How Does Technology Benefit Nonprofit Organizations?

Published by Jay Cordova

Where Do We Start With The Technology?

Technology use in nonprofit organizations consists of different programs and software to manage almost all of their data. Keeping track of everything in spreadsheets is not feasible in this highly digital era. Some NPOs are still using outdated programs that make managing their donations and constituent relations difficult. So how do nonprofits use technology? Several software options are available to help NPOs systemize their outreach:

Content management system (CMS): CMS is software that allows you to develop, maintain, and update websites. In particular, your organization’s assets, like content and images, are managed by the system. CMS allows you to accept donations and measure users’ interactions on your site. It can also help you optimize content for search engines to drive traffic to the NPO’s website.
Constituent relationship management (CRM): CRM is a database that maximizes NPOs’ ability to keep track of their donors, contributions, and other supporters. All of the insights and donation information is on one platform available for NPOs to easily keep track of relationships with constituents.
Email marketing: Email marketing is a fantastic way for your company to communicate with your constituents more intimately while spending very little time online. Your organization can simply thank supporters, recruit new volunteers, and spread the word about your mission by sending personalized, auto-generated emails.
Social media management: For NPOs with a limited budget, using social media to achieve their objectives is a cost-effective way to increase awareness and internet exposure. Social media may significantly enhance engagement and fundraising through targeted campaigns.

Each of these management systems allows your organization to maintain interactions with donors and keep track of massive amounts of data. There are several different software options tailored specifically for NPOs to use. With research, you can find what works best for your organization. While technology challenges for nonprofits present themselves in different management systems, your team can create a technology plan to make sure you invest in the right software. If you need help, CIM can build a customized plan for your NPO’s goals.

How to Create a Technology Plan?

After reading about all of the technologies available and why they’re essential to nonprofits, it still might feel overwhelming to build a nonprofit technology strategy for your organization. Think about how technology integrates into every element of your nonprofit, both internal and external, to donors or constituents for the long term. With the support of a comprehensive technology plan, your organization may develop a more in-depth plan of action for your nonprofit technology needs. This will help your nonprofit focus on strategies and goals rather than cumbersome, disjointed software solutions. Creating a technology plan takes time, but there is a way to make sure it is comprehensive and meets your organization’s needs.

What Are the 10 Steps to Build a Technology Plan?

A technology plan helps you establish which strategies are most important to your organization while not overspending the budget or getting more technology than needed. Without your organization’s support and knowledge of organizational needs, building a comprehensive plan is challenging. However, if you follow the ten steps to building a successful technology plan, you’ll be able to implement new resources to reach your goals.

Build a planning team of employees, board members, and stakeholders that creates plans based on the organization’s needs.

Evaluate the technology you already use to determine which areas need improvement and increase efficiency. What do you do with your technology, and what does or doesn’t work well?

Determine your nonprofit’s priorities to build new opportunities through technology.

Identify your technology needs by finding answers to problems and implementing solutions that make sense with short or long-term goals.

Outline a technology plan budget based on short and long-term costs. A transition to a new program might mean more server space or higher maintenance fees.

Research technology vendors and tools that will address any priorities your team has identified. What fits within your budget and is scalable to your organization?

Create a schedule or timeline to meet deadlines and benchmarks on time.

Consider the additional staff training needed to ensure your team can continue to efficiently and effectively use new technology.

Present your plan to the board, providing an overview of existing technology, solutions, and long-term plans. Give the board a budget and what platforms or software are needed to meet new priorities and goals.

Implement your plan! Once you’ve completed the steps above, you can put your plan into action.

Following these steps allows you to build a plan from scratch, ensuring your organization gets the technology solutions. However, you don’t have to do it yourself. Suppose you’re struggling to get the ball rolling. In that case, the best solution to this problem is working with an IT service provider like CIM that creates a plan to guide you through your technology needs, including consultation on software evaluation and selection so you don’t over invest.

CIM: Building a Roadmap to Tech Success

Computers in Ministry offers several IT services to help you implement the best software for your technology needs. Our technology services can help you with CRM and application management for your nonprofit. Visit our website to learn more about our services.