Creating a Technology strategy

It is imperative for a non profit organization to have a good technological strategy, because in this day and age people rely on their technology. It is surprisingly easy for an non profit organization to create a technology strategy, and it can usually be done in 2 steps. One of the ways to create a functioning technology strategy is to create a website to help spread the word by leasing out a web domain, creating a newsletter from their website that one can use to tell their followers about upcoming fundraisers goals, as well as just letting their followers know that they can follow this newsletter.

The first thing that a non profit organization should do when they are creating a technology strategy is to create a website. This will be the building blocks of their technology plan and from here they can install many things that will help boost awareness and keep their organization alive! There are many ways to create a website, but the one that most non profit organizations should use is to follow a few steps. Usually the non profit will want to lease out a web domain (I suggest Godaddy.com) which will be the http of their site. This is the place on the web where they will store their information. Usually this dosen’t cost very much, and can be leased for around 5 dollars a month. Next thing they will want to do is get somebody who can help design their website. This will ensure that it looks both professional and also in this economy web designers are looking for work and will normally settle for less than usual, and they will be even more willing if its for a non profit.

The next thing to do is create a news letter in the form of an RSS feed. This “RSS feed” will be available from their website and will let people who are trying to follow their cause have a way to get information on your recent doings. This will require the non profit to update the feed fairly regularly, or at least when they want people to know what they are doing. Creating an RSS feed is a fairly complicated process, so we won’t go into to it in this article, however there is a link included in the sources which goes over how to achieve this. Following these 2 steps will help create a solid and useful technology strategy!

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Hotel contract negotiation

Negotiating a contract with a hotel for your non-profit organization can be a difficult and time consuming process.  There are often many layers of the hotel to go through, mainly dealing with contracts, fundraising, their tax write off ability and, as a founder or negotiator of the contract, a lot of people to talk to at the hotel.

If you want to host a dinner at a hotel, you have to have a solid estimation of your visitors.  The important thing to remember here is that your attendees to your fundraiser are there to be entertained.  It is their checkbooks that are opening up for the sake of your organization.  They have to feel pampered.  Make sure you organize a few solid negotiating points for the hotel, like live music, vegetarian options for food and a cash bar.  I say cash bar because that will offer the hotel a chance to recoup some of the losses that they would face should they offer a large conference room for your organization.  Not only that, it is critical to use their name on your flyers, website and possibly offer them some future cross-marketing potential.  This way, the hotel recognizes that you are offering a service to your visitors (a live band), considering their needs as well as your own (vegetarian options) and the hotel is offered something as well.  The cross-marketing is an excellent point of negotiation because the duration of their involvement lasts beyond a single event.  Your organization recognizes them in terms of a strategic partner which may help you in the future.

Beyond conference rooms and fundraising partnerships, if your organization needs rooms at a hotel for a non-profit fair or are simply traveling for the purpose of expanding your organization, remember to network market your organization.  The more people who are educated and aware of your purpose and mission, the more leverage you can have in that town.  Ask for recommendations from friends, contacts, even law firms in the area.  If you can connect those you already know with people in the states or countries you are visiting, you can gain a lot of structured leverage.  Governmental organizations are thrilled to have non-profits because they take some of the public service burden off of the governments back.  Contact you local government, of whom your organization should have a strong relationship with and see if they know anyone in the city you are visiting.  They can use their contacts and networking for your organization and put you in touch with the hotels with either a discount or if you are lucky, a free room!

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Tips for effective strategic planning

In fulfilling their missions, nonprofits must make a plan, lest they follow the adage that those who don’t know where they are going will certainly get there. Strategic planning is a sort of road map that allows organizations to plan where they are going, how they will get there, and what benchmarks will prove that they have met their goals. An analogue is the business plan of a for-profit venture. However, the methods and the goals may be slightly different.

There are, of course, as many ways to approach strategic planning as there are nonprofit organizations. However, the means of putting plans together have key points in common. One important starting place is that the planning has to come on the heels of intimate knowledge of the organization, its constituents, its methods, and philosophy. One tip for strategic planning meetings is to assemble binders that have all these elements in them for planners. Some materials that may be useful to include are previous budgets and figures regarding service delivery. When things will happen is an important question to answer. Proposed timelines for implementation can be included in the binder to maximize the usefulness of the time and materials.

In addition to mechanics of fulfilling the mission of the organization, it is important for the binder to include materials that both present and illustrate the vision and values of the organization. During strategic planning, planners may even notice that a modification of the mission statement is necessary because of an evolution in the organization’s practice or purpose. Examples of how the values of the organization have been implemented in the past can be an important tool in planning for the future. While day-to-day management of the organization is not the focus of a strategic planning session, it should be included from an eagle’s-eye perspective. One thing to include in written materials is a list of key positions and how they support the fulfillment of the organization’s mission.

There will be a significant amount of information and action to discuss when doing strategic planning. Another tip for planning effectively is to allow enough time for reading and active discussion. Following that, it may be useful to change settings with planners. If planning has thus far occurred in a conference room setting, the final stage could take place at a restaurant or in a retreat setting. One final question to answer is what the results will be of successful implementation of the proposed plans. Looking at the answer to this question both at the beginning and the end of planning will inform the answers selected.

No matter what direction strategic planning takes, it is important to remember that whatever is determined must boil down to tangible steps and measurable results. If planners combine these with their passion for the work of the organization, strategic planning has the greatest chance of being successful. As planners take things a step further and clearly communicate the results and expectations of planning to the people within the organization who are affected, something commonly overlooked, they are planning for success.

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