If You Want to Advance Equity in Nonprofits, Invest in Tech

This article is part of a series by members of the Okta for Good Nonprofit Technology Fellowship.

The last 16 months have been a near-constant window to inequity in the U.S. and beyond.

COVID-19 has devastated families and communities, especially those already inflicted with inequitable health outcomes and systemic medical racism. Continued racial equity efforts highlighted necessary action in every corner of our work and world. And the escalated violence through local and national legislation against LGBTQIA+, disabled, and immigrant communities increased fear for many staff and community members trying to navigate a world consistently resistant to inclusion.

The nonprofit sector has witnessed philanthropy respond to each of these crises with commitment statements, commitments to directed funding, and shifts to make receiving funds less burdensome.

We’ve seen some starts, we’ve seen some essential commitments, and we’ve seen some new willingness to change. More than anything, we’ve seen a desire to do the right thing. But in many conversations and group discussions with funders, I hear the same questions repeatedly. How do we know what the right thing is, and how do we begin?

I want to be clear that there is no single “right thing” to do. The world needs many solutions and even more re-imagined ways of enabling change. But it is undeniable that one aspect of our work and world intersects everything: technology.

Technology underpins the many different pandemic and systemic inequities our communities face today. Whether it's navigating telehealth appointments, working from home, attending virtual school, giving virtual legislative testimony, signing online advocacy petitions, or receiving digital services, technology is the through line, fueling, enabling, and accelerating inequity. Technology is how we can work and where we can work, and even if we can work.

If you want to confront racial inequity today, technology is the intersectional issue that can be your starting point.

Your foundation’s technology practices, policies, and investments—inside the organization and out—are likely already creating inequitable outcomes. Here are six shifts you can lead that will contribute to a more equitable sector.

1. Let go of expectations that the best candidates for your organization already have experience in the same systems you use.

Surely the success of your organization meeting its mission rests somewhere other than whether a new hire has already had the privilege and opportunity to use the same database as the one you use. Understanding and committing to the mission will position any staff person, even a CTO, better for making strategic technology decisions than a history using a specific product. If anything, focusing on product experience clarifies your organization is not interested in change, nor in the strategic thinking a new hire could bring to the organization.

One way to break the systemic inequities of the education system and the technology pipeline is to fully train every staff person on all the technology tools, products, and strategies they need to be successful. This commitment is not only for when they are hired but for as long as they are in the organization. Removing the requirement to have previous experience with specific tools opens up the opportunity to be part of your work to a diversity of candidates that have traditionally been blocked from even applying.

2. Put staff and community in the center of your technology projects.

If technology is being used for technology’s sake, then scrap it. But if it is being used to make the work of your staff more effective or efficient, to support program participation and success, or to enable community members to benefit from services and resources, then those folks all need to be included in your technology projects. This means including staff across the organization and community members from a diversity of experiences and relationships to your organization to scope out priorities, evaluate options, and plan for customization and implementation.

Will this slow you down? It will surely slow down some things, but in exchange, you’ll benefit from decisions and solutions that are far more likely to be adopted and implemented. In addition, centering staff and community means that you’ll build better technology systems and supports for all those involved instead of really great systems that work only for you.

3. Reset data reporting expectations for equitable grantee time.

Who is served when a foundation requires the same data and reporting from all of its grantees regardless of their missions, communities, or grant-related projects? The story that comes from that collected data is not for or about the grantees. And the burden to provide it is significant yet uncompensated and uncredited.

Instead of providing funds to organizations to do great work but expecting them to spend time creating and reporting data to you, keep them focused on the work and the impact you said you were funding. Allow grantees to provide metrics, qualitative or quantitative impacts, and measures of their work in the ways that create the least burden on their time and staff while staying true to the expectations of their own communities.

4. Advocate for technology as a required capacity for all grants and grantees.

Even if many funders are only now fully accepting the reality that technology is necessary for the success of every organization and every program, nonprofits have known this for a very long time. Yet, they’ve had to navigate the power dynamics between their reality and presenting grant applications that will actually be funded. For many nonprofits, this often means removing technology from their applications entirely.

Remove this awful power dynamic and fund for realistically necessary supports. If general operating grants aren’t possible (though, I genuinely ask why they wouldn’t be at this point), ensure that every grant includes financial resources appropriate for the systems, data collection and management, and communications required for the organization’s success. Convey this clearly as part of the grant application so that potential grantees know it is expected and accepted. And ask grantees if what they anticipated and received is actually enough. If they say no, give them more.

5. Invest in technologies that meet the needs of the sector.

Many nonprofit staff feel the impact of using technology that wasn’t built for them, from extra time configuring things to increased costs to maintain customizations that make the systems relevant for their mission. But many of those same staff work in organizations that do not have the resources to build something intentionally for their organization or others like them. But foundations do!

There are many ways to invest in technology and direct product roadmaps to bring development teams closer to the nonprofit sector. Fund new technologies directly, support nonprofits in developing technologies, and shift how you facilitate investment by others. Many nonprofits don't have relationships with funders and investors. Are there opportunities for you to make introductions and bring everyone together?

6. Join the fight for affordable, accessible internet.

If the internet is vital for you and millions of nonprofits trying to provide essential services and programs, it’s vital for everyone. But at least 21 million people across the U.S. aren’t online to engage in those programs, benefit from those opportunities, and otherwise be part of the digital world. You have the positional power, resources, and megaphone to help change that.

Whether you want to focus on broadband affordability, broadband access, municipal networks, or other issues, it is critical that part of your work—through grants and advocacy—includes bringing more folks online and ensuring that the internet works for all of us.

As far as checklists go, these six items may take more than a bit of effort. But you can commit to everything on this list today. Regardless of where you are based, your philanthropic focus, or the work you’ve already done toward equity, this list can immediately guide your decisions, investments, partnerships and processes.

Technology is a foundational entry point for change and one you have the power to access right now.

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Amy Sample Ward is driven by a belief that the nonprofit technology community can be a movement-based force for positive change. Their prior experience in direct service, policy, philanthropy, and capacity-building organizations has fueled Amy's work to create meaningful, inclusive, and compassionate community engagement and educational opportunities for organizations worldwide.

As the CEO of NTEN, Amy inspires the NTEN team and global partners to believe in community-generated change. Amy believes technology can help nonprofits reach their missions more effectively and equitably, but doing so takes intention and investment in training, access, and collaboration.

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