More than half of small non-profits relying on ‘accidental techies’: CanadaHelps survey

Small non-profits overwhelmingly rely on ‘accidental techies,’ research by CanadaHelps has found. 

In the second iteration of its Digital Skills Survey, CanadaHelps discovered that 53 per cent of organizations making less than $1 million in revenue depend on staff that neither have formal technical training nor are responsible for data or technology as part of their jobs. 

In comparison, the report found larger organizations are more likely to have staff dedicated to technology and digital strategy. 

A quarter of large organizations reported having a dedicated staff member to address technology, data and digital needs. That number drops to 13 per cent for small organizations. 

“Like so many roles in the non-profit sector, a lot of people wear multiple hats,” said Nicole Danesi, senior public relations and communications manager at CanadaHelps. 

Staff members are increasingly implementing digital tools and methods as “side-of-desk tactics” rather than having them formally baked into their job descriptions, Danesi said. 

“In the event that those individuals leave their roles, digital [capacity] is lost,” she added.

More respondents also said they felt funders didn’t want them investing in better software or digital tools than two years ago when CanadaHelps conducted its first digital skills survey.

Particular roadblocks included a lack of funding for digital staff roles and software licenses being considered ineligible expenses. 

The report calls on funders to expand how they support charities with digital skills: “These investments don’t need to be siloed as ‘capacity building’ programs, but rather should be included as an expected cost of program delivery.”

Gaps: Cloud-based software, vendor management, and data policies

Of the 1470 charities that responded to CanadaHelps’ 2023 survey, 62 per cent had annual revenue under $500,000. About half had fewer than ten paid staff members, and a further 31 per cent were run by volunteers. 

CanadaHelps did not survey the same group of people in 2021 and 2023.

Smaller organizations, in particular, felt they could not prioritize digital training and transformation, given the demands of core programming in the community. 

“We have a board member who is responsible for technology and digital implementation but does not have time to take on strategy or planning,” said a respondent from a small organization making less than $500,000.

This lack of knowledge also puts charities at risk when negotiating with technology vendors and suppliers. Although most small organizations claim to have the skills to evaluate vendors’ proposals or scope out requirements for an insourced technology project, CanadaHelps said this doesn’t match reality. 

“There is a mismatch between the skills and knowledge that charities say are lacking in their organizations and their reported confidence in being able to scope, manage and implement technology projects – whether internally or externally,” they wrote. 

“This speaks to the condition of ‘not knowing what you don’t know.’”

Smaller charities are also lagging in understanding the basics of cloud computing, which allows users to access software and accounts remotely and on any device. 

Many charities still rely on either paper-based processes or need to be in a particular physical location to access systems through a specific device, Danesi said. 

Paper-based systems can present a security risk, she added. At the same time, ‘on-premise’ hardware and software can diminish the quality of a donor’s user experience when they interact with a charity. 

Similarly, the research found smaller non-profits were also least likely to have developed the appropriate governance and management processes around technology use. 

Seventy per cent of small charities said “they are not documenting workflows, reviewing feature releases, using an intranet to document process, technologies or naming conventions and folder structures, nor do they have a plan to roll out feature improvements.” 

Subjected to scams, data breaches

One in five small charities didn’t have data protection policies in place. 

“[We need] a convincing argument that this is a good investment of time and money [in comparison to] other demands on time,” said one survey respondent, who worked in a non-profit with only one to three staff members.

Danesi consistently hears about charities – regardless of size – being subject to cyberattacks and scams. Earlier this year, the Toronto Zoo fell victim to a ransomware attack, which exposed employees’ personal information. In Vancouver, the Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre had a server stolen from their offices, which stored information of clients and donors. The Toronto Public Library is still recovering from a breach in late 2023. 

However, Denasi recognizes that the sector’s capacity to prevent such challenges proactively is limited. 

“It can be overwhelming for charities to understand everything they need to be concerned about,” she said. “Their main purpose is to execute on their programs.”

Cultural change in the sector is not only the job of non-profits themselves but also the funders and donors who do not appear to be supportive of digital investments in the sector, she said. 

“Big ships turn slowly, and change takes time. We’re on that ship right now.” 

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