July 29, 2024
What are non-profit organizations?
Non-profit organizations help. They help people, animals, the environment, and many other causes. They help with money, ideas or a place to sleep at the end of the day. They help, and then they turn around the next day and help again. The primary focus driving their work is not money or stockholders, but their mission.
But they are still businesses. They must work with budgets, set annual business goals, and undergo financial audits and other accountability audits just like for-profit businesses.
Most have a Board of Directors, donors, granters, and organizations they collaborate with. They also have employees who support the mission and have ideas for how to further it. This ultimately means there are a lot of ideas - and a lot of people - who are invested in decisions.
Understanding App Development for Nonprofits
Generally speaking, the collaborative nature of nonprofits carries through to their application development; colloquially speaking, "there are lots of cooks in the kitchen".
The idea of a lot of cooks in the kitchen is generally thought of as negative, but what if it's not? What if a lot of cooks in the kitchen just means that new and exciting creations are possible? Ideas are good. People passionate about ideas are even better.
The challenge is that everything can't be done all at once. Ideas and people and passion need to be focused into an actionable process that can produce real results. What does that process look like? From our experience nonprofits have the most success with meeting their nonprofit goals if they can do the following:
Identify all stakeholders and make sure their voices are accounted for.
Create yearly, quarterly and monthly roadmaps.
Live by the three pillars of project management - time, resources, and money - and adjust each leg of the triangle as more important features or pressing issues come in.
Embrace flexibility. When priorities change, be willing to change deliverables.
Communicate regularly. Regular check-in meetings are a must, not just with the tech team but with people who can report back to stakeholders.
Key Features of a Nonprofit App
What are the key features of a nonprofit app? This might seem like a trick question. Isn't every project different? Wouldn't the key features be dependent on what you're building? The short answer is no. Whether you are building an onboarding tool for your clients, creating an online directory, or integrating with a new CRM system or 3rd party tool, we have found that most nonprofit app projects share some common features.
Security. We all see notices every day that the XYZ platform has been hacked and now people's data is at risk. You do not want to be in the news for this. Do not neglect ongoing maintenance of your applications, keeping the app up-to-date is the best way to secure your users' data.
Don't over-architect. We often hear about organizations that are building the next big application but run out of funding, or find that your nonprofit app just took too long to finish. Build for now, build leanly, look to user testing and user surveying to understand the impacts, and quickly adjust.
Be willing to pivot when priorities change, because they always change. Strong technical project management resources who understand the app development process can help you understand the costs and benefits of change.
Aligning Nonprofit App Development with Nonprofit Goals
No matter how flashy your nonprofit app is or how well written the code, it's destined to fail if it doesn't align with your mission and your nonprofit goals. Period.
Technology cannot lead the business. If you've been in business for long enough, you've probably encountered some technology people who are, well, arrogant. They use tech talk to speak down to you and insist that "this way of doing things is how you meet" your nonprofit goals. Avoid these people. Your technology partner should be asking about your nonprofit goals and probing your stakeholders continuously to understand if your nonprofit app "does exactly what you need it to do", and if "there's anything that's missing".
Projects also fail if you let the business call all the shots without including your technology partner. Your nonprofit app needs to work after all! If it aligns perfectly with your nonprofit goals, but looks like it was built in the 1990s, or it is not constructed with well-written code and high-end security, your project will also fail. Your technology partner must be able to help you find the sweet middle ground between what the business desires and needs, and what is technically possible and secure.
New development is exciting, with many possibilities of what could be. It is critical that you and your technology partner work together and stay focused. Sometimes the "new cool tricked out thing" must wait while that "boring security upgrade" is completed.
Simplifying the App Development for Nonprofits Process
The simplest thing to build is exactly what you need, and no more.
That sounds easy enough. But app development for nonprofits projects often become a huge mess, with missed budgets, missed deadlines, and ultimately subpar products. The "we are 5-1/2 months into a 6 month project and only half the work is done", is a common refrain. How can you ensure that you don't fall victim to this?
Our answer: great technical project management resources who thoroughly understand the app development process. Organizations partnered with great technical project management resources are the ones that avoid blown budgets and missed deadlines.
What does this look like? It means partnering with tech people that you can actually talk to. It means you and your stakeholders are engaged in regular, productive meetings where issues and new ideas are addressed as a group. It means that your technology partner can translate tech into plain language and allow you to focus on making business decisions.
It's critical to approach app development for nonprofits in a strategic way to be successful. We have found that nonprofits require technical resources and partners who can gain a deep understanding of their unique needs and goals, collaborate effectively, and simplify the app development process.
At Coat Rack, we specialize in providing tailored Application Development, Technical Consulting, and Strategic Product Management services to empower nonprofits in delivering impactful projects.
If you're ready to transform your technology solutions, schedule a free consultation with us today and discover how we can help you achieve your mission effectively.
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