Is It The End of Your Fiscal Year? It’s Time for a Nonprofit Tech Checkup

The start of a new fiscal year is a great time to review your nonprofit’s budget and update your strategic plan. But it’s also an opportunity to take a step back and evaluate the tools and platforms you use to manage your everyday operations. 

If you’re like many nonprofits, the tools you use were chosen to meet an immediate need instead of as a part of a larger strategy. You’re probably using multiple different kinds of software (the average nonprofit is using five or six different tools!) that you’ve accumulated over the years. But, as you grow and evolve, your tech stack should probably evolve, too. 

As you evaluate your finances for the fiscal year to come, use this time to also evaluate your current tech stack. Is it helping you work smarter? Or is it holding you back?

Why Evaluate Your Tech During The Start of a New Fiscal Year?

There are a few reasons this is such a good moment to evaluate your tools.

The first is that a new fiscal year is a natural stopping point. Let’s be honest: Evaluating tech solutions, deciding if they’re working for you, and potentially finding replacements for them is the pits. And we are a software company. It takes a lot for us to say that.

The second is related to your budget. You’ve either just closed the books or are finalizing the budget for the coming year. That means you have a clear picture of what you’re currently spending and what may be available to invest.

You’re also probably in planning mode. A new fiscal year typically comes with new goals, new campaigns, and new (or returning) programs. All of those strategic priorities need to be aligned with your tech. 

Here’s an example from the Neon One team:

We just reviewed some past webinar campaigns and the tools we use to support them. While we were doing so, we noticed that the tool we use to host our videos added the ability to auto-generate session transcripts. That meant we could cancel our subscription to a transcript generation tool.

Easy!

The start of a new fiscal year is when many organizations revisit their day-to-day processes. It’s a natural time to discuss workflows, staff pain points, and how your tech tools help your team do their jobs—or make those jobs more difficult.

Questions to Guide Your Tech Stack Evaluation

It’s one thing to say, “Yeah, we should evaluate our tech stack at the beginning of the new fiscal year.” It’s another thing entirely to actually know where to start. 

These questions can help you and your team identify gaps and opportunities in their technology:

• Are we spending too much time on manual tasks that could be automated?
• Do our systems talk to each other, or are we constantly exporting and importing data between platforms?
• Is our tech helping us build better relationships with donors, volunteers, and other supporters?
• Are staff members able to access the tools and data they need to do their jobs effectively?
• Are we getting meaningful insights from our data, or are we just collecting it?
• What are the biggest pain points our team faces when using our current tools?
• Are we paying for tools we don’t use?
• Are the tools we’re using missing features we need?
• If we were to scale our operations or grow our community this year, would our current tools support that growth?

These questions will (hopefully) make it easy for you to evaluate your tech stack, find opportunities to simplify your platforms, and give you a chance to consider ways to simplify your work.

Take Your Next Steps

If you’ve identified any gaps in your tech stack—or if you’ve decided that you want to simplify the number of platforms and tools you’re using—here are some resources you can use to find a system that works for you.

Software Roundups

Whether you’re looking to raise money, manage volunteers, or keep track of all your grants, there’s a software platform that can help. And we’ve probably written about them. 

Here are some roundups for different kinds of tools that will get you started on your search for the perfect tool.

• General nonprofit software (for those of you who are looking for a little of everything)
• Fundraising platforms
• Donor management software (this also includes a pretty handy buyer’s guide)
• Membership management software
• Event management software
• Volunteer management software
• Grant management software
• Theater ticket software (best for performing arts nonprofits)
• Nonprofit accounting software

There are tons of options in these articles. Get a cup of coffee and make yourself comfy!

Resources for CRM Buyers

Your nonprofit CRM is probably one of the more complex tools in your tech stack, and finding and implementing a new system is a ton of work. You’ll want to be deliberate about the one you choose! 

Here are some resources you can use to guide you through the decision-making process.

• Not sure where to begin the evaluation and buying process? The Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Nonprofit CRM will be helpful. It’s also a great resource for your board members so they understand what a CRM is, why it’s helpful, and what it can help your organization achieve. 

• A good next step is checking out this Nonprofit CRM Comparison, which gives you a look at the main features of 10 common platforms.

• Feeling a little overwhelmed? Take this quiz! It’ll help you narrow down your options based on things like your organization’s revenue, staff size, and future needs.

A Little Something for Your Board

Even the best board of directors can make changing up your tech stack a challenge. And, while that can be frustrating, it’s also understandable. 

Your board isn’t a part of your day-to-day operations, so they’ll have a hard time grasping how much of a difference the right tools can make for you and your staff (not to mention your supporters!).

This resource will help. It walks you through the six steps to selling your board on new tech, including how to talk about current challenges, making the case for updated tools, and responding to some common objections.

Give Yourself an End-of-Fiscal-Year Tech Checkup

Evaluating and updating your tech stack probably isn’t the most exciting item on your to-do list. But it’s an important one! The right tech tools will make it possible for you and your staff to engage your community and keep your organization running smoothly. The wrong ones will make those things harder.

And, listen: You don’t have to do this all alone. If you’d rather skip over all the software roundups and other resources, we’d love to talk to you about the tools you’re currently using to raise money, manage memberships, engage your community, and manage your supporters, then see if you can use Neon CRM to simplify any of those activities. 

Want to chat? We’re ready!

Schedule a Demo