The Technopath Way: Productivity through tech for nonprofits

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upAre you getting ready to tell your board about your data? Are you prepared to tell a compelling story using your data, or are you drowning in numbers, reports and spreadsheets?Come to our free workshop on March 17 and walk away with a thorough understanding of how to turn your data into an amazing story and ideas for how you'll apply it to your own data.Register for the free workshop here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tell-amazing-stories-using-your-nonprofit-salesforce-data-tickets-288099893537Today Sarah is diving into how documentation practices can help you with the on-boarding and retention of new employees or volunteers. Did you know major staffing firms estimate businesses spend tens of thousands of dollars every year on finding, hiring and on-boarding new employees? Let's move toward making the process of on-boarding and retaining the amazing humans you find for your mission, easier and maybe even fun!

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week on The Technopath Way we welcome Dr. Kim Hunt, Ph.D. Dr. Hunt shares some tips for collecting relevant data, thinking through your nonprofit narrative, and what else your data can do besides inform funders of your impact.

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week Sarah discusses data she and her family tracks in their personal lives, the usefulness of it, and the little steps nonprofits may be able to take to move the needle forward despite externalities.Some things she mentions:Book of the month: Winning with Data - https://amzn.to/369PcevArticle discussed next week: Using Data for Action and for Impact - https://bit.ly/3gJmenP

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upWe’re so excited to welcome Cindy Wagman, fundraiser extraordinaire, of The Good Partnership to the Technopath Way this week! She brings a wealth of knowledge about how to make fundraising less intimidating and more fun, what tech she has found helps lessen the overwhelm and some quick, actionable tips to supercharge your fundraising right away.Cindy’s Tips for Taming Fundraising Overwhelm:* The more we repeat things, it becomes second nature and you become less hyper-aware and more on ‘auto-pilot’* The most important thing we can do to improve our relationship with fundraising is adjusting our perceptions around it* The typical messages we hear about money, who gives and the value of our work over-all, are negative* We need to adjust this messaging about who gives, what it means to have money before we can effectively change how we feel about fundraising* What are the best steps to take to over-come the overwhelm right out of the gate?* What are the short-cuts or messaging in your own brain about money?* How do I feel when I hear the word ‘fundraising’? We can’t change what we don’t recognize.* How do I start to prove those assumptions wrong? * The best way to do this is by talking to the clients about the impact and donors about why they give. Why is it important?* What do the current donors get from giving to your organization? A sense of helping their community directly? Making a positive impact on a group they have a special connection to?* We need to listen and understand before we ask.* We need to re-wire our brains to understand that fundraising is safe. The people around us deeply understand and support our mission.* We often rush to the ‘tactics’ without thinking about how the donors are on our team and want the same things we do* Build relationships with your donors who are not just large corporations - it helps you connect with who is giving in a way that will help you see the fundraising funds as a tool to move the mission forward* Spend time working or volunteering in your organization’s programs so you are truly bought into the organization’s mission, have the stories of the impact on your clients to share with potential donors* The fundraising ‘pitch deck’ is holding you back. It is a crutch so many fundraisers use to put off connecting with donors. Connect and listen before you worry about tactics.* Donors have already made the decision to give or not based on the stories you tap into from your organization before you ever put a pitch deck in front of them* All humans make assumptions about what others are thinking and we’re almost always wrong. Ask a donor about their thoughts before you assume it will be a ‘no’.What tech will help with fundraising?* Always have systems in place - they’re crucial for scaling* Systems and CRMs can be cheap to free these days* Small to medium nonprofits almost never need the huge, expensive systems* Tax receipts should be automated* Once you have systems and know your donors, the sky is the limit on how many individual donors you can build relationships with* Your system should* issue tax receipts automatically* integrate with your tools to accept donations* automatically assign tasks or alert stakeholders to donations at or above certain levels* Email options built in* Send video thank you’s personalized 40 second video using:* bonjour* vidyard* loom* You don’t have to go for the big name brand CRMs, there are many different options* Salesforce is good for more beyond fundraising and it doesn’t have to be expensive* If you have many metrics to track* Need to collect multiple data points* Organize a large amount of records both client and donor

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upWhile so many people are eager to leave 2021 in the dust, it's important to recognize that we can usually find some positives in a situation if we look closely. Today, Sarah is reflecting on the growth, positives and some downsides of her 2021. Join her in taking stock of your own year with the questions she's exploring.Link to questions: https://coda.io/d/Untitled_dlBZkGQcBIgLet us know what some of your wins were!

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upBradley’s Tips for Finding the Right Salesforce Volunteer:Every organization and its needs are unique so you will need to spend time getting the volunteer up to speed on your requirementsGet extremely clear internally about what your organization wants out of Salesforce before you begin looking for a volunteerIf you don’t know what you want out of a volunteer, they won’t be able to deliverFind out what Salesforce is capable of doing firstDon’t just accept the first volunteer to offer when you make your request on volunteer websitesMake sure they are certified and what their level of technical ability isWhen might you want to hire a full time IT or Salesforce Admin?When you have a large volume of data to maintainHow you’re using the Salesforce system (Is it just for contacts? Or do you need to know who donated how much over certain periods of time?)Bradley’s LinkedIn TipsIf you leverage LinkedIn properly you may not have to settle for a volunteer with zero experienceA healthy community is made up of give and take, ie don’t post your request for help/volunteers immediately after creating your profileUse LinkedIn as a platform to educate your community about what you do, why your organization’s mission is important, how your programs are making an impactSpend a minimum of a month posting regularly several days a week (does not need to be every day) before making your first askGive more than you take: even after you get the volunteers you’re looking for, continue to post valuable information for your network

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upSo often new professionals are advised to volunteer with organizations to gain experience, but what exactly can you rely on someone with no prior experience to do with confidence? Justin Dux, an interview coach with Talent Stacker, sits down with me to talk about tasks you can confidently give a new Salesforce Admin that can benefit you both.What to look for:Salesforce Admin CertifiedUnderstands Salesforce has a Nonprofit Success Pack (often referred to as Salesforce NPSP)Knows where to look for answers when they come across an unfamiliar conceptWhat are some good tasks to hand off?Research - new app extensions, possible troubleshooting solutions, etcBasic reports and dashboardsBuilding out options in a sandbox or Dev Org to show the value of different apps or further investment in consultantsStanding up the basics of a Salesforce Org to help visualize the ROI for reluctant stakeholders

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upWhat should we look for to turn a metric we’re unhappy with, around?First of all, don’t freak out!Next, double check that everything is working correctly. Ie, payment processing isn’t down, the server is working correctly.Finally, do some A/B testing of messaging or design Pro Tip: Only A/B test one element at a time.Website A/B Testing Tools Alex Uses:Google Optimize: Ties in well with Google Analytics OptimizelyGoogle “A/B testing tool for nonprofit websites” and you’re likely to get some good optionsPro Tip: Set up a dedicated “Thank You” page for a donor or client to be directed to after they have completed your Call to Action. You can then set up tracking for that Thank You page and see your results much more clearly than if you sent them back to the Home Page.Marketing A/B Testing:You’ll set up ‘optimization’ wherever you’re running your campaigns. For instance, if you’re running Google Ads, there’s an option to do A/B testing in the backend. Same for Facebook ads.Pro Tip: Make sure you set your goals accurately so your tracking software can tell you how effective your campaign is.Some Good Metrics to Present to BoardsWebsite Visits: It’s an easy one to access and an easy concept to explain to board members. Social Media vanity metrics: Facebook likes, Instagram follows, Twitter follows are easy to show and explain to board membersEngaged Users on Social MediaHow many people have reached out for help/filled out their information to receive helpHow many people have been helpedHow many people have donated and how much

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week Sarah talks about the 'why' and the 'how' of impact measurement. The main trick is drilling down to what exactly it is your organization wants to do to make the world, your community or your clients lives better. This involves making an organization impact statement.From there, she gives you some creative examples for figuring out how to take those qualitative indicators and turn them into the numbers and data that big donors, board members and other important stake holders are looking for. Check back next week for an episode about which metrics truly matter for nonprofits.Helpful tech for collecting data from clients:FormAssembly.comFormStack.comSurveyMonkey.comGoogle Forms*Bonus Tech Tips:- Check before using the tool if it has native tools to help you turn the answers you get into visual reports for stake-holders. (Most do) - Can it export reports?- Does it have a way for you to connect it with your CRM so you can follow up with specific clients and pre-fill some of the information for them such as name, age, contact info.Helpful tips for quantifying your survey data:Using a Likert Scale Giving Answers Point Values (example: 1 point for 'Yes' or 'True', 2 points for 'No' or 'False')Sarah's Impact Measurement Hot Tips:- Create 3 impact statements: 1, What impact do you want to make on your clients? 2, What impact do you want to make on the planet? 3, What impact do you want to make on your community? - For each of those impact statements what would be good indicators of success?- From there you can create questions that directly point to the indicators you've chosen.

Sign-up for The Technopath Way Weekly Newsletter here: technopath.ac-page.com/the-technopath-way-sign-upThis week Sarah dives into the first part of evaluating your tech stack. Are you actually utilizing all the features of those fancy solutions the organization is paying for? Or would a simpler piece of technology be a better fit? She walks you through some questions to establish your organization's needs. Let's see if your organization could benefit from a technology refresh!Questions to ask yourselfWhat is your goal for this piece of technology?What do you want to accomplish? How does it connect to your mission?What is the actual pain point for your organization that you hope this technology will help resolve?Will this piece of technology need an expert’s help to properly set-up? Does the free version of this solve the immediate problem I have?Is there a way to test out the solution before committing to a subscription/purchasing a license?