Why Nonprofit Organizations Lack Tech Plans, and How to Fix It
Almost every nonprofit organization has a budget. But in my experience, few have a technology plan. Why do we treat financial planning so differently from technology planning?
This winter, I reviewed over 40 letters of inquiry for the Shavlik Family Foundation, a foundation which supports innovation and access to technology through technology grants. Only a handful of the applicants had any sort of technology plan. This was true across organizations of a variety of sizes and types, and it hasn’t changed much since I started reviewing their grants seven years ago.
A tech plan is helpful for guiding decisions, managing risk, and forecasting cost. So why do so many nonprofits lack one?
The first explanation that comes to mind is that nonprofit leaders don’t realize how valuable a technology plan can be. Faced with so many other pressing needs and tasks, who could blame an executive director for prioritizing other items over technology planning? When people say they are too busy or it costs too much, it suggests they don’t think it’s important enough to be a priority.
Experience should teach us that tech planning IS important. Just look how organizations that ignored technology fared during the Covid pandemic.
Planning and keeping technology up to date can make an organization more adaptive and resilient. It also helps the organization avoid risks related to cybersecurity and unplanned costs. I’ll give you just one example here. Let’s imagine you wait to replace old computers until they are starting to break down. Not only are you losing productivity, you are going to spend a lot more money to replace them in a panic, because you won’t have the time to shop around for the best deals.
Another reason for the lack of tech plans is that people don’t know how to write one. I earned an MBA and made it into senior nonprofit leadership without anyone ever suggesting I might need to think about technology planning, much less explaining how to do it. This seems to be a blind spot in how we are educating and training our leaders.
In the LOIs and grant applications I reviewed this year, I read many compelling statements about how technology relates to nonprofits’ strategy and impact. Leaders are able to make this connection in a grant, yet it hasn’t fully permeated their way of thinking or their organizational practices. Strategic plans may or may not mention technology, and if they do, it’s often under the heading of “improving efficiency” instead of being tied to program effectiveness. The IT person, if there is one, rarely has a seat at the leadership table and is not always invited to strategic conversations.
Let’s be honest, a lot of projects are prompted by funder or regulatory requirements or suggestions from the board. A final reason why nonprofits lack tech plans could be simply that nobody told them to do it.
How can we move closer to a world where every nonprofit has a technology plan?
A few ideas for nonprofits
Start small with an equipment replacement schedule. Make a list of all your computers, and start budgeting to replace them every three to five years.
Reconsider whether tech planning should be at the bottom of the priority list, by thinking through the risks and costs of not having a plan.
Learn how to create a DIY tech plan, or hire someone to help you. Here are two courses I helped to develop: Successful Tech Planning from TechSoup, and Tactical Tech Planning from Tech Impact. I can also help you via one-on-one consulting or refer you to someone with the right expertise for your situation.
Invite the person responsible for IT to the next board meeting to talk about tech trends that pose an opportunity or threat to the organization's work.
A few ideas for funders
Ask to see tech plans, as a signal that they are valuable, but don’t penalize grantees for not having a tech plan.
Provide funding for technology assessment and planning, since this will lead to better investments and greater impact from technology, as well as less risk.
Provide unrestricted, multi-year funding so that grantees can make these kinds of long-term investments in their capacity for impact.
I would love it if my next round of LOI reviews included a technology plan for even a quarter of the applicants. What are your thoughts on why this is lagging? Do you have more ideas on how we can overcome those barriers?
