Tech planning is one of those things everyone knows they should do. But often nonprofits are so busy doing their good work that they don't take the time to sit down and develop a solid long-term technology plan.
That's why TechSoup has partnered with Idealware to offer a new online training series built just for nonprofits: Tactical Technology Planning. Editor's note: The series is now called All Access Pass to Successful Tech Planning.
This four-course online training series walks you through the entire tactical tech planning process, from assessing your current technology to developing a data strategy to organizing your online communications.
At the end of the course, you will have completed an actual written technology plan, including a plan for getting your technology projects funded.
Note: you'll need to create an account on our training platform, even if you're already a TechSoup member.
Practical, Tactical Training by and for Nonprofits
A technology plan helps you plot out where you're going, your key priorities, and what you do next. A technology plan also helps you decide which technology options make sense (and which ones don't!) for your organization.
In a perfect world, your technology plan would be based on your organization's long-term strategic plan. But TechSoup and Idealware know that's not always practical when your server is crashing, you can't send email, and nobody knows where important files are stored.
That's why these courses focus on tactical technology planning. A tactical technology plan helps you identify what you should be focusing on right now to improve your organization's work.
To get a feel for what tactical tech planning is all about, check out this excerpt from Tech Planning 101:
Many nonprofits have already benefited from this tactical approach to technology planning.
Pricing for Tech Planning Courses
TechSoup is committed to making technology accessible and affordable for our nonprofit community. That's why we are constantly looking for the best donations and discounts we can bring to the nonprofits we serve.
We worked with Idealware to offer the first course in this series for free. The more advanced courses are offered at a significant discount compared to the fair market value of similar online courses.
You can sign up for a four-course "meal plan," which gives you all four courses for just $150. Or you can take the a la carte approach, picking and choosing which courses are right for you. A la carte 200-level courses are $50 each.
Tech Planning 101: Getting Started and Assessing Your IT Infrastructure ($10)
During this introductory course, you'll start to build the foundation for your tactical technology plan. We'll take a step-by-step look at each of the critical pieces of your entire technology package so you can thoroughly assess your tech infrastructure. By the end of this course, you'll have assessed each piece of your technology infrastructure, and you can start thinking about a plan for the future. This course prepares you for the more advanced courses on tech planning.
Tech Planning 201: Developing a Data Strategy ($50)
Once you have assessed your nonprofit or library's tech infrastructure, you are ready to start work on the next major component of your technology planning: data. This five-hour course will help you determine the answers to these questions: What data do you collect? How do you collect it? How do you maintain it? How do you measure it?
Tech Planning 202: Organizing Online Communications ($50)
This course builds on the previous courses. Once you have an understanding of your nonprofit's infrastructure and a data strategy in order, it's time to reach out to your audiences. Using technology to deliver your messages is essential.
Your website, emails, and social media conversations all shape your relationship with your clients, members, donors, and everyone else interested in your organization. In this six-hour course, you will learn how to define communication goals; best practices for websites, email, and social media; and how to integrate communications to ensure you are choosing the right tools and using them to meet your goals.
Tech Planning 203: Putting Your Tech Plan into Action ($50)
This course will help you put the pieces of your tactical technology plan puzzle together. You will learn how to develop a technology project shortlist, and understand how to prioritize, create, fund, and implement your tactical technology plan.
Reminder: to access these online trainings, you'll need to create an account on our training platform, even if you're already a TechSoup member.
Composite image by TechSoup; photo credit: best pixels / Shutterstock