5 Tips for Small Charities to Maximise Their Use of Technology
One of the most important things any small charity can do is to think big. Rather than dwelling on their smaller status meaning fewer resources and lesser reach, they can achieve just as much as their larger counterparts through working smarter, and technology is one of the cornerstones of doing just that.
Here are five tips for using technology that continue to serve us well at EmployabilityUK as we seek to raise aspirations and ensure that every young person has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Keep Overheads Low with Free and Low-Cost Tools
No matter what problem you want to solve, there’s a piece of software out there that can help you do just that – and it doesn’t have to take a significant chunk out of your budget.
Even when there are paid options available, many crucial tools enable small charities to use some of the functionality at no cost at all:
- Use Zoom’s free tier for online meetings
- Use Canva and Photopea for design and creative projects
- Use Crowdfire to schedule your social media posts
Don’t forget that as a charity, you can also take advantage of special rates, or even completely free versions, of some of the tools considered essential (and expensive) by larger organisations:
- Consider Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which is completely free compared to $3 (£2.40) per user, per month for Business Standard, and $5 (£4) for Business Plus.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic is offered as a grant to nonprofits and free for up to 300 users, with additional reduced rate plans available for those that need more features.
- Mailchimp, HubSpot and HootSuite all offer substantial discounts on their paid plans to verified nonprofits.
Use Cloud-Based Solutions to Empower Volunteers
Our volunteer engagement saw EmployabilityUK awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services in 2021. Technology has played a key role in our engaging with volunteers around the UK and beyond, and part of that involved the decision to utilise cloud-based services.
Our cloud technology revolves around the very same nonprofit discounts on Microsoft 365 outlined above. The Microsoft 365 suite sits at the centre of our technological operations, much like many larger charities.
It ensures that no matter where a supporter is in the world and at what time they require access to information, they can use SharePoint, Teams and other cloud-based tools at their disposal to perform their roles for the betterment of the charity.
This implementation ensures that we have access to enterprise-level backup and information security tools that can prove prohibitively time-consuming and challenging for smaller organisations.
Spread the Word Without Breaking the Bank
Marketing can be incredibly expensive, but charities of any size cannot thrive without spreading awareness of their mission. Social media has made this far easier, as it costs time rather than money, and has unlimited potential.
Small charities can have a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok, all at no cost to them. Of course, an account alone will do nothing for engagement, but consistent posting and not being afraid to share your successes can get your branding in front of thousands of people over time.
Combine this with nonprofit pricing for HootSuite, designs from Canva and perhaps a dash of AI for inspiration, and you can build an enterprise-level social media presence for very little outlay.
Enhance The Skills of You, Your Team, Your Partners and the People You Serve with Technology
If you and your team have a thirst for knowledge, there has never been a better time in human history to quench it. Beyond the usual suspects like Wikipedia and YouTube, you can find free and low-cost courses from the same brands relied upon by some of the world’s biggest companies.
Whether your project management volunteer wants to brush up on their Six Sigma, or your treasurer wants to master Excel for financial analysis, the knowledge they need is ready and waiting for them on Udemy, Coursera and Microsoft Learn.
Let Technology Take Care of Unavoidable Tasks
Running a small charity can be a lot like running a small business. From accounts to engaging your audience, there are hundreds of activities small charities need to undertake to reach their own potential. Most small charities don’t have the luxury of a specialist in each area of the organisation, but technology can help fill in the gaps, and all without breaking the bank:
- When you need a form, try free solutions like Microsoft Forms and Google Forms. These simple tools can do everything from gathering feedback after a workshop and surveying your supporters to providing a paper trail for volunteers and trustees that have completed onboarding or undertaken additional training.
- Use analytics tools for a simple (or complex depending on your skills and the time available) overview and to see how your small charity is performing. Remember, it’s important to work smarter as a smaller organisation, so:
- Use Google Analytics to see what content performs well on your website so you can make more of it
- Explore the built-in analytics on platforms like LinkedIn to see which of your posts resonate with your audience
- Use a free CRM like Zoho to manage volunteers, customers, partners, suppliers and more. It costs nothing, yet your small charity will have access to the same technology used by Amazon, Netflix, Bose and more.
- Bookmark the Resource Centre for an at-a-glance overview of your legal obligations as a small charity
- Try Liberty Accounts for your accounting needs. It’s not free, but it’s not expensive and, most importantly, while it was originally designed for small businesses, it now has additional features specifically designed for UK charities, including fund accounting, donor ledgers and Gift Aid preparation.
In today’s digital age, technology is not just a tool but a game-changer for small charities. Small charities can level the playing field with larger organisations by strategically embracing and integrating these technological solutions. From reducing overhead costs with free tools to empowering volunteers through cloud-based solutions, spreading awareness via social media, enhancing skills through online learning, and automating routine tasks, technology enables small charities to operate more efficiently and effectively.
At EmployabilityUK, we’ve seen first hand how technology can transform operations and amplify impact, helping us to raise aspirations and support every young person in fulfilling their potential. With the right approach, any small charity can harness the power of technology to extend its reach, streamline its processes, and achieve its mission.
