TECHNOLOGY PLANNING & RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR NONPROFITS

Presented by Ned Fasullo of SimplifyIT

Everything starts with a plan…

The Nonprofit in 2009

Where to begin?

Action: Think of the technology plan as a funding proposal; the plan is driven by your agency's objectives and goals. Therefore: First decide what the agency wants to accomplish,

and then create a technology plan to help make it happen.

Remember to update the technology plan frequently as your agency's needs change and as technology changes.

A structured plan that outlines a viable technology strategy can be useful and highly relevant when approaching funders.

Before You Start…

There are important decisions to make before you start writing your technology plan. Since the process requires time, effort, resources and input from various people across your organization, adequate preparation is essential.

Start by reflecting on your situation: How long will this take?

Establish a reasonable timeline. Budget between 7–10 weeks to develop your

plan.

Before You Start…

Who needs to be involved in planning and writing? Involve the key stakeholders to cultivate

buy-in. Designate a lead person to coordinate and

focus the planning process. Find a technology champion to lend ideas

and inspiration. See handout #2 for more!

The backbone of your activities is your technology infrastructure. Is yours up to par?

Nonprofit Technology

The Basics…

Bandwidth Services Network Hardware & Hardware-as-a-

Service Telephony Services Network Software & TechSoup Email Services Website Hosting Services eMarketing Services Employee Development & Training

Basic Internet Service 101

Bandwidth is the key to your future! Types of Internet services

DSL (AT&T, Eatel, etc) T-1 (AT&T, Eatel, Sprint, CenturyTel, etc) Cable Modem (Comcast, Charter, Cox, etc) Wireless Broadband (Broadband IP, DTEL,

etc) Recommendations?

Basic Hardware101

Workstations All-in-one or not? Name brand or

not? Thin-client or not?

Basic Hardware101

Notebook vs. Netbook Size Functionality Capacity

Basic Hardware 101

Servers Do you need one? What kind? What capacity?

Basic Network Infrastructure 101

Network Server

PC’s

Laptops

Internet

Modem

FirewallRouter/Switch

Basic Network Infrastructure 102

My Data Center

InternetYour Building

With your network (servers, email, etc) hosted securely offsite in a Data Center, your employees can work and function from within your premise, or anywhere else they are connected to the internet.

Basic Telephony 101

Telephone technology is “technology”. VoIP (Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol) is the

direction you need to go. More cost effective than traditional copper

landline telephone service More business-class phone system features Not grounded by landlines – can go

anywhere

Network Software 101

Procurement 1 WORD = TECHSOUP CDW, Ingram and other distributors offer

nonprofit discounts as well Implementation

Always test before roll-out Upgrades and Windows 7

October 22, 2009 official street date

Email Services 101

POP 3 email Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Cox,

AT&T, etc Business-class email

Microsoft Exchange Mobile synchronization

Windows Mobile/ActiveSync Blackberry Enterprise

Services GoodLink (Palm)

Anytime, anywhere delivery in real-time is key

Web Hosting Services 101

Two types of web sites Content Management System (CMS)

Simple user interface, changes made in real time, pre-built design, etc.

Custom Designed HTML No user interface, changes made by third-

party, design is whatever you want. Hosting services must be 99.99%

uptime! Content changes MUST be controlled by

you!

eMarketing Services 101

Email Marketing system iContact.com #1 in the world CAN-SPAM Compliant

Mobile Giving system vTEXT offers mobile giving, coupon and ad

delivery FCC Wireless Compliant

Facebook implementation Twitter implementation

How do we budget?

The crux of budgeting and allocating funds for technology must be thought of on a “per user” or “per device” system, with a fixed monthly fee.

Fixed monthly fees, or “managed services” allow you to cost allocate your technology maintenance, support and upgrades for 12 months or more.

All technology can be cost allocated as a per user or per device system!

What do we ask for?

Stop writing grants for new hardware only Without support and maintenance, your

costs turn variable and make it nearly impossible to budget for the best and worst of times!

Start writing grants for the funding of overall technology implementation for the organization Foundations and funders know what

managed services are. Use your technology plan as your selling tool for requesting the funds to support your monthly budget for technology!

Know your staff, know your limitations

Staff is the key to any technology implementation Age, education and prior experience

are key indicators of success or failure Management should work with their

technology vendors to provide ongoing education and training If your vendor leaves you out to dry,

then you are paying the wrong vendor. Coordinate with other agencies who all

use the same vendor to capitalize on the training opportunity.

Special offers from SimplifyIT! SimplifyIT will provide a free technology assessment to

anyone attending this workshop! Cox offers SimplifyIT clients 15% off of any cable modem

internet package SimplifyIT offers a special $350 setup fee and $25 per

month for a fully functional CMS web site http://www.lantap.org – Louisiana Nonprofit Technology

Assistance Program WORKetc.com offers a 10% discount to nonprofits who use

the following link - https://www.worketc.com/Sign_Up?AffilCode=SimplifyIT

iContact.com is supported by SimplifyIT and users receive a free trial at - http://www.icontact.com/a.pl/281589