If you can count applications, platforms, and software on one or both hands — your nonprofit has a tech stack. If you’ve heard people in your organization say things like:
“I feel overwhelmed by the project management tools we have. Should I use the customer relationship management tool or Google Calendar to stay on track?”
“Why don’t our email marketing and database management tools work better together so we don’t duplicate tasks?
“How can we better track our project expenditures for institutional funders? I feel like I spend a lot of time updating project budgets.”
Often, the staff feels that these efficiency tools are confusing time-sucks. Suppose your people feel overwhelmed by your organization’s technology rather than empowered. In that case, it’s entirely possible that your tech stack isn’t helping your staff do more in less time and with fewer errors.
What is a Nonprofit Tech Stack?
James Ellis, Managing Partner of EV Strategic Partners, offers an alternative way to conceptualize a tech stack:
“A tech stack is the ecosystem of software and hardware used to support your programs.”
James has a proven method that approaches a technology ecosystem as a living environment where your nonprofit’s people — leaders, program managers, fundraisers, volunteers, donors, and the broader community — work together to achieve your mission.
This year, he has partnered with the Nonprofit Association of Oregon to present Streamline Technology: How to Develop a Tech Strategy That Actually Works for You.
You’ll learn how James will guide you through a tech audit process. James does more than provide an assessment. He’s taught nonprofit, corporate, and government agencies how to
identify opportunities for integration,
evaluate the usefulness of specific tools,
implement new technologies in your organization’s ecosystem, and
stay current with emerging tech trends suitable for your organization’s purposes.
Your Tech Hive
Okay. So, your organization’s technology is less of an orderly stack and more like a hive of activity.
Fun fact about honeybee queens: from time to time, the queen must be replaced. Careful re-queening is essential to the hive’s harmony and its ultimate purpose in nature.
Similarly, streamlining your nonprofit’s accounting software, customer relationship management software, or operating system requires strategic industry and tech know-how. James will share his expertise on how changes to your organization’s technology ecosystem will enhance collaboration, communication, and efficiency this month.
Regular assessment, refinement, and management of your organization’s tech hive are commitments to your staff, donors, and constituents who rely on your organization—wondering if your nonprofit tech ecosystem is healthy?
James’s next sponsored presentation will be in Medford, Oregon, on March 7, 2024.
Register with NAO for a fee.
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