NPO Business Process Initiative <ed dodds/>

[Ed Dodds <dodds@e-dodds.com>]

http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/more.asp?ID=3154

Technology sparks innovation 
 
By reaching out, charities can move ahead.  

By Todd Cohen

Charities need to plug in.

By putting hardware, software and the web to work, charities 
can work better, smarter and together.

Consider an effort to help charities in Central Ohio make 
more productive and strategic use of technology.

Spearheaded by a local entrepreneur and United Way, a 
collaborative is reshaping the role technology plays at local 
charities.

The goal is to help charities use technology to streamline 
and integrate their business systems, and build those systems 
into their business planning.

The initiative also is mapping tech needs and use at local 
charities so they can track the impact of changes in the way 
they use technology.

And it aims to help charities make technology pay for itself.

The collaborative is betting that technology can spark 
charities to retool how they think, work and thrive, and help 
them build bridges with key partners such as business and 
government.

By reaching out to find ways to build technology into their 
planning and operations, charities can create a new model of 
enterprise geared to address the urgent needs our communities 
face.