Technology used to be, as Jane Meseck of Microsoft Community Affairs puts it, transactional: it was about moving a document from point A to point B faster, making it easier to store and find things, making sure everyone could print. Technology was about efficiency.  

Of course, technology is still about efficiency. As nonprofits, we're really good at efficiency. We know that if we can be more efficient, we can spend more time on our mission. For a long time, this has also meant that if we get a basic IT infrastructure in place -- if we create that efficiency- - our job managing technology was done.  

Here's Jane explaining how all of that has changed:

Photo: Judith Sol-DyessIt's a tough time for nonprofit techies: You're supposed to deliver more value to your organizations while your budgets are being slashed.

Of course, things have never been exactly easy for you. In fact, managing technology at a nonprofit organization has been anything but easy. Not only do you need to understand the myriad ways IT can be used to further your organization's mission, you've got to have the leadership skills it takes to communicate your goals effectively and succeed in your plans.

That's why we wrote "Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission". And it's why we're very pleased to bring you an online event to explore the issues further.

The Online Nonprofit Technology Conference: Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission is a partnership with Jossey-Bass and Learning Times. This 2-day online conference that will be divided up into 2 tracks -- Leadership Skills and IT Performance -- interspersed with Meet the CIO/Tech Leader sessions to give attendees multiple opportunities to engage and learn.

Mark your calendar for September 16 and 17 and be sure to join us then!

And when I say "we", I mean the NTEN community. Fourteen NTEN Members contributed to the 11 chapters in Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders.

Now that it's been released, we're pretty sure you'd like to:

> Buy the Book!

We've also made a wiki to support and extend the book. Check it out. Notice how it doesn't look entirely like a wiki? Yeah, that's just how we roll. We're currently soliciting tips on how to manage technology when budgets are tight.

> Add your suggestions to the wiki today.

In support of the launch, we had a virtual release party. Ten of our authors joined us on the line to talk about their chapters and answer your questions. And we recorded it, so:

> Attend our party after the fact. At least it's Free!

 

Flickr photo: surface to airIf you chose a career in IT, you also chose, by definition, to be an agent of change.

That's a line from an IT Republic article on the skills an IT leader needs to be effective. If you've ever done technology work of any sort, I'm guessing that resonates. I think it's the most important thing an IT leader can keep in mind.

Sure, your job includes technology. You need to know what's out there, what the trends are. But your job is not ABOUT technology. Your job is about communicating the value of technology, and helping your organization embrace it.

That means that you can't just propose a new project -- you have to show how the project will help your organization meet your mission. It also means that you have to play the role of confidant, coach, and therpist as you help staff adjust to the changes.

None of those things has anything to do with zeroes and ones.

 

Planning and technology often seem like oil and water: How can you possibly plan in a field that changes every three weeks? Turns out, you not only CAN do it, you HAVE to do it.

Peter Campbell knows that better than most anyone. He's been at this for awhile now, first in law offices, then San Francisco Goodwill, and now at EarthJustice.

Peter is leading the session "How to Decide: IT planning and prioritization" at the 2009 NTC. (It's more than a session, it's a chapter in our book, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission.) He took a few minutes out of his day to chat with me:

Flickr Photo by lumaxartThe web is abuzz with resolutions for 2009 -- NTEN included! We'd like to help you put a little action behind the words, with the NTEN Technology Leadership Series.

Holly's first resolution is To Use Technology to Work "Smarter". This is exactly what John Kenyon will focus on teaching nonprofit leaders in the Leadership Series.

And it goes in hand with resolution number 2, Experiment with Technology, as well: successful nonprofit leaders know how to use technology to their advantage -- managing technology work for their organizations, not the other way around. This webinar series will give you the information and skills you need to become a technology leader.

You'll also be able to work with us on number 3, Share Your Successes (and Failures) through an accompanying online discussion group, where we'll work together and share our experiences throughout the series.

The opportunity starts this Thursday, January 8. John Kenyon will host this series of 7 webinars with special guest speakers Robert Weiner, Eric Leland, and Beth Kanter.

> Learn more, be true to your resolutions, and sign up today!

I'm an Executive Director now, so I have a new-found (and acute) understanding of just how complex that role is.

At a small organization like NTEN, a leader has to be ready to do just about everything, from fundraising to janitorial services. I'd been at NTEN for five years before I took the ED job, so I was lucky enough to know what I was doing -- mostly. But there are giant swaths of the job description I've had to learn from scratch.

Fortunately, the technology part wasn't one of them, but I can relate to the nonprofit leaders out there facing crucial decisions about technology everyday, and who have little idea how all this stuff works.

That's why we're so excited about our book, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders. The book was written by NTEN members for nonprofit leaders struggling to find technology sea-legs.

The book will come out in March 2009. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon or purchase a copy from us for only $30 with your NTC registration, starting next week. We'll drop it in the mail to you when it's released.

Flickr Photo: Jeremey BrooksIf you asked me for the sound bite version of my social media advice for nonprofits, it would be this: Lose control.

From where I sit, it seems clear that social media amplifies the ability of our stakeholders to do what they've always done: talk about us and our causes. We can't stop them.

But we can embrace it and figure out how to ride the coming tide.

Last Thursday, I participated in a session at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Leadership Program. Even though I was participating remotely -- they could see video of me through Ustream.tv and we had two way audio through ReadyTalk -- I really felt like I was in the room, and had the chance to do something I don't do nearly well enough -- listen.

The amazing Nicole Garst laid the groundwork for managing technology in your organization, especially all this newfangled social media stuff. By the time I entered, the participants had spent an entire lunch session discussing social media. They were ready to vent.

I heard a lot of interesting things from the room:

Flickr Photo: matuko_aminiRaise your hand if getting funding for your tech projects takes longer than implementing the projects themselves.

Halfway through the year, most organizations are starting to think about budgets for the next year. The lobbying, pleading, persuading, and cajoling begin early, as every one of your departments vie for a piece of the budget pie.

How do you get yours?

Flickr Photo: dominocatWhere were you in 2001?

It was just a few short years ago, but those of us who have worked in nonprofit technology since then probably all feel the same way: it was eons ago. In 2001, I was running around the country working with women's organizations on some really high-tech stuff -- like convincing their fundraising staff to move donor data into a database, off of three by five cards.

We've come a long way as a sector since then. More nonprofits are embracing technology than ever before. We do less evangelizing and more teaching. So I was surprised when a board member suggested that I should re-read a paper Andrew Blau wrote in 2001 for the Surdna Foundation. What could a paper about technology investments written in 2001 mean to any of us in 2008?