After the Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV) began making changes to its technology plan, the nonprofit group saw visits to its Web site surge.
Thanks to some work on its search engine optimization, which improves a Web site’s placement in search engine results, the organization had 1,066 visitors to its site in March 2009 — compared with just 363 in the same month last year.
“Now when you enter ‘domestic violence Atlanta’ in Google search, we are the fourth that comes up. We used to be on the fourth page,” said PADV CEO Cathy Spraetz.
A growing number of nonprofits are beginning to invest in technology — helping them expand their reach and become more efficient. From Web-based portals that connect to internal databases to sites that allow constituents to donate money online, technology can create a multitude of benefits for nonprofits, but the organizations must first acquire the funding and expertise to help them build a strategic IT plan.
“Whether it be Web sites, better equipment, new software, new applications, all those things are just tools to help the business run better,” said Mark Latham, chief information officer at TechBridge, an organization that aids nonprofits in improving their technology.
Founded in 2000, TechBridge is part of the national NPower Network, a group of nonprofits that provide affordable technology assistance to other nonprofit groups across the country.
Facilitating the donation of more than $2 million in free Microsoft software, TechBridge has saved Georgia nonprofits more than $1 million in technology-related consulting fees since its inception. In 2007, it established a Community Help Desk to answer technology-related calls from more than 100 nonprofit members.
TechBridge CEO Kathleen Kurre said while many nonprofits are in need of technology upgrades, having a functional IT infrastructure — such as basic equipment and access to the Internet — has to be a priority before moving on to more sophisticated technology like Web portals.
Building a solid IT foundation comes with a price.
“Technology requires an investment. Money for hardware, software, training and for the process changes the technology brings,” Kurre said. “Most often funders say to nonprofits ‘keep administrative cost low,’ so they put every dollar into service ... technology is sort of not the high priority in terms of where they spend.”
Some nonprofits, however, are willing to make the investment.
Along with search engine optimization, PADV recently upgraded its Web site to allow the public to register online for its conference “Domestic Violence Goes to Work” — saving staff members valuable time that was previously spent entering registrants into a database. The nonprofit also created a new site focused on dating violence prevention, which includes a blog specifically for teenagers that may be experiencing dating partner violence. Spraetz said the organization is also about to initiate an additional site for planned giving prospects, which she is hoping will help the group’s fundraising capabilities.
“We really began to invest in not only the technical support, but also software, that would allow us to have greater capability and expand our ability to reach people that use the Web site as one of their sources of information,” Spraetz said. “When people visit our Web site and get that information, that helps us take those steps or go that much further in educating people about what domestic violence is and what they can do to end it.”
Delivering meals to the terminally ill and disabled, Project Open Hand is another local nonprofit focusing its dollars on technology. Set to go live in April, the organization is working on a distribution and client management database to help expedite the meal delivery process. Joseph Nieh, Open Hand’s director of ITS, said the upgrades will save the organization about $25,000 a month.
“Right now it takes us 83 reports, paper reports, to get from menu planning all the way to product delivery, so from beginning to end we’re reducing at least 83 sheets of paper,” Nieh said.
A client database helps increase flexibility, allowing for new programs and budget sources, and is easier to manage, he said.
Selected as a finalist for TechBridge’s 2009 Technology Innovation Award, Open Hand is also planning a consolidation of its Web sites — including projectopenhand.com, goodmeasuremeals.com and DiningOutforOH.org — onto one computer server cluster to allow for better efficiency.
“We have lots of Web sites out there hosted by various different places at different locations, and that created a problem for us,” Nieh said.
Centralizing the management of its sites, the consolidation will also include the addition of a volunteer portal, where volunteers will be able to blog, host their own pages and share information and photos.
The Golden Key International Honour Society is also looking to become more tech-savvy. CEO John Mitchell said the organization is plugging into social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as revamping its Web site to better reach its members, many of whom are college students.
“[College students] are the most technologically savvy people on the planet and if we don’t have infrastructure that can support and communicate with them then we are just huge dinosaurs,” Mitchell said.
Despite the efficiency and cost savings that can be attained by upgrading technology, few nonprofits have the budget to make changes.
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