Article: Measuring Return on Tech Spending

Guest Post by Allison Grant, Apparo Project Manager

As a liaison between our nonprofit partners and the volunteers who join us on projects and share their IT skills, we want to make sure the both parties are well informed on what is involved in the project scope and which outcomes we anticipate seeing. One such outcome we look for is a good return on the nonprofit’s investments in technology. When implemented strategically and correctly, technology is a spend up-front that reaps many benefits down the road.

Even as the tech pros in the Charlotte nonprofit space, my teammates and I enjoy keeping our tech skill set sharp through various classes and webinars. I recently joined a webinar on measuring return on tech spending, offered by Tech Impact. Here are 7 key takeaways – many of which you’ve likely heard if your organization has taken part in a Community Impact Project:

1. Two percent of an organization’s budget should be allocated to technology
2. Technology increases donations and grants won by equipping the nonprofit with data to support their story
3. Technology increases operating efficiencies, allowing staff to have more time to serve their mission
   1. Technology such as collaboration tools, remote capabilities and cloud based storage are key to creating an efficient working space
   2. Having the right technology in place and running smoothly may lead to less frustrated staff, which leads to less turnover
4. Cost savings should not be the focus when considering technology, as technology typically increases costs
5. It is important to have goals and metrics in place to ensure the technology is providing the intended benefits
6. An adoption plan for new technology is important to ensure staff understands changes and utilizes the new technology
7. It is important to recognize that new skills may be needed to fully take advantage of technology.
   1. For example, if you have great data in a CRM but do not have a staff member skilled in data analytics, you may not realize the full benefit of having that data

Want to learn more about measuring your return on tech spending? Let’s talk.