A digitally mature nonprofit can exceed organizational goals and exceed mission goals by a factor of four. Nonprofits thrive on relationships. According to the latest research on nonprofits, fulfilling a nonprofit’s mission requires strong connections with stakeholders, including employees, donors, volunteers and program participants.
The fifth edition of Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends report reveals how technology-adopting organizations, regardless of size, revenue, or location, have the strongest relationships and achieve the highest goals. The four main points are:
- Strategic use of technology directly translates into improved organizational efficiency and overall operational performance. Nonprofits with greater digital maturity are more likely to exceed their goals and have stronger relationships with all stakeholder groups.
- Technology offers distinct benefits to nonprofit culture and workforceNonprofits that are more digital are reporting more engaged and optimistic employees, more positive organizational cultures, and lower levels of staff burnout. These organizations have further achieved their climate action and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals.
- Nonprofits recognize the importance of technology to achieving their goals, but struggle to get the most out of it. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of nonprofits say digital transformation is a “must have” or “must have”, but only Only 12%.
- Barriers to digital maturity can include budget and resource constraints and competing priorities. Nonprofits are doubling down on employee retention and happiness to offset internal challenges such as increased turnover and staff burnout. Externally, nonprofits are focusing on raising awareness and fundraising to diversify and rebuild connections with their supporters. Overall, nonprofits feel resilient and ready to face the future.
The main takeaways of this report focus on using technology to drive better outcomes and stakeholder benefits. The Nonprofits Trends Report is a 58-page document and contains an incredible amount of insight, but in this post I want to focus on his digital transformation and the use of technology in nonprofits.
non-commercial landscape
Over the past 12 months, the majority of nonprofits have met or exceeded their overall goals, especially program, financial, and mission goals. Despite high achievement rates, nonprofits face challenges ranging from awareness to staff retention to measuring impact. The top four challenges for nonprofits are:
Nonprofits struggle to raise awareness and retain staff. Salesforce
Over the next year, nonprofits anticipate challenges related to staffing, economics, technology, financial and funding landscapes. This is reflected in how nonprofits are shifting their priorities over the next year, with 48% placing more emphasis on fundraising, 46% on staff retention, and 44% on employee retention. cares about the well-being of
Nonprofit leaders are now slightly more optimistic about their organizations (65%) than their country’s nonprofit sector as a whole (58%). Nonprofits are also confident in the role their organization plays in society. 74% say they believe society trusts nonprofits to do the right thing.
Employee retention and benefits are top priorities after fundraising. Salesforce
Nonprofits report a tenuous relationship with volunteers and donors. These two stakeholder groups are critical to mission execution and organizational continuity.
The strength of stakeholder relationships varies by sector. Salesforce
Digital transformation drives growth and impact
Over the next 12 months, nonprofits are prioritizing cybersecurity and privacy (39%), adding new programs and services (27%), or implementing a remote working model (26%). Online services to increase revenue and engagement are also top priorities for nonprofits.
A fairly small number of nonprofits (46%) say they can make strategic decisions faster. These agile nonprofits describe their organizations as technology adopters (51%), adaptive (51%), empowered (50%), forward-looking (48%) and innovative. (48%). These characteristics constitute a positive “change mindset” for nonprofits to pursue strategic evolution and become more resilient.
Nonprofits are most likely to take action on cybersecurity, growth, and the transition to an online model. Salesforce
Tips from qualitative interviews with nonprofit leaders on innovation, adaptability and change:
- Be practical. Hire experts or work with trusted private sector advisors to provide guidance, especially on technical and legal issues. Seek expertise from bank partners, board members and corporate partners.
- Commodifying profits for donorsPlease try to “package” the benefits of becoming a supporter in an easy-to-understand and actionable way.
- Ask me to improve. Get feedback from internal and external stakeholders using surveys and other listening tools.
- Aiming to double impactSimultaneously consider the new and evolving needs of end users and the needs of the economy as a whole. For example, improving user skills in areas where there are gaps in the economy.
- think collaborativelyLeverage your organization’s skill set and find peers to fill the gaps. Explore partnerships with other nonprofits and businesses.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of nonprofits say digital transformation is essential, describing themselves as “technology adopters,” “positive,” or “empowered.” Organizations that represent them are more likely than their peers to say digital transformation is a must. -Have.
Nonprofits that rely heavily on technology are more likely to place a high priority on digital transformation. sales force
One of the key takeaways from this report is how nonprofits connect data to make an impact. Most nonprofits consistently use data to design programs and services (75%), personalize communications to stakeholders (74%), and make decisions (73%). Low-ranked information uses include problem solving (69%) and income forecasting (58%).
More than half (55%) of nonprofits say their organizations need to invest in technology to raise more money, and 60% say their donors will have a better experience than current technology offers. He said he expects it.
Technology can help nonprofits become more efficient and more impactful. Salesforce
Technology providers must do a better job of supporting nonprofits. Only 36% of nonprofit professionals said they were “extremely satisfied” with the technology they needed to do their jobs. The least satisfied were the integration of data sources and systems (34% very satisfied) and the availability of easy-to-use reporting tools (33% very satisfied).
Digital maturity strengthens relationships with all stakeholders. Salesforce
Technology providers must also do a better job of educating nonprofits on the importance of digital maturity. Digitally mature nonprofits outperform their peers, regardless of the organization’s revenue, headcount, or geographic location. Organizations with higher digital maturity are 1.9 times more likely (93% vs. 50%) to experience improvements in organizational efficiency and mission impact. They are also 3.5x more likely to achieve their mission goals compared to their less digitally mature peers (38% vs. 11%).
Digital transformation is the path to maturity. The report points to cybersecurity and privacy (34%), cost efficiency (33%), and data management and optimization (32%) as the top reasons for digital transformation. Improving stakeholder relationships (23%), competitive advantage (19%), and meeting stakeholder expectations (18%) are among the lowest ranked impacts.
Digital transformation is hard work and requires organizational commitment, the right culture, people and processes. Without a commitment to resources and a clear vision and execution, transformation can be difficult and slow. The most commonly cited barriers to digital transformation are lack of budget or resources (37%) and high organizational priorities (30%). Other challenges include a lack of skilled personnel to implement and manage the technologies (28%) and a lack of understanding of those technologies (26%).
Learn more about Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends report here.
Comments
Post a Comment