Digital Transformation for Nonprofits – Advice from Today’s Leading Experts

Some members of our team recently attended a webinar put on by The Chronical of Philanthropy on the hot topic of nonprofit digital transformation. It brought together four dynamic nonprofit leaders to share their insights on how to achieve digital transformation to drive success – how to create a roadmap, develop appropriate policies and processes, gain executive buy-in, handle data governance, build the right tech stack, test new initiatives, and find funding.

​Nonprofit digital strategy concept.

​If you missed it, it’s definitely worth a watch or listen! But, if you don’t have time to set aside to view it in its entirety, we’re going to summarize key points that the experts covered as well as give you our top takeaway when it comes to the conversation around nonprofit digital strategy.

​Key Points

• Use technology to support social sector values like transparency, collaboration, equity, accessibility, etc.
• Involve executive leadership early and often. You will regain the investment faster if you can get everyone bought in.
• Become a learning organization by focusing on how to improve the user experience first.
• Be intentional about the learning process. First acquire the knowledge you’re seeking and then share it.
• Be willing to learn from others through conversations. Nonprofit people tend to be very generous with their time and knowledge. Leverage your network for help.
• Step back from a specific mission-oriented problem to understand the bigger underlying problem(s) and prioritize as needed.
• Be aware of tradeoffs and challenges with technology use. Be mindful that there might be a better option out there to address the why and the how of the problem you’re trying to solve.
• Use personas when trying to solve problems so you can visualize who you’re trying to help. Create the story of who you want the solution for, and then do it!
• Fix how resources are stored and shared to make them more finable, useful, and accessible across abilities and cultures.
• Use small teams to tackle big problems.
• Explore where AI can take some of the burden off staff – not replace them but make their work easier and more fulfilling. Look for clear businesses cases where using AI makes sense.
• Pair AI with very specific business needs to keep boundaries on how it’s being used and ensure it’s being done ethically.
• Don’t waste money and energy on a shiny new solution if it’s not going to result in what you need it to accomplish.
• Understand how data governance will support the roadmap. Create a governance committee to keep these kinds of decisions on top of everyone’s mind.
• Build connections with people through your values lens. Ask them what they want/need to get real feedback and watch them interact with what you are providing to identify areas for improvement. Let the end user help make the kinds of decisions that will further your mission.
• Use systems that work together so that you can trust your data. Know what you should be looking at – how you will measure success.
• Remember that a nonprofit digital strategy must be holistic – it cannot support just one area.
• Focus on the pieces that are weak links to proactively plan where you will use technology instead of reactively trying to find solutions.
• Do not get so focused on the mission that you fail to provide the backend support needed to sustain that mission.
• Move on from legacy systems to embrace new capabilities and get to the next level.
• Test new solutions before investing in them too heavily. Set up a sandbox so users can play with them to ensure they will be a good fit before going all in.
• Formalize processes – do not just assume that they’re understood.
• Establish technology governance and technology partnerships internally to take advantage of new opportunities.
• Develop a roadmap that gives you space to pivot. Get started on the journey and adapt as you go.
• Educate investors and donors as part of your ongoing fundraising efforts so that they understand the importance of digital initiatives and are excited to contribute to them.
• Take a gut check to ensure you are staying physically and emotionally well amid changes. Burnout is real, especially with the speed of change in technology, so it’s important to ensure that employees are still healthy as they try to learn new things and stay on top of changes.
• Understand that weaving together practice and strategy is slow work, but it’s so worthwhile!

Main Takeaway
The most important message that our team of nonprofit leaders took away from this webinar was how important people are to the conversation around technology.
Clearly, the rising cost and scarcity of talent these days is making technology even more important. However, digital solutions are not meant to be used on their own, they’re meant to augment what staff are doing. Digital tools are great, but they’re just that – tools. An organization still needs people to use them effectively! So, while the tech stack is important, don’t forget about the “people stack” either.

When you need nonprofit consulting or board advisory services, please reach out to us! Our team of well-respected nonprofit leaders are passionate about helping organizations achieve their missions to better serve their audiences and communities. Contact us today to find out more!