The strategy of nonprofit technology

Thank you to the Nonprofit Support Program of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for hosting a great workshop yesterday with Lindsay Bealko of Toolkit Consulting on the strategy of nonprofit technology.

I think it is safe to say that none of the consultants in the room needed a lot of convincing to recognize the impact of quickly shifting technology innovations on our clients. For smaller nonprofits, it’s always a challenge to keep up with systems like a Knowledge Management System.

But Lindsay reminded us not to get caught in the maelstrom of products and approaches.

Focus on the strategy of your technology first!  As Lindsay said, the “so what” of technology matters — and this slide quickly illustrates what the point of using technology should be.

Can you think of an area of nonprofit functioning where technology doesn’t enhance or hold you back? I’d include finance, fundraising, program delivery, measurement and evaluation, community engagement, communications both inside and outside of your organization, media relations, revenue collection, even governance.

We found Lindsay’s 3 level framework for investment extremely compelling:

1. Start with your basic infrastructure. Does it work? Is it secure? Do you have ongoing investments needed to stay stable. Then,
2. Integrate technology to enhance your service delivery. Then, if you have the bandwidth,
3. Innovate. How can technology to create greater impact for your mission?

Beware our clients! We’ll be ramping up attention to technology in our strategic planning work. It’s always been included, especially as we do fundraising planning, but we are going to push you harder in this area of  your strategy and planning.

Many kudos once again to NSP for not only hosting this workshop for consultants, but for providing nonprofits in the Greater Hartford area with the funding and technical consulting to assess their technology needs and develop strategic technology plans.