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IT Challenges Facing Nonprofit Organizations

According to CasueIQ, there are 15,478 nonprofit organizations in the greater San Diego metro area, including the cities of San Diego, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Poway. These include religious organizations, educational institutions, foundations, arts, culture, and humanities nonprofits, among other types of organizations. Combined, these San Diego metro nonprofits employ 178,585 people. 

Something that most San Diego nonprofits have in common is that they operate on a lean budget. Digital advances have transformed the nonprofit landscape. Among the most successful examples of digital transformation, a Harvard Business Review article cites the example of the Rentervention chatbot, which was developed by the legal aid nonprofits in Illinois to help tenants navigate eviction and other housing issues they were experiencing due to Covid-19. It also directs renters to pro bono legal advice. At many other nonprofits, smart tech is becoming integrated into internal workflows, fundraising, communications, finance operations, and service delivery efforts.

But with the technology evolution comes an increased strain on the technology stack within an organization. While many nonprofits are increasingly trying to achieve more mission-driven initiatives with fewer resources, budgeting for technology updates can be a challenge, particularly as nonprofit budgets need to be approved by stakeholders such as board members.

Legacy IT systems and tools can crash, creating headaches for nonprofit teams and interfering with their fundraising efforts. Some of the top IT challenges facing nonprofits are:

Data Security 

Every successful nonprofit organization needs a comprehensive database of donors, volunteers, sponsors, and other stakeholders. A security breach could have disastrous results for an organization. The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) suggests that the first step in assessing your nonprofit’s data risks is to take inventory of all the data your nonprofit collects and identify where it is stored.

Budgets 

Most nonprofit organizations tend to spend less on day-to-day operating activities so that there are more resources available to support the organization’s mission directly. As such, it can be easy to overlook technology updates as part of the annual budgeting process. But without well-maintained and up-to-date technology in place, an organization may run the risk of system outages and breaches that will only hinder its ability to do its work.

Data Backup & Disaster Recovery

It is very important to have a plan in place for accessing and restoring critical systems in the event of a cyber attack or a natural disaster. Don’t wait until your organization has been compromised to wonder what your data backup and disaster recovery strategy should be.