The Technopath Way: Productivity through tech for nonprofits

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page...One of the most common questions I get from nonprofits is how to decide whether or not they really need Salesforce. I spoke with Alexandra Mannerings last week on her podcast, Heart, Soul & Data, about how to pick the right tech stack for your nonprofit. This inspired today’s episode of The Technopath Way. While Salesforce is a robust and customizable tool, it may not be the best fit for every organization. I also dive into a few alternatives I’ve heard about throughout my years working with nonprofits. My episode on Heart, Soul & Data: https://heartsouldata.com/ep-4...“Salesforce might be a good fit for us” Checklist:* We need to track donations and donor information* We need to track our activity* We need integrations with PayPal/Stripe* We need to track event registration* We need to send mass emails and texts* We need to track custom information specific to our organization * Our organization has unique needs* Our organization wants custom automation* Want to use it as a donor engagement/nurturing tool * You have a designated data base administrator (someone who is in charge of taking care of and in putting data) on staff“Salesforce might NOT be a good fit for us” Checklist:* Only tracking gifts, contacts, email and text messages* Your cause fits within a specific niche that has specific CRMs (example: a church, there are dedicated CRMs for churches that are designed to satisfy the unique needs only religious institutions would need to track)* If you do not have a designated data base administrator (DBA) on staff. You absolutely need someone on your staff in charge of your data base if you are going to get Salesforce.Great alternatives for very small nonprofits (small budget, no DBA)* Little Green Light - https://www.littlegreenlight.c...* Aplos - https://www.aplos.com* Neonone - https://neonone.com* Bloomerang - https://bloomerang.co* Donor Perfect - https://www.donorperfect.com* Social Solutions - https://www.socialsolutions.co...* Hubspot for Nonprofits - https://www.hubspot.com/nonpro...* Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge - https://www.blackbaud.com/prod...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upOne of our most listened-to episodes of all time was our Mini Episode of Sarah’s productivity hacks back in November of 2021 ( https://www.spreaker.com/episode/47567458 )This week Sarah is revisiting that episode and updating it with the picks she discovered this year that help her stay even more on top of her growing business.Key Takeaways:* Productivity Tech only works if you actually use it so don’t just pick what everyone else is saying they do, test drive the tool to see if it truly makes sense for you* Know your own weaknesses and choose tech tools that help bolster you in those areas* Check for free trials before committingLinks:Mail Mergehttps://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mail-merge-using-an-excel-spreadsheet-858c7d7f-5cc0-4ba1-9a7b-0a948fa3d7d3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Efb_oMgxEsAI writinghttps://www.copy.ai/ - free up to 2,000 wordshttps://www.jasper.ai/https://rytr.me/Episode with Joshua Peskay: https://www.spreaker.com/user/15193886/tame-the-content-creation-overwhelm-withNotetaker AppJoins your Zoom meeting and takes notes for you!Fathom: https://fathom.video/invite/JiseqgTime blocking toolCreate your tasks and time-block your day and week with ease.Sunsama: https://sunsama.com/?referralId=6298b999b21f7b00014470c3

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week on The Technopath Way, Allyson Kennett, Technopath Marketing and Strategic Director, joins Sarah to talk about what we’re thankful for right now. Gratitude practices have been very popular for a while now, and we wanted to think about our ‘wins’ over this past year as we move into the next one. Some of what we’re thankful for is business related, but a lot of it is tied to our lives and families. What are you grateful for this year? Drop us a line and let us know! If you have any suggestions for future topics or guest speakers you’d like to hear Sarah interview please email us at allysonkennett@technopath.ioWe’re running a Black Friday Special on our Nonprofit Cloud Consultant Exam Study Guide and Practice Questions this weekend only! https://technopath.podia.com/npsp-exam-study-guide-and-questions?coupon=STUDYGUIDEBLACKFRIDAY2022

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week on the podcast we have Tim Lockie of The Human Stack. Tim Lockie is CEO and Founder of The Human Stack℠, co-host of the Why IT Matters podcast, and uses he/him/his pronouns. His history with the nonprofit world and technology seems to be intertwined. Tim has 20 years of organization experience as a volunteer, youth worker, camp counselor, music instructor, foster parent, getaway driver for teens in danger, board member, finance director, bookkeeper, recruiter, and community administrator…the list goes on. He has seen system deficiencies range from missed opportunities to damaged relationships in these capacities. Tim believes that Digital Transformation is affordable and scalable with nonprofits of all sizes and is obsessed with The Human Stack℠. You can hear more from him and his co-host Tracy Kronzak on the Why IT Matters podcast. Key Takeaways:* Take the shame out of tech hesitancy - tech isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s okay!* Don’t overbuild your CRM* A complex piece of technology is like a car, if you don’t have anyone who knows how to drive it, it doesn’t matter how beautifully it’s built, your organization will ‘crash’ it* If you’re drowning in tech, more tech is not the answer to the problem, take it bite by bite* You have to think about the humans using the technology and set them up for success* Make training on new technology a part of your organization’s culture* It’s better to have fewer tools that more people know how to effectively use* Get your data clean and right before building out technology* Have a simple way for people to report unexpected issues with the technology AND the data in less than 30 seconds* Keep your technology-enthusiasts happy in your organization by giving them a sense of belonging, this will help with the Human Stack vs Tech Stack issuesFind out more about Tim Lockie and The Human Stack at their website: https://thehumanstack.com

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upAlexandra Mannerings is the founder of Merakinos, a data services and education company devoted to helping nonprofits sustainably access the analytics they need to grow and thrive. She earned her PhD in epidemiology and public health from the University of Cambridge in England. Studying the risk of disease spillover from fruit bats in Ghana, West Africa, taught her firsthand how to ask impactful questions and creatively leverage limited resources to answer them. Today on The Technopath Way, Alexandra sits down with Sarah to discuss how our values and emotions are central to capturing good data in our organizations. Key Takeaways:* The Google Maps Policy:* You have to know where you’re going and why you want to get there in order to choose the best route the software offers you. The same goes for your data. You can track anything. The numbers will be there, but without your intentions they won’t be meaningful.* Emotions don’t cloud judgements, they are essential to making good decisions* Not sure you believe that? Check out the massive body of brain research generated about the man behind the example Alexandra shared https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/ * Collaborating with other nonprofits serving in similar capacities as yours is a great way to benchmark data and chase down more grants* Just starting to benchmark a newer program? Look to other nonprofits who have done similar programs in the past to gauge appropriate benchmarks.* Example: Your organization is starting a program to improve childhood literacy. * What are the current levels in the population you want to serve? * What other nonprofits have served similar populations in the past? * What were their first year results like? Aim for similar levels in the first year and expand from there as appropriate* Check out Alexandra’s interview with Sarah on her own podcast Heart, Soul & Data https://heartsouldata.com

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upWhat is a ‘dashboard of zeros’? What is the most crucial 3 part question to ask yourself when building reports to show your leadership? What do we really mean when we say ‘data literacy’? Sarah is diving deep into how to think about pulling data out of your nonprofit’s CRM, how to look for untapped donations hiding in your data and quick wins for any size nonprofits when it comes to their data with Apsona’s Chief Engagement Officer, Justin Barss. Key Takeaways:* Dashboard of Zeros* Who are you missing data from in your CRM? Are you losing out on possible employer matching, leaving potentially THOUSANDS of dollars on the table?* Crucial 3 part question:* Did it happen? (Is the data there?)* What happened? (Specifics about what happened, who gave, how much, when?)* Why did it happen? (Was it at a particular event? After a specific ask?)* Build a ‘lookalike audience’ based on donors completing actions that are important for your organization* If you have a donor that gives after each email campaign, or comes to all events she’s invited to, pull up her record and see what other identifying factors your CRM contains about her. Then pull a donor report based on those factors, minus the specific donor’s name to build an audience of donors already in your system.* What story do you want to tell with your data?* You can show the impact of your leadership by comparing data points* You need at least 3 data points to establish a data trend* Think about how else your partnerships bring value to your organization beyond just dollars/donations

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: https://www.technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week on The Technopath Way Sarah is joined again by Technopath’s Director of Marketing, Allyson Kennett, to look back on some of the highs and lows the company experienced during Q3. If you’re struggling with difficult decisions in your organization, this episode dives into how it feels to make the tough calls and why pivots are sometimes necessary for better growth.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upSummary:Sarah sits down with Melissa Hill Dees of Hands on Connect Cloud Solutions. Melissa has 15 years of experience as a nonprofit executive and over 10 years leveraging Salesforce. Her goal is to automate what can be automated so that nonprofits have more time to do what can’t be automated. She is an NGO Community Group Leader, Dreamforce speaker, Lightning Champion, SFDO Sprinter, founder of #foodforce and Nonprofit Dreamin, and advocate of #domoregood, #WiT, #EqualityForAll. She is 4X Salesforce certified: Admin, Platform App Builder, Sales Cloud Consultant, and Nonprofit Cloud Consultant.We’re so glad she took the time to speak with our Technopath Way community about consequence scanning for nonprofits. In today’s episode you’ll hear about ways to think through possible negative and positive outcomes from implementing a new piece of technology or program. Something we as overwhelmed nonprofit professions don’t do often enough is think through every possible outcome when jumping into something new. It’s understandable - when you’re running at a million miles a minute, who has time to stop and dive that deep into the ‘what ifs’ of a situation? Well if we don’t, we can often end up in situations that take far more of our time than we have to spare.Key Take Aways:* Consequence scanning means thinking through 4 different categories: - Intended positive outcomes, unintended positive outcomes, possible negative outcomes, unintended negative outcomes* Find someone with fresh eyes to help you think of other unintended consequences* Even really positive outcomes can cause issues we may not have thought about * Ask ‘Why’ at least 5 times to get to the bottom of what’s needed (and avoid data that isn’t truly necessary, just clogging up your system)* Ask yourself what you’re not seeing* Automate everythin you can so you can spend all your time on things that can’t be* Initial registration to be a volunteer for a simple task (beach clean up, handing out food, etc) should only require a name and email address - more data than that doesn’t serve your organization and discourages people to help you!* Truly use the 360-customer view your CRM gives you to cultivate donor-volunteers

Ep 133 - Tame the Grant OverwhelmSign up for our weekly newsletter, The Technopath Way Tips, here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week’s episode features Gauri Manglik, CEO of Instrumentl, an institutional fundraising platform for nonprofits. It is a favorite tool among grant seekers for bringing grant prospecting, tracking, and management to one place.Gauri joined Sarah today to talk about keeping volunteers engaged, the mistakes she’s seen nonprofits make when introducing new technology and how to simplify your tech stack.Gauri was kind enough to extend a coupon code to all of our lovely listeners! TECHNOPATH50 will get you $50 off their first month or year of Instrumentl. You can sign up for a 14-day free Instrumentl account here: https://www.instrumentl.com/r/TechnopathGauri’s Tips for Taming the Fundraising Overwhelm:* Do fewer things, but do them better* Whether you’re training staff on new technology or developing a new program for your constituents, focus on just 1 or 2 things at a time so you can really dive deep and make sure you’re being as thorough as possible* Training is essential to adoption* If you want staff to adopt the new tech you’ve found so it can actually be useful, then you need to train them on it! Take the time, slow down, really make sure they completely understand if you want them to actually use it.* Have processes* Even if you think a task is extremely simple, write out the process you use to do that task. This can show you where things could benefit from more technology, what areas might need more attention and make delegating easier* Additional Free Grant Writing ResourcesThe Ultimate Grant Writing Resources Collection: features over 100 pages of grant writing resources ranging from grants calendar guides to RFP evaluation tools.Live Grant Writing Classes: weekly live and free grant writing education featuring best-selling authors, educators and more.Grant Writing Classes On-Demand: 50+ hours of free grant writing education that can be watched by any grant writer regardless of skill levelSuccessful Grant Proposal Examples: The Ultimate List: this post digs into successful grant proposal examples to show how you can start winning grant funding for your organization.49 Grant Writing Resources: The Ultimate List: the most comprehensive list of grant tools and grant writing resources for nonprofits.8 Things That Only Instrumentl Can Do: learn what makes Instrumentl the definitive institutional fundraising platform for nonprofits.