Digital Innovation in Nonprofit Organizations: 6 Areas to Target
Every nonprofit organization in Michigan state shares the same underlying goal: to get more donations by adding more value for donors. Digital innovation in nonprofit organizations is key to achieving this.
Updating to the latest technology can help your business cut costs by streamlining processes, improving communication, protecting customer data, and much more. In this post, we look at six important areas that nonprofit organizations should target when planning digital transformation. By investing in these, you can ensure that you are offering your donors value for money.
Six technology targets for nonprofits
There are so many different angles to a digital transformation that it can be overwhelming for organizations that have been using the same IT systems for years. It is completely understandable to not know where to start your digital transformation journey, or how each new technology will benefit your organization. Here are six areas that can improve how your organization functions.
- Getting to the cloud
- Going mobile
- Improving communication and collaboration
- Streamlining processes
- Removing silos
- Maintaining and protecting customer data
#1: Getting to the cloud
The cloud offers businesses the opportunity to reduce costs, increase productivity, improve speed to market, enhance security, and become more mobile and agile. These benefits lead to enhanced experiences for employees and donors alike. The cloud is the first step to digital transformation and will unlock all sorts of possibilities for your organization.
#2 Going mobile
Mobile working offers new possibilities for organizations whose workers have traditionally been stuck behind their desks. Mobile technology allows workers to access the tools and information they need anytime, anywhere and on any device. For instance, if employees or volunteers are out of the office at a fundraising event, they can access IT systems and apps just as easily as if they were in the office.
#3 Improving communication and collaboration
Workers can communicate and collaborate in seconds wherever they are with instant chat, video call technology, and email. Meetings held in the cloud offer possibilities for organizations that work in different offices, sites or send workers out to meetings with clients/customers. Meet face-to-face, share screens and collaborate on documents in real time. Break out of the physical limitations of the office with the latest communication and collaboration technology.
#4 Streamlining processes
Reduce your organization’s reliance on paper-based and manual processes. These are time-consuming, tedious, and often prone to human error. By investing in technology that automates your processes and removes the burden from your employees, you can considerably increase output and productivity. First, you can speed up processes and reduce the mistakes that are made. Second, you will free up your employees to focus on the work of a higher value to your organization and its donors.
#5 Removing silos
When information is siloed, i.e. separated and isolated from systems, people and technology, then workers cannot access the information they need when they need it. This slows down processes but also leads to frustrated employees and bad customer service. By investing in a unified system that can digitize all of your important documents and join up all your dispersed systems, you can help your employees access the information and systems they need.
#6 Protecting customer data
Cybersecurity is one of the big issues of the day. When a donor donates to your organization, they provide personal details including payment details and personally identifiable information (PII), which they expect to be safe. But cybercriminals are targeting organizations of all sizes, looking to exploit weaknesses in their security setup and vulnerabilities in their IT. By investing in the latest cybersecurity software and infrastructure, you can ensure that you have layers of robust protection safeguarding your employee and donor data.
Digital Innovation in Nonprofit Organizations
These six areas are the basic stepping stones for successful digital transformation. Worksighted can help you make these targets a reality. Every organization is different and has unique digital technology requirements. By teaming up with a partner like Worksighted, who has helped countless nonprofits digitally transform, you can ensure that you receive a solution that is tailored to your business and your goals.
Worksighted’s services for nonprofits include:
- CRM integration
- VPN and remote connectivity for global outreach
- Security and compliance
- Business continuity and backup
- Infrastructure planning, installation and device procurement
- Cloud planning and migration
- Managed services support
Worksighted offers both Managed IT Services and Professional IT Services. Both options can help drive and support innovation in nonprofit organizations. Managed IT services are perfect for long-term projects and on-going support – more like a strategic relationship for all your IT needs. Professional IT services are focused on individual projects, to get powerful and robust IT solutions up and running quickly for a particular objective.
To find out more about digital innovation in nonprofit organizations and how Worksighted can help your organization grow and add greater value to your donors, get in contact with us today.
Worksighted Team
We are a team of over-enthusiastic people, ready to help our clients utilize technology to spur growth! We love technology and come to work every day eager to solve problems and find ways to impact our clients.
