Why have some nonprofits missed out on the digital revolution? In our latest episode of the CharityVillage Connects podcast, we spoke to sector experts who say now is the time for Canadian nonprofits and charities to embrace digital transformation, especially as we’re in an economically challenged environment and still recovering from the effects of COVID-19.  

In the podcast, we asked Katie Gibson, Vice President at CIO Strategy Council, for her perspective on where the nonprofit sector is at in terms of digital transformation. 

“On the whole, Canada’s nonprofits haven’t fully embraced digital tools. We have a nice survey from CanadaHelps of nonprofit digital skills, that was done last year, and only a quarter of those organizations surveyed rated their knowledge and skill level as very good for general office operational software,” Katie explains. “The survey didn’t delve into data capacity specifically, but we know the same challenges exist there.”  

Katie is also co-founder of the newly established Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience. The Centre’s mission is to build the digital capacity of the sector by helping nonprofits adopt new technologies. CharityVillage is proud to be a partner in this important initiative. Katie goes on to explain more about why the Centre was so badly needed at this point in time. 

“The Centre has come together to respond to a simple fact, which is that nonprofit digital transformation is no longer just an organizational challenge. It’s a sector imperative. And I think we’re really doing our sector a disservice if we leave it to each executive director or each nonprofit board or each staff member to figure out their digital transformation journey on their own. 

I think what’s clear to us is that if we tackle this issue at a sector level, it’s going to be more efficient and less duplicative than leaving each individual nonprofit to solve this for themselves. So we created the centre to play that role of convener and coordinator so that we really can operate more like a functioning whole.” 

But we also have to face facts: There’s nothing new about Internet-based services, or even the concept of digital technology. So what’s holding nonprofits back from fully embracing these tools? Is it the cost, or are there other factors at play? We turned to nonprofit technology expert Aine McGlynn for answers. 

“I would argue that it’s never been more affordable to use digital technologies effectively. I think an organization with a budget of maybe seven to ten thousand dollars annually, invested in the actual subscription cost for the technology, can get really, really far. But the true cost has to take into account the level of skill and the wherewithal to be able to use those technologies effectively. And that true cost is often kind of left out of the picture. So when we’re talking about it from a budget consideration, it’s not the hard costs of the tools themselves. 

I think that the barrier is the hard technical skills, which is not unique to the nonprofit sector, by the way. We have a little bit of a skills deficit, with respect to technology usage across this country. But the sector becomes uniquely vulnerable to that because perhaps we don’t have the resources to outsource some of that work, or to call in support from folks like myself. The other big barrier is the time and the focus on training and new habit building around technologies. I often say to my clients, with any new skill you’re learning it and it requires a daily practice of habit. It requires discipline to reinforce that new skill or that new habit. And, bringing technologies in to replace old workflows is exactly the same as learning a new habit. It requires that discipline.” 

How can nonprofit organizations start to overcome those barriers? Listen to the full episode of the podcast to learn tips and strategies to help you embrace digital transformation. As a bonus, you’ll also get access to helpful resources in our Additional Resources section. 

Listen to the podcast episode!