For most non-profits in Canada, the arrival of COVID-19 dramatically changed the course of their day-to-day operations — as well as what they could expect from the year ahead. Four months into the pandemic and some of Canada’s leading charities, including the Canadian Cancer Society and Diabetes Canada, are forecasting 40 to 50 percent drops in revenue this year alone. Most non-profit employees are working from home. And 82 percent of organizations — across all social impact sectors — are digitizing all or some of their services.

With no clear end date in sight to the pandemic and limited federal relief available for the sector, going digital makes sense. For a sector that tends to lag in terms of adoption of digital technology, however, this might be a scary idea. 

Fortunately, this challenge also comes with opportunity.

Fast Forward, a global tech non-profit accelerator based in San Francisco, recently released The Tech Nonprofit Playbook, walking impact-oriented people through the process of starting and scaling a tech non-profit. While the playbook was designed with tech non-profits (i.e., organizations using original technology to address social issues) in mind, it’s also a useful resource for traditionally non-tech, or brick-and-mortar, non-profits who are pivoting digitally. We sat down with Fast Forward founder and CEO Shannon Farley for her top five tips on pivoting to a digital approach during uncertain times.

Return to user testing

If your organization has traditionally delivered your services in person or out of a physical office, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and re-examine your service delivery model. Return to the core problem you’re trying to solve, work through user testing as needed, and get creative with tech-enabled solutions.

“This is a real opportunity to interrogate the way you do everything within an organization,” Farley says.

An in-person tutoring organization, for instance, might find that WhatsApp or SMS is now the most accessible channel they can use to remotely support students — some of whom may not have laptops at home. A foundation that traditionally raises awareness and funds through events, on the other hand, might need to pivot funds towards strengthening their digital communications and marketing.

For one Fast Forward alum, Karin Underwood, it took several tries to figure out the best tech-enabled delivery model for her non-profit. When she first launched CoachMe, a health coaching platform for Medicaid recipients, she started by supporting patients solely via SMS (as it was universally accessible for low-income patients). But as she received feedback from users, she realized they needed more support, and layered in voice and video calls as well — laying the foundation for what CoachMe has become today.

“You have to think about how you can reach people. Not everybody has internet in their homes,” Farley says. “There are text-based tools — like Twilio, which is an all-encompassing product that’s very easy to deploy — where you can test out ways to communicate with your beneficiaries.”

Recruit a tech advisory board

While integrating technology into your day-to-day operations and existing services might be new to your non-profit, there are experts out there with years of experience under their belts. Get them on your team — those individuals can help you figure out exactly what software you need to achieve your goals, then assist with implementing those changes and rolling them out to your audience. For any non-profit looking to offer services digitally, a tech advisory board is a must-have.

“There are so many products out in the market that can solve all of your efficiency process questions,” Farley says. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell what is easiest to implement or ties into your other systems. That’s where people who are steeped in this work and very tech-literate can help.”

According to Farley, a tech advisory board should include a variety of specialists who work in tech: software engineers and product designers can help build out needed systems, while salespeople and business development representatives can help non-profits understand exactly what the landscape of opportunity looks like. Once a non-profit has landed on a tech-enabled solution, social media and technical marketing specialists can then help communicate changes in a clear way to your audience.

Not sure how to get started? At the moment, many individuals are especially generous with their time: reach out to your network and ask for introductions.

Take advantage of digital “donations”

Once a tech advisory board has helped you land on digital solutions, reach out to corporations whose services match your needs. Many tech companies are looking for opportunities to give back, and will provide non-profits with free access to their product — and, often, their expertise.

“A corporation will have the resources to hold up the tech end of the bargain, and you can lean into those resources,” Farley says. She continues: “Organizations like Okta, Box, and DocuSign have been helping non-technical businesses digitally transform for years — they can do the same for this sector. A partnership won’t necessarily have a cash donation attached to it, but you can get a lot of value out of their free licenses and services.”

Leverage non-profit partnerships

While a global pandemic has forced people apart physically, there has never been a better time for non-profits to collaborate digitally. When researching new channels to reach your audience or looking for new solutions, connect with non-profits in the same space. Can you share tools, data, or marketing efforts to scale your impact?

“If you’re a brick-and-mortar non-profit, I guarantee you that there is a tech non-profit that has a product that was purpose-built for your beneficiary,” Farley says. “There’s likely a digital offering that aligns perfectly with your values, and with a non-profit to non-profit partnership, the impact focus is aligned.”

For Fast Forward alum Empower Work, partnering up with other American non-profits was key to maximizing its impact. As an SMS-based help line for workplace issues, the organization wanted to be able to reach underrepresented workers who may not have access to human resources or a network. So they partnered up with other workplace non-profits, including Tech Ladies (a platform that connects women to jobs in tech), Upwardly Global (an organization that helps more refugees and immigrants enter the workforce), and YearUp (which helps young adults launch their careers). The result? They were able to reach another 600,000 individuals who might need their services.

Need tools to get started? Non-profits can connect with like-minded networks at NTEN — a community of non-profit professionals integrating technology into their processes — or Fast Forward’s Global Tech Nonprofit Community, or they can browse Fast Forward’s global directory of tech non-profits. 

Re-examine all of your processes

While this is a challenging moment in time for the sector, it can also be an opportunity for non-profits to experiment — all the way down to an organization’s smaller, day-to-day processes. Now is the perfect time for organizations to see if they can become a more distributed workforce and save on rent, if a digital event reaches a larger audience, or if an emailed annual report actually garners stronger results than a mailed one.

“If we just approach this all with a spirit of openness, understanding that this is a moment in time, we may learn a lot and we may go back to our old ways with a new mindset,” says Farley. “We may change the way we do some of our work pretty significantly.”

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