Technology more important than ever for Kiwi not-for-profits

Upgrading out-of-date infrastructure and making better use of online media are top priorities for New Zealand not-for-profits in their efforts to keep up in the digital age.

The results of the ICT in the Not-For-Profit Sector Survey, released today by Infoxchange, Connecting Up and Techsoup New Zealand, uncover that many not-for-profits are facing significant IT challenges that are impacting their overall productivity.

David Spriggs, CEO of Infoxchange, says shrinking supporter engagement and decreased funding across the board have created an urgent need for not-for-profits to become more productive and effective.

"Historically, not-for-profits have invested mostly in frontline service delivery, where their dollars have the most impact, but we have found that the lack of investment in IT is creating a number of challenges including decreasing revenue," Spriggs says.

"30% of organisations that rated their IT capability as 'challenged' reported a decrease in revenue over the last 12 months, compared with only 11% that rated their IT as 'leading'," he says.

"Without the right technology to drive supporter engagement, facilitate service delivery, measure client and community outcomes, and communicate success, not-for-profits will be unable to compete into the future.

Spriggs says, "We need to make sure we provide the right support for these organisations so this doesn't happen.

Over 600 organisations of varying sizes from across the not-for-profit sector were surveyed, predominantly in education and training, community development, health and youth services.

"We have found that the size of the organisation doesn't hinder its ability to improve its IT to a functional level, which is great news for those smaller not-for-profits," Spriggs says.

Anne Gawen, CEO of Connecting Up, says not-for-profits are struggling to keep up with the rapid changes in technology and don't always know how or where to invest their efforts.

"While many not-for-profits are doing very well, around half of the organisations surveyed have difficulty identifying what to do to improve their IT and finding the right people to implement these changes," Gawen says.

"The insights from our survey have helped us understand these challenges and what is working well, as well as where organisations could improve their technology use.

She says, "Infoxchange, Connecting Up and TechSoup will use these insights to ensure we are address these problem areas to create a stronger and more productive sector that can weather future challenges.