Technology and Nonprofit Boards: 3 Ways Tech Can Move You Forward

nonprofit boards invest technologyNonprofit organizations are notorious for being slow to adopt new technology. For many, it’s simply because they operate on a hand-to-mouth budget with very little room for extra spending.

For others, it’s a determined commitment to keeping overhead costs low. In the meantime, though, useful advances in technology are presenting more and more opportunities for nonprofits to grow and to thrive. It’s important that nonprofit board members be the driving force behind making these changes.

Here are some reasons why we think your organization should take the plunge and invest in its technological infrastructure.

  1. Spending money helps raise money

Yes, we’ve put a slight spin on an old adage, but we think that it’s an apt one in this instance! We know that in the nonprofit realm there can be a potentially harmful attachment the ability to report astonishingly low overhead costs. Check out this article, which explains a phenomenon called “The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle.” The article reads, “In response to pressure from funders, nonprofits settle into a ‘low pay, make do, and do without’ culture…every aspect of an organization feels the pinch of this culture.”

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Cyber Security Becomes a Boardroom Priority

Data breaches from cyber attacks have wreaked havoc on major industries in recent years. Prominent companies like Target, Anthem, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, and EBay have all been affected by targeted attacks. These attacks, which typically put individuals’ private identification numbers and payment methods in jeopardy, come at a great cost to corporations.
Internet security concept open red padlock virus or unsecured with threat of hacking

The Ponemon Institute found that, on average, each individual data loss costs a company approximately $154. Multiply that number by 83 million users, and JPMorgan Chase’s recent loss totaled in at around a staggering 12.78 billion dollars—and that’s just a rough estimate; the number is likely higher.

Obviously, these high-profile hacks and breaches have pushed cyber security to the forefront of board members’ concerns. According to PWC’s most recent Corporate Directors Survey, board members are becoming more engaged with IT strategy—namely cyber security risks.

The study states, “83% of directors describe themselves as at least ‘moderately’ engaged with overseeing the risk of cyber attacks.”
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All Boards Need Tech Expertise

boards need tech expertiseAccording to Jean-Louis Bravard at Harvard Business Review, it’s simple: “All boards need a technology expert.” Bravard investigated the banking industry in England—an industry that relies heavily on technology—and found that only one bank had a tech expert serving on their board of directors.

He insists that many major banking leaders in the U.K. need huge tech overhauls but are afraid of the risks—both financially and from a data safety perspective. Bravard argues, “Only a multi-year, board-level sponsored effort can ensure a responsible IT overhaul. But without IT expertise at the director level, how can a board truly make an educated decision?”

To put it simply, get someone who works in high-level IT on your board, and do it quickly—especially if you want to follow a long term, adaptable IT strategy.

For Dambisa Moyo, an international economist, things are a little less cut and dry. She asserts, “The industry structure in which a business operates should also influence how a board assesses technology effects.” She follows that up with three viable paths forward for bringing tech knowledge to a board setting. The first is to “delegate technology tasks to management.”

In other words, let the responsibility of technological evolution stay in-house with a CIO or a CTO. The second option is to draw from the expertise of independent advice. This could mean hiring an outside IT consultant or forming a group of advisers that report to the board. The final option is the one we’ve already heard: creating a seat on the board for a “techie.”

She encourages boards to take a long look at their particular industry to weigh the pros and cons for each of these options.
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