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In a tight economy, the right tech mix helps nonprofits retain income levels, services
No one had to tell the nonprofit sector that the world economy was slipping deeper into recession. Relying largely on donors, memberships and conferences to maintain their budgets, nonprofits usually feel the pinch first and are the sector of the economy that is last to recover.
But when the task of soliciting funds and materials is at its most difficult, not-for-profit organizations become more innovative in the ways they work - including the use of advanced technologies.
"It's a case where desperation breeds innovation," said Don Kent, a former telecom executive who serves as chairman of Net Literacy, a community-based nonprofit digital inclusion initiative that has operated in the U.S. since 2003 and was selected by the European Union Study on Digital Inclusion as one of the 91 most promising good-practice initiatives worldwide. "Because a recession creates greater need among individuals and families, nonprofits are called on to do more at exactly the time when their donations and resources are at their least. Keeping pace in this environment means tightening belts, doing more with less, and the use of technology both to reach out to new sources of revenue and to maintain support from the ones you have."
What technologies work best depends on the type of nonprofit involved - the Internal Revenue Service counts 28 different types of tax-exempt organizations - and how they gather resources. But there is general agreement on five technologies that are driving the NFP sector today.
THE WEB
A study released this year by Target Analytics, a unit of Blackbaud Inc., shows that nonprofits received more than 10 percent of their donations from online giving last year, and notes that it is a rapidly growing venue for giving. It projects that Web sites will be the major venue for giving by 2020. The research firm also noted that the level of giving is higher online than off, and that the profiles of those who give are more attractive - better educated and younger with higher incomes.
The right Web site is critical, whether it is intended for public...