Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission

I'm an Executive Director now, so I have a new-found (and acute) understanding of just how complex that role is.

At a small organization like NTEN, a leader has to be ready to do just about everything, from fundraising to janitorial services. I'd been at NTEN for five years before I took the ED job, so I was lucky enough to know what I was doing -- mostly. But there are giant swaths of the job description I've had to learn from scratch.

Fortunately, the technology part wasn't one of them, but I can relate to the nonprofit leaders out there facing crucial decisions about technology everyday, and who have little idea how all this stuff works.

That's why we're so excited about our book, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders. The book was written by NTEN members for nonprofit leaders struggling to find technology sea-legs.

The book will come out in March 2009. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon or purchase a copy from us for only $30 with your NTC registration, starting next week. We'll drop it in the mail to you when it's released.

Lose Control, But Not of Your Values

Flickr Photo: Jeremey BrooksIf you asked me for the sound bite version of my social media advice for nonprofits, it would be this: Lose control.

From where I sit, it seems clear that social media amplifies the ability of our stakeholders to do what they've always done: talk about us and our causes. We can't stop them.

But we can embrace it and figure out how to ride the coming tide.

Last Thursday, I participated in a session at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Leadership Program. Even though I was participating remotely -- they could see video of me through Ustream.tv and we had two way audio through ReadyTalk -- I really felt like I was in the room, and had the chance to do something I don't do nearly well enough -- listen.

The amazing Nicole Garst laid the groundwork for managing technology in your organization, especially all this newfangled social media stuff. By the time I entered, the participants had spent an entire lunch session discussing social media. They were ready to vent.

I heard a lot of interesting things from the room:

How Do You Get Your Piece of the Budget Pie?

Flickr Photo: matuko_aminiRaise your hand if getting funding for your tech projects takes longer than implementing the projects themselves.

Halfway through the year, most organizations are starting to think about budgets for the next year. The lobbying, pleading, persuading, and cajoling begin early, as every one of your departments vie for a piece of the budget pie.

How do you get yours?

The More Things Change...You Know the Rest

Flickr Photo: dominocatWhere were you in 2001?

It was just a few short years ago, but those of us who have worked in nonprofit technology since then probably all feel the same way: it was eons ago. In 2001, I was running around the country working with women's organizations on some really high-tech stuff -- like convincing their fundraising staff to move donor data into a database, off of three by five cards.

We've come a long way as a sector since then. More nonprofits are embracing technology than ever before. We do less evangelizing and more teaching. So I was surprised when a board member suggested that I should re-read a paper Andrew Blau wrote in 2001 for the Surdna Foundation. What could a paper about technology investments written in 2001 mean to any of us in 2008?

Executive Directors Feel Peer Pressure Too

Flickr Photo: Johan KoolwaaijYesterday, we kicked off our Member Office Hours. If the rest of the office hours go as well as the first one, we're in for a lot of great conversation.

Jeff Forster from the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management expertly led the first chat in the topic of Leadership. I think all participants would agree that it was as much fun to chat with and learn from each other as it was to get Jeff's insight. All around, a great conversation.

One of our biggest takeaways, getting your tech-nervous ED to try something new, may boil down to the oldest tactic of all: peer pressure. Here's an excerpt from that chat: