Matthew Moorut provides some top tips on how to chose new technology for your voluntary organisation
Thanks to the recent surge of digital advances, there are more ways than ever to squeeze extra benefit from any funds charities raise. Tools have become cheaper and easier to adopt. There are also a lot more of them, making thorough research essential.
If you’re already overstretched working for your cause, then realistically you won’t have time to waste researching platforms and services. That said, the right tool could save you more time (and money) in the long run.
The key is to undertake research efficiently. To do that, you need to think strategically from the outset. Here are some practical steps to follow, which should help:
You would also be wise to judge potential solutions against your core values
Matthew Moorut
There are two paths you can follow to improve how your charity functions. Firstly you can find out how other organisations are using technology in new ways and think about what your charity could develop that it hasn't previously been able to. Alternatively, you can consider your worst pain points and then look for ways to remedy them.
I’d suggest the first path is the trickier option, it takes time and real interest to pursue. The latter is more useful for most charities.
Once you've decided what your most significant pain point is, you can research solutions to this specific problem.
If you don’t already know the sorts of things that are available that would help, do a bit of research on the difficulty itself to throw up suggestions. Once you know what’s available, then you can start looking for reviews and comparisons within that area.
There are a number of tech comparison sites using fields like "accounting software" or "CRM", for example. Below is a list of the largest.
- g2crowd.com
- capterra.com
- gartner.com/technology
- pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre
- toptenreviews.com
- charitydigitalnews.co.uk/marketplace (this is much smaller, but specifically for charities)
From your research, make a long-list of products then narrow them down further using review sites, of which there are hundreds. Some of the broader and more reputable ones include:
- cnet.com/uk/topics/software
- macworld.co.uk/review/mac-software
- pcadvisor.co.uk/review
- pcmag.com/reviews/smb (specifically useful for small business software)
- softwareadvice.com
- tomsguide.com
If you know anyone who’s already using something you’re considering, make sure you ask them about their experiences too.
You would also be wise to judge potential solutions against your core values. So, pick the 5 or 6 products with the best reviews and judge them against your needs. Things to consider include how much would the software help your charity achieve its mission, whether there are upfront costs or a long-term contract, how easy it will be for everyone in your organisation to use it, and finally, how secure is the product, what would be the risk if something went wrong?
Many products include a trial period so you can test each potential solution. Get a few people in the organisation to trial each product on your shortlist. That will give you an idea of how easy it is to use in practice, how good the support is and how well it integrates with your other systems, which can be difficult to ascertain just from reviews.
Finally, you are ready to make a decision. By this point, you’ll know what features are essential for your charity. You’ll know which ones are the easiest to use in practice. Plus, you’ll know how much they all cost.
Then all that’s left to is pick the best one!
Remember: improving with IT should be a transition, not a transformation. Anything you adopt doesn’t need to be perfect, just better than your current setup.
