How not-for-profits can make the most of their technology

Technology is both an advantage and a challenge to not-for-profits. It can automate backend processes, reduce manual labour and enhance overall efficiency. However, technology is also often inaccessible due to a lack of technical know-how, time and people. The solution is not to shun technology altogether but to choose technology that's proven to be not-for-profit-friendly. Here are three ways a versatile technology system can cater to not-for-profits' needs, featuring the stories of three Australian organisations.

Streamlined enquiries

Volunteers and staff are the first point of contact for potential volunteers, donors, and other supporters. However, not-for-profit staff may not always have the resources to answer questions effectively, resulting in delayed responses or missed opportunities.

Realise Business addressed this challenge effectively with Zoho. It created a streamlined process for people to contact the team. The organisation has connected its social media channels, website, phone calls and referral systems to its Zoho CRM system so that when someone makes contact, their details are automatically recorded in a central location that's easily accessible anytime.

One-stop people management

Spreadsheets and editable calendars are handy for maintaining volunteer information and organising rotas. But they also make it incredibly easy to lose track of who's accountable for which activities, and it's not uncommon for staff and coordinators to make impromptu calls for last-minute volunteers.

Not-for-profit organisations need to be on top of their data and processes. This is where technologies like online forms, surveys and e-signature tools can help. Consider LIVIN. It has eight full-time staff, 40+ facilitators, and several volunteers who work on awareness, training and fundraising initiatives. To collect all that information, LIVIN uses Zoho Forms and Zoho Sign. Potential volunteers fill in and digitally sign an online form that directly syncs the information to the team's Zoho CRM system.

Partnerships work the same way – signed agreements are stored in Zoho WorkDrive and instantly updated in the CRM. In fact, according to co-founder Casey Lyons, "We now have clear oversight around all our contacts, their history, their emails, purchase history, which events they’ve attended and how many donations they’ve made. [...] It's all auto-collated in one place for us, so we don't have to go searching through thousands of spreadsheets or thousands of tabs in a spreadsheet.”

Effective event planning and execution

Running an event is a lot of hard work – many little things need to work together perfectly just to get a registration page up. While many event management software systems are available, they don't always speak seamlessly with other systems a not-for-profit may be using, such as its volunteer database, calendars or emailing systems.

Happy Paws Happy Hearts runs multiple monthly programs and uses Zoho One to streamline communications. First, the team uses forms to collect and update registrations on Zoho CRM. Then, based on the information in the CRM, the team runs promotions through Zoho Campaigns and requests feedback through Zoho Survey. Attendance ratios are then synced to Zoho's data analytics system, enabling the team to extract insight to inform subsequent programs.

As not-for-profits reach wider audiences and their events evolve from community fundraisers to national campaigns, they can add an app like Zoho Backstage, a comprehensive event management system, to support ticket management, donation processing and event execution – while syncing all the information back into their CRM.

Good technologies meet today's needs; great technologies cater to emerging needs. Zoho One is a comprehensive package of 50+ integrated applications designed for growing organisations. It offers an active community of users, an expansive network of implementation partners and an exclusive offer for eligible Connecting Up members.

With Zoho One, not-for-profit organisations of all types and sizes can quit worrying about technology and access the apps they need to grow and maximise their impact.