How Technology Can Help Meet Donor’s Expectations In A Nonprofit

One of the chief trials for running an effective nonprofit is when the donors look at the use of funds as a primary way to assess impact.

While it is a given that the nonprofits must use donor funds sensibly, tracing to see if the organization maintains a steady ratio of spending on campaigns, programs-to using it for overhead is an unfortunate proxy for understanding how operative a nonprofit truly is.

The need to limit overhead has compelled many nonprofits to underinvest in efforts to improve efficiency. Unluckily, this has long disallowed nonprofits from applying innovative digital technologies that could help them be more well-organized and effective.

With the times changing, now more than ever, cloud-based technology can have a tremendous, life-altering effect on how nonprofits increase impact and lessen costs.

The same technologies that provide other industries overview about customers and markets, produce operational productivities and speed up novelty, are meant to help nonprofits target donors and raise funds more tactically, design and deliver programming more competently, and connect teams more effectively.

This only goes to show that investing in a digital renovation can help a nonprofit march progressively towards its mission.

• Expectations are higher for effectiveness and usefulness
• Technology is an inspiring factor when bearing in mind the support
• Donors are willing to support improving technology at nonprofits

Technology can help nonprofits to demonstrate impact.

The essence of nonprofits is its donors, volunteers, members, beneficiaries. And they know that technology is vital for an organization to function effectively.

A pertinent question arises when it comes to contributing to a nonprofit. “What drives it?” what is the motivation, need, the reason behind this phenomenon and how technology can help them meet that donor expectation.

Well, it can be said that it is an amalgamation of focusing budget on program work, evidently sharing data around quantifiable impact with donors, and cultivating trust in the organization.

Remember donors are more likely to help nonprofits who can show a relatively low overhead by putting a big chunk of their budget toward its programs as opposed to nonprogram spending.

This distribution has been seen as the most steadfast measure of a successful organization in the past years. The part of the budget used on programs is still a foremost point of assessment for rating nonprofits.

Although this is a fair measure, it’s not the only parameter of judging a good organization. Nonprofits with the aid of technology and solutions like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power BI can use data to measure and show impact.

Donors now more and more want to know that they’ve helped deliver impact.

It is no longer adequate for nonprofits to show that they used most of their budget on programs, campaigns. They also need to support program design that integrates measurement and learning while maintaining donor transparency.

Technology helps them to optimize operations and drive a culture of data allotting the highest percentage of funding into programs without having to worry that it will leave essential operations underfunded.

We have been speaking about Power BI and its benefits for nonprofits in our previous blogs. The tool can be used effectively to showcase data dashboards about supporters and funding decision-makers.

You can share these reports with the donors directly. Donors, sponsors or beneficiaries have realized the importance of technology as a driver of success, how likely they are to support organizations that use technology to reveal impact, and their readiness to fund technology improvements at the nonprofits they support.

Lack of proper technology can badly affect your organization

A lot of times, poor technology investments result in, unfortunately, infuriatingly poor interactions, where the gaps in the technology become obvious, disrupting the user experience and far from the credibility of the organization.

When donors start noticing the technology, rather the lack of it, it’s typically because it becomes a hindrance for them helping with the nonprofit’s mission.

A lack of technology investment often bears the outcome of a barrage of unorganized solutions, makeshift operations, and highly customized tools that result in draining the budget rather than being cost-effective.

With several technically advanced solutions such as the ones created by Microsoft, these donors feel that nonprofit organizations can be more efficient and effective in achieving their mission with the right technology or partnering with the technical experts.

There has been a tremendous change and perspective in the expectations of nonprofit supporters, donors.

Now is the time to make sound technology investments that help to achieve the mission in a way that measurably shows the impact, and stories of how various nonprofits have faced challenges in their digital transformations. And, perhaps the donors, considering the changing times are now are willing to fund technology projects specifically.

Connect with AhaApps today and learn how technology can empower you in the world of digital transformation.