Disrupting the nonprofit space: Perspectives from today’s technology leaders

In its fourth consecutive year, the Traction Rec Customer Success Conference invited our community of clients, colleagues, partners, and network of supporters for three days of informative, collaborative and thought-provoking discussions.

Lara Gilchrist, CEO of Traction Rec sat down by the (virtual) fire to chat with our partners who shared their perspectives on the intersection and impacts of technology within the nonprofit ecosystem, both from a strategic business standpoint, as well as for the opportunities created for employers and employees.

Panelists:

• Lara Gilchrist, CEO of Traction Rec
• Tom Gardner, SVP & CIO of YMCA USA
• Jackie Noden, Senior Product Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
• John Merrit, SVP & CIO, YMCA San Diego County
• Matt Adwin, VP, IT & Analytics, JCC Greater Boston

We've pulled together our top five key takeaways from this webinar. You can watch the entire discussion further below.

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Technology plays an impactful role in moving your mission forward. It’s a game changer.

Technology is a game changer that places you to be in the position of strategic thinkers, early-adopters, competitors, innovators, and influencers. The expanding presence of and demand for technology in the nonprofit space has enabled organizations to grasp the importance of setting strategic goals for development and mission advancement, while remaining nimble and versatile in an ever-evolving business climate. A well thought out and supported technology infrastructure, combined with business strategy has become one of the biggest drivers of success for nonprofits today.

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Upskilling is a win for everyone: Develop your people, and enable them to grow in their career while remaining with your organization. It’s an incredible thing to be able to do.

There is immense value in supporting employees who already understand your business strategy and mission, and enabling them to further support the development of that through applying technology skills. Rather than recruiting for a “technology professional” to join an organization who has no knowledge of the mission and values underlying your business, it is much more effective and fulfilling to leverage an existing workforce. Provide your already engaged team with the tools and resources for upskilling, and have them grow into the technical roles internally.

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Be willing to fund and invest in training and development. Make it part of your mission.

Providing opportunities for training and development is exceptionally important and it is the responsibility of Senior Leadership to take the time to evaluate competing priorities, prioritize professional development for their employees, and to support in re-allocating work responsibilities. Supporting, funding, rewarding and recognizing employees who pursue those opportunities, will better serve the needs and development of your organization.

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Pain motivates change.

Often when the need for change is vocalized externally from constituents, that pain is felt internally ten-fold. As outdated technology infrastructure and systems become ineffective, this creates a major burden on employees who are wasting time working across siloed systems and archaic business processes.

Take the time to listen to the staff that are in the field day in and day out, who are using the tools, and are the subject matter experts on how they are using their systems. From there, build a strategy around where there is a clear need and demand for change or adoption. The people using the systems every day are really the modernization experts.

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Embrace the fundamental fear of change. Focus on your people, grow from experience and build trust.

Adopting and adjusting to an organization’s culture is fundamental to the entire process and impact of change. With change comes challenges, but those challenges can be faced easier when creating a foundation of trust amongst your teams.

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Watch the complete 60 minute discussion.

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Our mission is to be partners. To our teams, to our customers and to their communities. Connect with us, and let us share with you our perspective on taking a thoughtful approach to transformation. Send us a message.

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