Find Nonprofit Resources IT Planning for Nonprofits
An IT plan can help you make the best use of technology. Your plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should lay out clear priorities for the technology you need for your organization. Start out by using the pyramid below to think about your current technology usage and how it could be improved.
To learn more about this framework, read the full article, Demystifying IT Adoption and Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector (PDF, 541 KB).
The Nonprofit IT Pyramid
Use the pyramid and the suggestions below to think about your organization’s IT vision, current use of technology and opportunities to take on IT projects to support your mission.
Access to Stable & Secure IT
The base of the pyramid represents the foundational IT infrastructure almost all nonprofits need to operate. Without this foundation, a nonprofit may struggle to move to upper levels of the pyramid, because their base IT infrastructure will be in disarray.
For example, the Seattle Art Museum used Microsoft software to create a stable and secure network between multiple locations so they could focus on adopting solutions to enrich the experience for their one million visitors each year.
Learn more: WMV file (17.81 MB)
Optimize Service Delivery
Once an organization has access to stable and secure technology, IT can begin to enable and improve the organization’s service delivery and reach.
The Egyptian Food Bank is one example of how a nonprofit has used technology donations to broaden their reach and impact.
Read more: PDF file (369 KB)
Transform
As organizations achieve a stable and secure environment and use IT to optimize services, they can begin to consider how software can be used to maximize community impact. Nonprofits can create dedicated IT solutions and develop IT business models to address real world problems.
For example, The Royal National Institute for the Blind uses software to keep their operations running smoothly and securely, allowing them to focus on creating technology that helps people who are blind and partially sighted read.
Watch the video: WMV file (8.14 MB)
Moving Up the IT Pyramid
To enhance your organization's use of IT at all levels of the pyramid:
- Evaluate your nonprofit’s current IT use and identify where you are on the pyramid today.
- Talk to staff about how they use IT and what they think about your organization's use of technology.
- Consider creating a technology committee to help better integrate IT as a strategic priority at your organization.
- Use technology planning resources to help you get started, such as:
- - Planning resources from TechSoup
- - Success Stories from other nonprofits who have successfully moved up the pyramid
- - Newsletters and webinars available through www.techsoup.org or www.nten.org
To learn more about this framework, read the full article, Demystifying IT Adoption and Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector (PDF, 541 KB).
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