Top Tips for Managing Your Non-Profit Technology

Every piece of non-profit technology you have is precious, and you need to make it last as long as possible. Whether you have a team of volunteers utilizing connected apps on their phones to collect data or are doing it all yourself from one computer, you rely heavily on technology to further your cause.

Running a non-profit can be hectic. There's are always dozens of things that require your attention. If you feel like you’re always putting out fires, getting a management plan in place can take a few things off your plate.

Figure Out What You Own and Need

Before doing anything else, the first thing you need to figure out is what you currently have. Many non-profits work with outdated technology and that often slows them down. However, due to budget constraints that may their only choice.

Knowing what you have can help you figure out how to work with it. One option is to use an easily customizable cloud-based app to help you track what you have. This solution can also be used for the rest of your operations. Asset Panda can help you track your assets, technology, donations and volunteer time to centralize all of your non-profit actions.

Check it out to see if it’s something that can automate your actions and save you hundreds of hours.

Track New Technology Upon Arrival

When donors volunteer to help your organization acquire new technology, you’ll want to record everything about it as soon as it comes in the door. Fire up your tracking database and make sure you get the following information.

• Estimated life-cycle: how long can you expect it to last?
• Cost of acquisition: how much did it cost to get the item? Was it donated?
• Who can use it: are volunteers allowed to access this data? Or is it only for staff members?
• How will it be used: what is the reason you have acquired this item?
• Technology features: what item have you acquired? What specs come with it?

Record Employee and Volunteer Technology Usage

Knowing who is using particular items of technology and how they are using it will help you identify maintenance and repair needs. Check-in/check-out procedures are a great way to record usage while keeping everyone accountable.

Some technology will last longer because they aren’t being used often. While you may need it in specific cases, you won’t know what those are if you aren’t recording technology usage.

Recording usage can also help you identify items that you thought you needed, but don’t use. Knowing this will prevent you from acquiring more in the future, and can help you put your donations and funding towards technology your non-profit needs.

Identify Proper Care and Maintenance

Technology lasts longer when you schedule routine maintenance and take proper care part of its usage. After you know who has access to specific assets, it'll be much easier to identify how often things need to go in for check-ups. For example, volunteer technology might need more supervision than staff assets. While volunteers mean well, they don’t always have the training necessary to take proper care of your assets. On the other hand, your staff may rely on specific technologies to do their jobs.

Being aware of  which technologies are vital to your mission and which can sit on the sidelines is a great way to streamline your funding and refine your focus.