It is not uncommon to see Not for Profit (NFP) organisations, which are running on tight budgets and have disjointed technology running the organisation. It is not due to lack of understanding or resources when it comes to technology as quite often you will see the board members of these organisations generally being in senior leadership positions of rather successful businesses. This purely comes down to first and foremost delivering on their mission and delivering the biggest impact with the limited funds that are at their disposal. This sings true to the purpose of Not for Profit’s as being selfless organisations on a mission to help others.
Microsoft and NFPs
For years Microsoft has had a hand in providing NFP businesses with significant discounts to help them deliver their mission and that is only getting stronger as they continue to deliver technology for social impact. Their emphasis on this program is stronger than ever, helping more and more NFPs by the day. What this is doing is enabling these groups to deliver and scale in ways that weren’t possible in the past and this is by means of consolidating and transforming their technology into a single synchronised platform. As the tech landscape transforms, so do the offerings available and we now see even more being delivered by means of donation including full cloud suites with enhanced security at little to no cost.
Quick Wins
We’ve worked with a number of NFP organisations over the years and below are some of the most valued solutions that have truly revolutionised the way that they operate.
Online Meetings
Its not uncommon for NFPs to have members scattered across multiple locations and conventionally this has made it extremely hard for businesses to collaborate effectively. Using tools like Microsoft Teams has enabled many to dramatically reduce travel needs and improve lines of communication by means of regular online meetings. Borders are no barrier and when ensuring budgets are met, reducing travel costs can only be a good thing.
Secure Online Storage
Often, when we first engage with a NFP, data will be stored in many different locations, also in different systems. For example, the Treasurer might store all financial information on their personal machine or cloud storage and other users may have information shared via their respective OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google cloud storage. All of which have separate backup requirements, security configurations and means of accessing them.
By consolidating all this information into the single online platform, everything just gets easier and there is peace of mind knowing where everything is. No more worrying about a single member’s computer failing and losing data. Further, your ability to co-collaborate on files from anywhere means there is no more emailing files back and forth and the dreaded manual consolidation of changes.
Device Management and Data Security
Using personally owned equipment is commonplace when it comes to NFPs. As mentioned above this does pose its own challenges but thankfully with the management tools made available with Microsoft’s offering you can maintain control of your data and make sure everything still gets backed up. This applies to all types of devices from Laptops and PCs to smartphones and tablets.
Make Sure You are Taking Advantage of the NFP Offerings Available
I could continue listing quick wins for hours on end, but this should give you some dialogue to understand the possibilities. Our team continue to work with NFPs all over the country to ensure they are maximising the offers available, dramatically reducing expenditure whilst digitally enhancing operations. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help your NFP, give us a call on 1800 664 248 or send us through an enquiry.
