Nonprofit organizations face many barriers as they work to move forward the causes that they represent. Often, budgets are tight and the allowance for technology assistance is unobtainable. This problem is what led to the launch of dsmHack with our signature event: the Des Moines Charity Hack, an annual event that brings together technical resources with the nonprofits that make our community great. This 48-hour marathon event brings people together- literally – friendships are forged, skill sets are grown and innovative solutions are uncovered.
This year, COVID had other plans. We, like many of you, have had to adapt. The big question we’ve been asking ourselves as a board is, “how can we support the organizations we love?” We know that pandemic life has made nonprofit work even harder and being ‘up to snuff’ with your technology services is crucial to continued operation and services.
Cue: The Tech Plan
No matter where your organization is on its journey and maturation, creating or reviewing a technology plan is a worthwhile exercise for board members to go through regardless of the nonprofit size. We know some of you run purely with volunteer staff. Our board has created a base-level template that can guide this process, get all your technology information in one place and help you plan for sustainability into the future.
The plan is divided into four sections:
You’ll walk through topics such as: domain information, hosting renewal schedules, web security, password management and disaster recovery. In other words, you’ll need to do a little organizing before going through the exercise. If you are just getting started, even better! This guide can help you set up everything you need to move forward and fully utilize technology to support your mission.
Check out the dsmHack tech plan here.
Technology can be challenging, but it shouldn’t be a hindrance to your success. We are dsmHack and we envision a world where technology is never a barrier to doing good.