IT for the not-for-profit sector – the last thing on your mind? 5 top things to look for in your IT specialist 



OK, so your main focus is on doing the good work for the people you support and that is your driving force – the reason you set up your charity or social enterprise in the first place.

But just step back for a moment and think of all the things that need to be done to deliver the work, to help the people and to support the needy. You need to communicate – send letters, emails, phone people, engage on social media, keep track of your supporters, send invoices, take payments, online banking etc – the list goes on.

And how is much of this done? By computer of course – and yet, sometimes, it’s the last thing on your mind – as long as it works its fine. But what if it doesn’t?

Don’t worry, this isn’t a pitch on behalf of my favourite IT specialist (www.nexgenltd.com) – but I did want to give you some pointers as to what to look for in an IT partner, and yes, I do use the word partner, because I think that this is most important.

So what are my top 5 ‘must haves’?

Relationship - find someone you can get on with, someone who you can relate to and listens well and will work alongside you – rather than for you

Understanding about non-profits – IT for non-profits needs to be approached in a certain way – budgets are always limited so you need to make the most of free offers that are out there.

Keep regular contact – Yes, they need to be there when you need them, but its also good to have a visit every now and then, to keep in touch and build that relationship

Service level agreements – Your IT company needs to be able to clearly explain how quickly you can expect a response in any given situation

Technical expertise – they need to know their stuff, be able to keep you up-to-speed on new technologies and be commercially aware

IT and computers can be a bit of a mystery to some, but when you get together with the right partner, your problems start to go away. Before I was involved with marketing for the third sector I spent many years working hard to build relationships of trust, giving good advice and always putting the customer first, so take some time to choose your IT partner wisely and benefit from all that new technology can give.

#it #charity #computers

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