Working with Leadership to Get Updated or New Nonprofit Software Needed

Technology is essential for nonprofits to operate efficiently and effectively. However, it can be challenging to get leadership on board with the need for updated or new nonprofit software. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for working with leadership or your board to get the technology your nonprofit needs.

1. Identify the problem you are trying to solve.

Before you can approach leadership, you need to have a clear understanding of the problem you are trying to solve with new technology. Some questions to ask yourself might be:

• Are you aware of a current system coming to end-of-life soon?
• What challenges are you and/or your team experiencing?
• Is the current technology so frustrating that team members don’t want to use it at all? (Hint: creating lots of spreadsheets is a symptom of this problem)
• Have you lost – or are you at risk of losing – key information due to the departure of staff? (Are people holding lots of facts and data in their brains instead of using shared tools?)
• Are siloed systems preventing collaboration between development, marketing, and other departments?
• Do you trust the data you get from your systems? Or is valuable time spent double checking reports because there are too many disparate sources or data-entry errors?

Figure out which of these “symptoms” are affecting your organization the most, and you’ll have an easier time making a case to leadership. Your technology should be helping you address challenges, not causing new ones!

2. Do your research.

Once you have identified the problem, you can do some research and identify some potential solutions. Some ideas for how to approach this:

• Do any team members have past experience from previous jobs where they used tools that they liked?
• Can you talk with colleagues at similar organizations to see how they’ve solved similar problems?
• Have you heard about any new nonprofit software tools on the market that would seem to save time, provide better analytics, and/or create better efficiency?
• Would you benefit from some outside help? (We have experience with lots of different systems!)

It’s a good idea to preliminarily evaluate a few technology options or enlist a stakeholder to do so. Our interactive guide, Navigating Nonprofit Technology Options: How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse, is a great place to start.

3. Get buy-in from champions.

Once you have identified the problem(s) and potential solutions, it’s important to get buy-in from those within your organization who will champion your cause. This may include your executive director, board of directors, and membership, development, marketing or other managers in the organization. Who can see the value of new nonprofit software? These are the people who will help gather the necessary information to present your case.

4. Gather your presentation

When you are ready, plan your presentation. Be clear, concise, and persuasive. It can be short and to the point, tacked on to an existing meeting, or it could be an full presentation with a slide deck, etc. However you choose to present, your goal is to help leadership that technology investment is a strategic decision. Use data and examples to support your arguments (ask your champions to help!). Your presentation should outline:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What are the potential solutions?
• What are the benefits of each solution?

Example: Your website platform is going to reach end-of-life next year. This means a redesign or move to extended support with another platform is needed if you want to maintain functionality and security. What are the risks and costs of waiting too long? What will it cost for the new website? What will it cost if you have a security breach or donation functions are unavailable until the new website is up?

Example: Your last fundraising campaign brought to light some high dollar donors who had stopped donating. After further examination, it seems follow-ups and fundraising asks were not going out to them. How many other donors are there? How many tens of thousands of donations are you missing out on because your donor database doesn’t help you segment or bring them forward?

What stories will best demonstrate the need for something new and better?

5. Be prepared and patient.

Leadership is likely to have questions about your proposal. Be prepared to answer in a clear and concise manner as well. It may take some time to convince them to invest in new technology. Be patient and persistent.

Conclusion

Getting leadership on board with the need for new or updated technology can be challenging, but it is not impossible. By following the tips in this blog post, you can increase your chances of success. Of course, we are always here to help assess your technology and determine what strategic next steps you need to take to reach your goals. We’re just a contact form away.