Transforming Nonprofits – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This episode brings an expert in change management, Heather Ritchie, to talk about skills. But, skills are more than a set of things you've learned. Skills are what your team, and your organization, need to work together and thrive. 

Heather is an expert with a long career of curiosity about teams: how do we work together as humans? What are the ways to manage human change for nonprofit teams to make IT projects more successful? And how can a team of people who care about their nonprofit and its mission strategize the skills they need to acquire or improve to increase their organization's ability to achieve mission? 

Can you execute a change management strategy without learning your teams’ skills, interests, and where they can grow into the new tech space you are creating? And do you have the trust on your team to do a skills matrix exercise in good faith? Heather discusses ways to create safety for your staff to be candid, honest, and vulnerable and build the team they want. Do you need a skilled facilitator? Do you structure the skills mapping exercise one-on-one or as a group project?

In this conversation, Kyle learns Heather's approach to change management and skill mapping. 

Heather is a consultant with Build Consulting and has over two decades of experience in the field. She has led change management efforts in nonprofit, academic and corporate sectors, serving in a variety of roles from senior leadership to educator, coach and consultant. Heather brings a passion for connecting social purpose with the strategy, tools and technology to make the world a better place – on budget, on time, and for measurable impact.

Our podcast is designed for audiences with varied experiences with technology. In this conversation with Heather Ritchie learn the role of skills in change management and strategies to motivate your teams to develop the skills they - and your nonprofit - need.

This time on Transforming Nonprofits, Kyle catches up with Taj Carson to geek out on data. What does data mean for information strategy, technology, and the nonprofits of tomorrow? The topic of data is only becoming more and more important, but for so many nonprofits it can be an elusive topic. How are nonprofits making meaningful strides in data?

Data has always been important – from monitoring and evaluation to getting an annual report right. With the increasing availability of AI, data is more important than ever.

In this conversation, we learn Taj’s approach to data for nonprofits, her thoughts on the impact of technology and how she thinks good data helps nonprofits choose technology in the future.

Taj Carson is the CEO and Founder of Inciter. Inciter maps data, integrates data systems, and automates data processes. The outcome? Beautifully designed, accurate reports. Effortlessly. Inciter is essentially a Managed Services Provider (MSP) for your data, supporting nonprofits across the many systems they use, regardless of what those systems are.

Our Fireside Chats are designed for audiences with varied experiences with technology. In this Fireside Chat with Taj Carson on nonprofit data and strategy, learn data basics, how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the value of your data to your own nonprofit and to your community and the sector, and how to harness your data to make strategic decisions.

• Investing in new technology systems only to find that your colleagues have not adopted them?
• Making changes to your systems or processes only to find that people revert to their old ways?
• Hearing about “change management” but feel unclear on what it is or how to perform it?

Most technology projects have non-technological goals: raise more money, reach more supporters, serve more program participants, or become more efficient. To reach those goals, not only must the technology improve, but the habits and behaviors of system users must change – sometimes significantly.

In this video, we share a framework on how to manage the challenges of aligning organizational change with technology projects. Learn how to examine the impacts of a technology change and identify the steps required for an organization to manage the change.

Peter Gross and Johan Hammerstrom also answer questions from the audience on specific change management issues such as communication, the role of leadership, and how to address siloed departments with organization-wide technology change.

Download the free framework here: https://buildconsulting.com/learning/resource-change-management-template-free/

What are the Six Steps to Becoming a Data Management Ninja?

This episode discusses the skills, many of which are non-technical, that any nonprofit staff member can use to improve their role in data management and help their organization tell their stories better.

1. Learn the nonprofit landscape
2. Understand the relationships
3. Learn your technology
4. Become a data quality nerd
5. Become a great communicator
6. Become a super sleuth

In ways both large and small, every person working at a non-profit shares some data management responsibility whether you’re in development, programs, finance, HR, IT, the executive office or any other department, you’ve got to manage data effectively.

Managing data could be entering data and keeping it up to date or running imports, exports or reports but it could also mean just conducting the kind of operations that create the environment for good data management. From building an organization’s culture to hiring the right people, designing and managing a program or a campaign or simply properly executing a process that leads to a good outcome. So, like it or not, we are all data managers and we all have skills that we need to develop to go along with that.

The better the data we have, the better we can tell the story of our nonprofit's mission and work - to donors, board members, the public at large, volunteers, clients, and employees.

• Investing in new technology systems only to find that your colleagues have not adopted them?
• Making changes to your systems or processes only to find that people revert to their old ways?
• Hearing about “change management” but feel unclear on what it is or how to perform it?

Most technology projects have non-technological goals: raise more money, reach more supporters, serve more program participants, or become more efficient. To reach those goals, not only must the technology improve, but the habits and behaviors of system users must change – sometimes significantly.

In this podcast presentation, former founding Partner Peter Gross defines nonprofit change maangement and walks through a brief case study. He then answered audience questions from nonprofit practitioners.

This presentation was originally hosted by Data Analysts for Good.

Download the Build Consulting Change Management template.

Organizations often have years of donor data that doesn’t inform action. Information about donors and prospects contained in CRM for nonprofits—when properly managed and analyzed—can have a dramatic impact! Luckily, there are techniques to transform data into information—improving donor data to drive outcomes.

In this episode, we share a story of how one nonprofit organization improved their donor data. This story is organized into three parts:

• Decreasing the “noise” in the database
• Getting to know the constituents
• Learning about best practices and engagement/giving trends
• Developing a plan and building consensus

• Reducing friction in the subscription and donation processes
• Improving handling of potentially fraudulent transactions
• Pushing the right Call to Action
• Improving donor data analysis and segmentation
• Increasing integration and process automation
• Applying greater discipline in constituent data management

• Increased revenue
• Increased “sustainer” monthly giving; smoothed out cash flow
• Increased donor and organizational happiness

This story includes key lessons that can be leveraged by any nonprofit to increase organizational knowledge of its constituents while turning that information into outcomes. You’ll learn a variety of helpful strategies and tactics to create better donor data. You can apply these lessons to improve your own donor data and create your own success story!

Being an expert in user experience doesn’t mean that you’re an expert designer or programmer. User experience is about how constituents experience your nonprofit organization. Learn five user experience “hacks” that come before technology—and how to create a “user-centric” experience of your organization.

In pt 2 of this webinar hosted by Community IT Innovators' Johan Hammerstrom, Kyle Haines, Co-Founding Partner of Build Consulting, answers registrant and attendee questions to dig a little deeper into the concepts and how they can transform your thinking about your tech projects.

The Five Hacks

1. Agree that user experience is important
2. Focus on staff experience
3. Evaluate your physical environment
4. Map your constituent journeys
5. Collect and act on feedback

Being an expert in user experience doesn’t mean that you’re an expert designer or programmer. User experience is about how constituents experience your nonprofit organization. Learn five user experience “hacks” that come before technology—and how to create a “user-centric” experience of your organization.

In pt 1 of this webinar hosted by Community IT Innovators' Johan Hammerstrom, Kyle Haines, Co-Founding Partner of Build Consulting, walks us through a novel process for thinking about delivering nonprofit technology projects. In pt 2 Johan and Kyle answer registrant and attendee questions to dig a little deeper into the concepts and how they can transform your thinking about your tech projects.

The Five Hacks

1. Agree that user experience is important
2. Focus on staff experience
3. Evaluate your physical environment
4. Map your constituent journeys
5. Collect and act on feedback

In part 2, moderated by former Partner Peter Mirus, three of Build’s experts lead a discussion about the challenges facing modern development/fundraising operations. We answer questions from the audience about development operations and technology challenges, and share insights and experience from our combined decades of experience in nonprofit strategy and constituent relationship management (CRM).

The Questions

1. I’m starting an individual giving program from the ground up. What should be my major focus points? 

2. What are the potential pitfalls in selecting a new CRM system for my organization? 

3. Our CRM seemed perfect during the sales pitch in but reality, there are a lot of workarounds that are taking up a lot of my time. 

4. What’s the role of leadership and supporting good constituent relationship management practices?

In this episode, moderated by former Partner Peter Mirus, three of Build’s experts lead a discussion about the challenges facing modern development/fundraising operations. We answer questions from the audience about development operations and technology challenges, and share insights and experience from our combined decades of experience in nonprofit strategy and constituent relationship management (CRM).

The Questions

We shared our thoughts in answer to the following questions:

1. What have been the major fundraising development, technology trends and evolutions over the past three to four years? 

2. It seems that Salesforce has dominated the market. Do you think, Microsoft or any other company has a chance to be competitive? 

3. What should non-profit fundraising and development look for in the future evolution of CRM technology? What are the kinds of improvements or enhancements that we should expect to see maybe over the next year or two or even longer than that? 

4. Do you think there are more advancements that can be made with data visualization or have those peaks been reached?