How Technology Supports Resilient Philanthropy

Of all the things learned over the past year, resilience has bubbled to the top. It’s a concept embodied by individuals, organizations, and whole communities. As a software company, it’s only natural we step back and evaluate solutions that can support resilience in an organization. After all, our mission is to “maximize the impact of the philanthropic community.”

Reviewing the past enables us to look to and plan for the future. There will always be unavoidable major events and by being equipped to navigate them, you’re more likely to lessen the impact. We took a deeper look into several characteristics that drive a resilient organization, and identified where effective technology bubbles to the top. 

Integration

Siloed teams struggle to work and communicate effectively. Add a sudden disaster into the mix and often the left hand isn’t working well enough with the right, leaving everyone scrambling. Being prepared before a catastrophic event enables you to better address the situation.

So how does technology help integrate your team?

• Systems with permissions and appropriate access to all stakeholders allow information to flow smoothly between roles. 
• This flow of information forms a connection between former siloes (over time, breaking them down all together) and allows for quicker decision making, faster response time, and more effective support resources flowing to where they’re needed most.
• The resulting impact (e.g., enabling the community to respond to and rebuild faster after the next earthquake) builds cross-functional trust. 
• When a group of stakeholders can tangibly see their impact, the result goes beyond minimum thresholds of working for the same organization and moves your teams into working toward a common mission.

Simple or free solutions (e.g., spreadsheets) may work in the near term, but technology built for your team (and outside stakeholders) to work together is ultimately what will help you respond quickly and build resilience into your recovery work.

Adaptability

Another key component is the ability to adapt quickly. In fact, agile philanthropy has also been a hot topic this year, and rightfully so. If you have a larger organization, can your team jump in and effectively support others? How about making changes on the fly? 

• Online applications on a hosted server let you quickly spin up new applications or adapt existing ones on the fly.
• Respond to new and changing funding needs or implement changes that will allow recovery to go smoother down the road.
• Change processes and make updates quickly within your own team. 
• Stay in the present and respond to the most pressing needs in real time.