How to Work With Pro Bono Tech Support

Many technology projects can seem beyond the budget limits of nonprofits, which makes pro bono support from companies and consultants very appealing.

But just because someone offers to help, either for free or for a reduced price, doesn’t mean his or her skills or experience are a good fit for your organization’s needs.

To help nonprofits choose pro bono technology support wisely, the software company VMware and the Taproot Foundation created a guide: “Transforming Technology Pro Bono: A Practical Approach to Engaging Technology Talent for Nonprofit Capacity Building.”

The key takeaway is that charities should make sure that any pro bono assistance they receive for their technology projects comes only after careful planning with a high level of attention. Although hackathons can be fun, the report suggests, they are rarely the best way to create a sustainable solution.

For best results, the report outlines four steps nonprofits should undertake before working with technology volunteers:

1. Discover

   Don’t jump into a collaboration without considering what your organization needs. Questions to ask: What’s stopping us from doing what we want to do today? What do we want to do more of? What would we do with unlimited time and resources?

   Make sure to analyze your current systems and resources and document your needs and constraints so you can communicate them clearly.

   Seek out people who are able to gather and analyze data, understand systems, and identify ways to improve processes. Job titles to look for: business systems analyst, systems engineer, account executive, or pre-sales engineer.

2. Design

   Creating a technology solution that fits your needs requires attention to detail. Questions to ask: What are our desired features? How will this solution interact with our other systems? How will the solution look? Who will be in charge of it?

   Make sure to ask the designer to document how the system was constructed — like how an architect creates a blueprint when designing a house — so that future users will fully understand its components and how it is intended to work.

   Seek out people who understand your existing systems and can assess options and advise whether to buy or build a solution. Job titles to look for: solutions architect and systems architect.

3. Implement

   Getting a new system up and running and transferring information to it can be tricky. It’s important to test its functions while you’re still working with technology support professionals.

   Make sure to get detailed information about the design of the project from the people who built it. And don’t forget to train staff members thoroughly about how to use it. Often new technology fails because the people who have to use it are resistant to change or don’t fully understand it.

   Seek out people who can document processes, transfer data safely and accurately, run tests to ensure projects work as intended, and hold training sessions for your employees. Job titles to look for: developer, engineer, and architect.

4. Maintain

   It’s easy to forget this step, but without maintenance, your new technology won’t last long and your organization will have wasted its time and resources. Regularly assess the solution to make sure it’s still meeting your needs, fix any bugs, and check whether upgrades are necessary and available.

   Seek out people who can troubleshoot problems and talk to multiple users to diagnose problems and get feedback for possible upgrades or adaptations. Job titles to look for: consultant, support services, performance evaluation, and quality assurance.

Download the full report here.