banking, health, energy and government across NZ, Australia and beyond.
A personal contribution to civic life in Aotearoa
I established Yarra Tech Clinic to provide small organisations with the calm, honest technology counsel that corporate firms bill hundreds of dollars an hour for.
It’s a personal volunteer programme, run in my own time and not connected to my employer. You will never be pitched paid work or referred to anyone I benefit from. The clinic is named after my daughter.
Places are limited. Apply in about 10 minutes.
Tell me about your organisation, your people, and the specific technology questions slowing you down.
Apply for a placeApplications are reviewed based on fit and available capacity.