4 ways You Can Achieve Successful ROI for Your NFP

When you operate a not-for-profit, every dollar counts. In order to raise awareness for your cause, attract ongoing support, and generate results for the community, smart financial management is extremely important. For this reason, many NFPs are turning to technology to generate efficiencies and save money in all kinds of areas.

Today, there are a range of technology solutions that can help you achieve a very rapid return on investment. Following, for instance, are four ways that your not-for-profit could actually save money by evolving your technology:

To help, here are some simple examples of how you can use data insights to get better results for your not-for-profit organisation:

1. MIGRATE TO THE CLOUD

When you move some, or all, of your IT infrastructure to the cloud, your charity, NFP or health/community organisation can very quickly start to save money.

Perhaps most importantly, you can do away with costly, up-front capital expenses – such as server hardware and associated storage and maintenance costs. Instead, you simply pay for your cloud storage on a per-user, per month basis. This transitions your spend from a capital expense to an operating expense, which can also help with cash flow.

When your software and services are in the cloud, you can also help your people work more productively – by giving them centralised, immediate access to the information they need, regardless of where they happen to be. This means they are more likely to work faster and generate better results, which can lead to overall savings.

2. INVESTING IN MANAGED SERVICES

Making the switch to managed services, rather than relying on your in-house employees, can also be a great way to help your people work more productively, and to save money in the long-term.

By outsourcing your IT support, for instance, you can potentially improve the reliability and up-time of your systems; enabling everyone to work more effectively on a day-to-day basis. You can also free up your IT people to focus on more strategic, ‘bigger picture’ considerations – which can lead to a return on your technology investment.

Similarly, by outsourcing your organisation’s security to a reliable provider such as POWERNET GROUP, you can minimise the potentially devastating risk of a cyber-attack, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your data is safe and secure.

3. DIGITISING YOUR MARKETING

The advent of digital technology, especially social media, has been fantastic for the not-for-profit sector – giving you all kinds of new, inexpensive channels through which you can raise awareness and give back to the community. It also reduces your reliance on traditional media channels – such as TV, radio and print – which can be extremely expensive.

Any investment that you make in a well-designed, easy-to-use website will also very quickly pay for itself; especially if it gives people straightforward, compelling information about your cause, and how they can contribute and make a difference.

4. IMPROVING COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

To keep people interested in the work you’re doing, and encourage them to help on an ongoing basis, you need to communicate with them on a regular basis. Many charities, health/community organisations and not-for-profits still manage this process via phone; a process that can be extremely time consuming and often, ineffective.

With a reliable ICT framework in place, however, you can automate a great deal of this communication – switching to things like email, social media and SMS to engage with the community and inform people about your latest initiatives.

Beyond Blue, for instance, which provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, is also a leader in digital and online support services and programs. This includes online forums that attract 70,000 users each month.

By automating updates and using data to ensure you are targeting the right people at the right time, your marketing efforts are far more likely to get the results you are hoping for.

HOW POWERNET CAN HELP?

Powernet can help you identify which technology is right for your not-for-profit, charity or health/community organisation, and provide recommendations to help you generate a return on investment. Contact us on 1300 892 692 or visit www.power-net.com.au to find out more.