Reflections on the Nonprofit Technology Conference

By Steve Backman, April 12, 2010
This year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference, (nten.org/ntc) pulled just under 1500 nonprofit technology leaders into another mad rush of learning, reconnecting, brainstorming, and doing business. As each of us returns home, we’ll be thinking how to answer the inevitable, what’s new, was it worthwhile questions. And there was a lot that seemed new, evolving even since last year.
 
We are for sure in the middle of a wave of website upgrades. Not just makeovers--an outdated term at this point--but upgrades. Upgrades from either old style static HTML sites or else from sites based on old school, proprietary content management systems. There is now a much broader understanding of the power of content management systems. At the NTC, proprietary CMS' abound, including interesting new ones. Yet as strong or stronger is the sense that using an open source content management system is as natural and safe as using Firefox instead of vendor-controlled Internet Explorer or Safari. 
 
All told, compared to two and three years ago, the value proposition of upgrading one's website seems a settled question to tech decision makers and influencers. Idealware.org’s comparison of the open source CMS final four remains in demand as organizations make their plans. Judging by the response to the web project management panel I was on, there may not be as much understanding of how to organize these kinds of projects. 
 
Interestingly, attention has begun to swing toward that other “C--” three letter acronym, CRM, or contact relationship management. More organizations, including smaller organizations, have sensed that they don't have to live with a messy collection of spreadsheets; orphaned databases; isolated donor tracking software; e-news lists; and financial software. Even smaller organizations are looking for the “one ring to rule them all”—unified or at least strategically centered contact management. For many organizations, full change make take a year or two, but there's more buzz to understand the options now. Here too, it seems that there are stronger software choices these days, and here as well, more discussion on how to choose, network-installed versus web-based, and how to collect and migrate all that data (which I wrote about a few weeks ago here).
 
Interest in CMS/CRM modernization intersects with a third and increasingly urgent pole of strategic planning—social media. The fact that social media-based fund-raising and advocacy along with  building on-line community has become an object of strategy at the NTC probably marks the biggest change. I was thinking about this after saying hello to Eve Smith, from Easter Seals. Two years ago, Eve took part in one of Beth Kanter's amazing panels. Eve's straightforward, plain-spoken description of her organization's first forays into social media based fund-raising struck a strong chord. Back then, it seemed that social media campaigns fell into the realm of the tactical and experimental. 
 
This year, several discussions probed how social media integrates with and now even shapes overall constituency, advocacy and other web communications strategy. And another sign of change: many workshops not specifically focused on social media included it as part of their discussion. Over time, there will probably be fewer workshops on social media per se yet more workshops that discuss it. It is becoming mainstream.
 
Also related to CRM/CMS modernization is the continuing NTC emphasis on effective fund-raising. With government and private foundation funding still in recessionary lag, you can feel the urgency of improving individual donor management. Idealware.org’s comparison of low cost donor databases also remains a big hit, along with NTEN’s updated survey of data systems overall. At the NTC, there were presentations and updated products for more effective targeting of individual appeals at those who can contribute and at levels they can afford. 
 
All this emphasis on strategy makes sense, and has helped keep the NTC’s participation balanced toward nonprofit program and development staff. Many NTC consultant or vendor attendees with strong tech chops do come to NTC. And lots of tech conversation takes place. It's a tribute to the conference planners that they ensure plenty of breaks, pick hotels with good places to go off and caucus, and periodic sources of caffeine and allied sugar-based stimulants. 
 
The workshops themselves continue to really focus at a higher level, with resource lists for the deeper dive. Our panel (Heather Graham-Madras, Ted Fickes, Mimi Kantor and myself) didn't really teach anyone much of anything about how content management systems work. We focused experience and best practices for planning and managing and that seemed just fine.
 
In general, nonprofit technology today is not the sole preserve of “IT,” but also of communications teams, development managers, and program leaders. The demand for web services and software as a service (SaaS)  that is configurable without or with minimal code is strong. It’s great that the participation balance at the NTC reflects a real democratization of technology within the nonprofit sector. 
 
Conversely, I do wonder whether we should be aiming for a wider range of topics. Fringe topics such as GIS (spatial analysis and mapping) and green technology do get covered. The NTC “tech track,” led by fellow Idealware blogger Peter Campbell, also brought in some essential infrastructure topics. Yet overall, there is a narrower reach of sharing than at, say, Drupalcon. Comparing the hot topics at NTC to what we see in the mainstream tech press and blogs, two things come to mind. First, we probably don’t pay as much attention to emerging infrastructure issues, such as private versus public clouds and virtualization. Second, it would be great to see more exploration of general issues of technology and society, such as keeping the Internet open; the social impact of on-line advertising; privacy, security and corporate data mining. These kinds of topics would serve our overall professional development as technology leaders. 
 
To give NTEN its due, the NTC does feature keynote speakers addressing wider topics, such as this year’s Games for Change presentation. It would be great to have workshops that bear down on these from the nonprofit tech point of view. Just a thought. 
 
All told, another great conference, with lots to think about and follow up on. What have I missed?
 
 

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Comments

Thank you for the astute reflections!

by T.J. Cook (not verified) - 2010-04-17 21:52

Steve, thanks a ton for this post. I think you are spot on in seeing the focus on those 'big three'--CMS, CRM, Social Media--not too mention how the latter is not really "another thing" but becoming simply a part of what nonprofits are doing.

I also echo the sentiment that a broader plain for thinking could be opened up at NTC. My favorite time was talking to a guy about the future of technology and its impact on society. We were just in a corner chatting between sessions, but the higher level stuff really meet a need I always have to look beyond the now. At the same time, it would be great to have some structure to such higher level topics, a plan for getting from discussion to action iteratively. Taking Games for Change as an example, why not have a session discussing how orgs might see game mechanics finding their way into the engagement workflow for constituents?

Again, thanks for the post. I'm taking in some points of application all over again :)

-T.J.

P.S. My reflections: http://www.hidefweb.com/blog/5-technology-trends-nonprofits-ntc-2010-reflections

Smaller Organizations

by Matt Harrell (not verified) - 2010-04-13 13:44

I'd like to confirm that smaller organizations are finally starting to realize that they don't have to deal "with a messy collection of spreadsheets; orphaned databases; isolated donor tracking software; e-news lists; and financial software" as you put it. I'd just like to encourage nonprofit leaders to start reaching out to vendors and forming relationships. This is what it's all about. 

Steve, it was nice to meet you at the conference. It was great being right beside the idealware booth. You guys are doing a fabulous job at helping nonprofits sort through the ever-growing list of technologies aimed at nonprofits. Keep up the great work.