Nonprofit organizations receive a majority of their funding from donations, and they need to stretch every dollar to further their cause. Because of this, nonprofits are often tempted to cut corners on their IT infrastructure.
But what many nonprofit organizations don’t realize is that by investing in the right technology solutions, not only do they reduce operating and administrative expenses, but they also reach more donors to boost their initiatives.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits technology has for nonprofit organizations:
1. More secure donations
Your nonprofit needs to collect as much funding as possible to accomplish your mission. Thanks to technology, there are many ways to promote your cause. Let’s take a look at some of them:
- Website donations: You provide website links that lead to a secure online page where donors can donate money by using their credit cards or online payment systems like PayPal and Square.
- SMS campaigns: In a short text message, describe your organization's mission and pitch why you deserve financial support and add a link where they can enter their payment information.
- Email campaigns: These can help you promote your cause more elaborately. Many email solutions can help you set up recurring emails and schedule them for sending on your preferred date and time. Some services even let you know if a recipient has opened or deleted your email.
- Recurring donations: Ensure a steady flow of contributions by having donations transferred from a donor to your nonprofit on a recurring basis.
- Crowdsourcing: Ask individual volunteers to help you solicit contributions online. Organizing these donation drives makes it easier to monitor all teams and their individual contributors.
2. Improved efficiency
Manual and paper-based processes are not only inefficient and outdated, but they also waste resources like paper, printer ink, and other office supplies. Paper-based processes also require documents to be stored in filing cabinets, which can make retrieving information more difficult and time-consuming.
But with the latest software applications, nonprofit organizations can automate time-sensitive tasks, so employees can spend more time doing valuable tasks. For instance, you can use customer relationship management (CRM) software like Salesforce or Bloomerang to keep track of your donors and send them relevant communications. This way, they will feel that you value their philanthropic interests as much as you value their support. You can also use CRM software to generate reports, like fiscal audits and individual donor engagements.
You can also use cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive to store your files. These services store your data in multiple servers around the world, so your files are always available even if one of their servers is down. Cloud services also make it easy for users to retrieve a certain file through a search function, eliminating the need to spend time scouring through filing cabinets.
3. Better security
Many nonprofit organizations believe that they face fewer cyberthreats than for-profit businesses. But in reality, more and more cybercriminals are targeting nonprofits because they store personally identifiable information (PII) of donors such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, and social security numbers. PII is then used for identity or financial theft, or sold on the black market.
What’s more, hackers can target the email addresses and social media accounts of nonprofits and exploit it for their own gain. Back in 2018, the Facebook page of a nonprofit animal shelter was exploited by hackers to promote a fraudulent fundraising project that eventually raised $1,500. It was later revealed that the hacker gained access to the account using social engineering and phishing links.
Security solutions like antivirus software, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and anti-phishing tools can help you minimize the risks of a security breach. You can also partner with a reliable managed IT services provider (MSP) like Founders Technology Group. For a low monthly fee, MSPs will proactively monitor and maintain your nonprofit’s IT infrastructure and protect your data from unauthorized access and other cyberattacks.
Need reliable technology solutions for your New England nonprofit? Founders Technology Group has you covered! We don’t just keep your budget in mind, but we also take your mission to heart so we can help you help others. To learn more about how our services can help your organization thrive, book a complimentary consultation today.