Steve Heye, Web Project Manager, YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

Smaller nonprofits may feel like sophisticated technology is out of reach; it requires more budget, more staff, and more expertise than they think they have. That assumption is wrong. In fact, small nonprofits have many advantages over their larger counterparts.

First, you need to identify your barriers, so that you can find opportunities to overcome them.

In order to act on those opportunities, you need to set some priorities and narrow your focus to the areas that have the largest impact. Small orgs work quickly, but often times that acceleration lacks direction. Here are six steps that will help give your technology direction.

1. Figure out what core Tech you have.

I recommend having a full soup-to-nuts inventory of everything -- PCs, software, cabling, servers, peripherals, etc -- but for this scenario, I mean a simple list of your core solutions and tools. The hardware and software that are top of mind, that you use everyday, are your core technologies. This should be a simple one page document. (This chart is only a sample, and is not complete.)

2. Figure out where you are spending your money and time

Take the list above and break it into a new table. Review each of the items for how much money, support time, and planning time spent on them (monthly and/or annually).

3. Categorize that core Tech

Now add one more column to your chart: commodity or value. A commodity is a technology that is transactional in nature and may improve your efficiency but does not fundamentally change your business. A value adding or strategic technology is often called mission critical. If a value adding tool stopped working, it would radically impact how you work.

4. Review how your efforts, dollars and strategy are spent

They say it's hard to see the forest for the trees. This is especially true in technology planning: it's easy to spend time and money on the commodities (computers, software, etc) because they're right in front of you. But how often do you step back to ask questions like:

• How can use our website to communicate differently?
• How can we change our process to use our CRM better?
• Is our current database meeting our data, tracking and process needs?
• Do we have the right tools to fundraise?

Wouldn’t it better to have someone in your organization planning how to use the technology better, rather than having someone focused on a desktop replacement schedule? A desktop replacement schedule is super important, but is easily outsourced. This may not save money, but will allow your staff to focus their efforts on the big impact, value adding technology.

5. Source anything that doesn’t add value

For almost everything on the infrastructure side, look for hosting opportunities; outsource support and simple solutions that meet 80% of your need (instead of investing in powerful tools you don’t use). Leverage the SMALL ORG ADVANTAGE by looking for donated or discounted licenses. Don’t accept the base price of software. Negotiate for a better or free rate.

6. Refocus on moving your mission forward

Refocus the time you spent fighting fires, rebooting the email server, installing patches, and editing registries to using the mission critical technology better. Formally assign someone the job -- even if it's just part of their job -- of creating a strategy for how the org will change its processes, staff structure, service delivery, and budget to leverage technology in mission delivery.

In the end, changing the way your organization uses technology needs to start with setting a direction. Your nonprofit is not in the technology business. You have a cause you are fighting for. Don’t spin your wheels trying to manage all of your technology. Find ways to focus on the technology that matters to your organization.

In order to focus on that technology, you need to get past the barriers that seem overwhelming. Nonprofits are inherently good at making things happen with what they have, asking for help, taking advantage of opportunities and relying on volunteers or other support. Why does this have to be different in technology?

Stop working fast in every direction. Work intentionally, with velocity.

You can learn more at my session at the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference, "Small Org Doesn't Equal Small Tech".

Special thanks to Holly Ross at NTEN and John Merritt at the YMCA of San Diego County for adding their insight to this article.