Technology Planning. Nonprofits have too often treated technology as a “nice to have” but not necessary part of their operations. Not true any longer, the ability to be effective and efficient requires serious technology planning and ongoing training. Typically for profit organizations spend 80% of their technology dollars on training and 20% on equipment; nonprofits have been the reverse. The lack of technology savvy adds costs due to inefficiencies and redundancies. Technology planning tools are available through many sources including Npower (www.npower.org), and Techsoup (www.techsoup.org). More communities are developing nonprofit technology resource centers where smaller organizations can access higher level technology through a specialized server system, thereby controlling their own costs while accessing state-of-the-art hardware, software and support.
Note: “Knowledge management” and information sharing is a critical piece of nonprofit operations and should be a part of your technology plan. Having sound database and documentation systems are a must so that staff, board, volunteers, clients and the public can easily and efficiently access information about their individual interests and the overall agency services and programs.
