Anne Arundel Funders Roundtable Nonprofit Technology

February 23, 2012

Matthew Eshleman, Dir. of Professional ServicesKatherine Mowers, Senior Consultant

Outline• About Community IT Innovators• Assessing the needs of nonprofit organizations• Funder considerations in building the capacity

of a nonprofit through a new technology• Cost expectations• Trends• Additional resources

About Community IT Innovators

• 18 years of experience with an exclusive focus on nonprofit technology needs

• Over 900 nonprofit client engagements in our history• 150 ongoing client relationships in which we provide technology

guidance and support• As a 40-person IT consulting firm Community IT Innovators is:

– Large enough to provide great depth and breadth of expertise– Small enough to value each relationship and provide

personalized service

Expressions of Our Values

• Commitment to social and environmental and financial sustainability

• Employee-owned company

• Diverse staff from a variety of backgrounds (corporate & nonprofit, domestic & international), joined by a desire to make a difference

CapabilitiesCentral offering: a long-term partnership for Information Technology support and guidance• Technology assessments and planning• Network planning, implementation, support• Database/software application needs assessment,

selection, and implementation• Salesforce.com CRM implementation• Remote and on-site

Assessing the needs of nonprofit organizations

• Outside help from someone w/ technology expertise

• Determine functional needs based on business needs of the organization

• Prioritize the functional needs• Research and analysis• Define scope and costs of the projects• Set a timeline

Technology Assessment• IT network and computing devices• Email• Productivity software• File sharing and collaboration• File storage and backups• Constituent Relationship Management

(CRM), program and functional database(s) (i.e. case management system, fundraising system, etc.)

• Web and e-communication needs• Mobile computing• Staffing • Training

Could cover the following areas:

Assessing Solutions & Cost Expectations

• Functionality compared to organizational prioritized needs based in strategic plan/goals

• Direct & Indirect Costs• Initial• Ongoing

• Future Benefits and Risks• Transition and Migration Plans• Roles to support

Trends

• Going to “the cloud”• Performance management• Private social networking• Mobile access• Tablets

“The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we’ve redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do. I can’t think of anything that isn’t cloud computing with all of these announcements. The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion.

Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?”

Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle

Farber, Dan. “Oracle’s Ellison Nails Cloud Computing,” in CNET “Outside the Lines” http://news.cnet.com/8301-13953_3-10052188-80.html, retrieved 23 February 2009.

Cloud Diagram

The Solution

Hybrid Cloud

Funder considerations• Know and prioritize

requirements before examining solution options

• Not one size fits all/uniqueness of nonprofit organization’s business

• Research solutions/software beyond what you have heard about

• Follow the 80/20 Rule

People transition The actual technology

80 percent of the success of any initiative depends on how effectively the people transition to new processes. 20 percent depends on the actual technology solution.

People

Process

and

Technology

What determines success?

80%

20%

Funder considerations, cont.• Importance of deciding• Cloud = Outsourcing• Data ownership• What happens if the internet

breaks/internet redundancy• Ongoing costs• Incorporate training as part of

project budget• Generational differences• Technology capacity building is

ongoing

Excel filesExcel

filesExcel files

CRM/Case mgmt/

enterprise database

Free 3rd party toolsExcel filesExcel

filesWordfiles

File Server

Email blast system

Access databases

Paper files

Paper forms

Email system

Website Content Mgmt

System

Donor/ Contact mgmt

database

Business systems can consist of …

Accounting system

A menagerie of tools and software, often times creating duplication of effort…Or it can be purposely planned/decided these are the tools we use to help us accomplish our mission most effectively

Notable Email and Collaboration tools

Hosted file sharing …

Notable CRM’s in the market with a Case Management focus

Notable CRM’s in the market with an Association/Member Management focus

Additional Resources

http://www.nten.org/

http://idealware.org/

http://www.citidc.com

http://home.techsoup.org

Matthew Eshleman, meshleman@citidc.com, 202-449-6711Katherine Mowers, kmowers@citidc.com, 202-449-6702