If nonprofit organizations want to succeed in their mission, they need to embrace technology and the tools and resources to help them reach their goals. Nonprofits are not businesses, but they will benefit from tech tools assisting for-profit organizations in achieving their goals. Here are some technologies every nonprofit needs to maximize:
1. Platform or Software for Donations
Because donations are the lifeblood of many nonprofit organizations, they need to rely on websites or platforms like GoFundMe to raise funds. Without proper fundraising and trust among donors, nonprofit organizations cannot serve their beneficiaries well. Traditional fundraising that involves the printed word or written letters can take so much of the organization’s time and energy—resources that nonprofits can use elsewhere.
Nonprofit institutions and charitable foundations need to partner with the best and most tried-and-tested platforms or software for fundraising to collect donations in more efficient ways. While doing this, they must build trust and meaningful relationships with the people extending financial help. Not many donors give a second chance, so nonprofit organizers need to ensure that they properly release funds and serve the purpose for which they were sent.
2. Content Management
Nonprofit organizations and advocacy-based institutions need to get the word out about their mission, and to do that, content marketing is critical. You might have the most talented team of marketers and creatives, but you can bolster your marketing even more if you have helpful tools to keep everything organized and systematic. Find the best content management system that can best suit your team’s needs. Your choice should help them establish a strategy, design and create content, implement and execute ideas, and maintain a robust online presence and brand reputation on the internet.
3. Relationship Management
In the same way that businesses need to maintain goodwill among their audience and consumers, nonprofits also need to build and maintain fruitful relationships with beneficiaries, donors, and partners. The people behind nonprofit organizations need to keep their relationships positive. They need to be able to win and keep the trust of everyone, especially at a time when criminals can use the internet to create bogus charity projects and foundations. Even formerly reputable nonprofit organizers can fall into the trap of violating people’s trust to pocket some money.
A high-quality relationship management system can help nonprofit organizers manage their many relationships and interactions through a system software that can help them keep track of the donation cycle. These systems can help organizers meet donors and patrons should they want to introduce themselves, and the organizers will then be able to send a thank you note or a token of appreciation. These systems can also help organizers keep track of the people who have been supporting so that the donors’ invites won’t get lost in the mail whenever there is a donor appreciation event.
4. Social Media Tools
Speaking of maintaining a good relationship with donors and beneficiaries, a social media management system will also be vital in maintaining contact with the organization’s most prominent stakeholders. This tool is beneficial for a smaller staff because teams that only have one social media or community manager can get lost in all the demands and expectations of their job, and they can use all the help they can get. A social media management system can help community managers schedule posts and manage all the organization’s social media accounts all from one dashboard. Many of these social media management tools also offer data analytics, which is perfect for nonprofits to track if they are reaching their goals and their target audience.
5. Data Security
If one thing can ruin a nonprofit’s growth and reputation (aside from financial fraud), it’s a data breach. This is especially true if the organization’s thrust involves sensitive cases and high-profile people in their contacts list. What makes it go from bad to worse is if digital criminals gain access to donors’ financial information or online banking details. In a time where everything is online, data security is a tech tool that nonprofits need to invest in if they don’t want to violate stakeholders’ trust. If the budget calls for it, nonprofits can employ dedicated firewalls, conduct cybersecurity seminars, and employ measures to control who can access the data.
Nonprofits don’t necessarily have a lot of financial resources for their upkeep—it’s just the nature of the beast. But it doesn’t mean they have to forego tools to help team members and make operations run more efficiently. If nonprofits want to succeed in their mission and reach their goals, these tools are essential.
