How the Salvation Army USA is Finding the Right Tech to Reach Their Goals

There comes a point in which nonprofit organizations ask themselves the question: Is our technology helping us reach our full potential?

When The Salvation Army USA Western Territory asked this question, they decided to take a thoughtful and thorough approach to their technology plans. They embarked on a journey to evaluate their organizational needs, assess their current technology systems, and develop a roadmap that allows them to select software that will make the greatest impact at the organization.

Building a nonprofit technology roadmap

Elaine Lofton, Territorial Donor Data Management Director at The Salvation Army USA Western Territory, joined Heller Consulting for a NetHope-hosted webinar to talk about how the nonprofit partnered with our team to create a strategic technology roadmap for their organization.

Working with the Heller team, the organization was able to:

1. Articulate their goals for their use of technology
2. Outline the current state of their technology in terms of what solutions were being used and for what purposes
3. Develop guiding principles and an overall strategy for what they want their technology to do for their organization and how they will manage technology and capture and use data
4. Prioritize technology requirements
5. Create a clear roadmap that articulates the future state of the organization’s technology solutions

The first-hand story of The Salvation Army USA’s technology journey

Some of the topics Elaine covered in the webinar included:

1. The organization’s overarching goals for evaluating their software – for example, they wanted a more complete view of their data across the organization
2. Challenges with the organization’s current technology – such as siloed data and processes that were not as efficient as they could be
3. The guiding principles the organization established around their technology – including how they work with technology and what they want to get out of it
4. Why they included multiple people in the technology strategy process and how the process helped to ensure buy-in for the resulting technology roadmap
5. How having a clearly articulated technology roadmap helps them to prioritize technology projects and select the right solutions for their organization
6. Advice for other organizations that are considering a review and analysis of their technology solutions and strategy

Building a technology roadmap for your nonprofit

With so many software solutions available today, it’s important to have a well-considered plan for selecting and implementing the right mix of technology to help your organization achieve your goals most effectively.

Our team here at Heller Consulting is finding that nonprofits like The Salvation Army USA Western Territory are seeing the value of working with our team through a technology assessment and roadmap. Doing so gives them a comprehensive plan for their technology journey that helps them focus on using technology to achieve their goals.

Here are some of the key outcomes that our clients see from a technology assessment and roadmap exercise:

1. Alignment of technology solutions with organizational goals and guiding principles, which ultimately supports change management for the organization
2. Identification of opportunities to better align people, processes, and technology
3. Establishment of an underlying technology approach that helps to guide and focus the selection of each technology product
4. Long-term roadmap for technology adoption and use across the organization
5. Clear technology selection based on a complete view of the organization’s goals and needs

Watch the Webinar

Learn more about The Salvation Army USA’s approach to finding the right technology to reach their goals. Watch the on-demand webinar, Building a Technology Roadmap for Fundraising and Marketing Success, hosted by NetHope and featuring The Salvation Army USA.

More Nonprofit Resources:

• The Nonprofit’s 2023 Guide to Digital Transformation 
• A Business Case for a New Nonprofit CRM
• Project Communication Plan for Technology Change
• The Nonprofit’s Guide to Change Management
• On-demand webinar: Costs and Benefits of a New Nonprofit CRM
• Technology, Trust, and the Impact of Nonprofit Staff Turnover
• Building Your Nonprofit Technology Stack: Which Approach is Right for You? 
• 4 Approaches to Building a Nonprofit Technology Stack 
• Podcast Episode: The Pros and Cons of a RFP for Your Nonprofit Tech Selection
• Next-Level Software Selection for Nonprofits

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