April 3, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Senior managers at nonprofit organizations are increasingly disconnected from information-technology executives and fund raisers when it comes to understanding their groups’ technology needs, according to a new study of 400 nonprofit officials by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Telosa Software, a Palo Alto, Calif., company that sells fund-raising software.
The survey’s most striking discovery: 60 percent of information-technology professionals and 58 percent of fund raisers said that their organizations had recently invested in technology or planned to in 2003, while only 27 percent of senior managers in the same organizations believed this to be true.
The survey, which was completed last month, also found that while 83 percent of the senior managers who responded say they are heavily focused on improving the operational efficiency of their organizations — and all of them believe that technology can help them to be more effective — only one-third reported that they factor technology investments into their operating plans. When asked the same question, 80 percent of information-technology professionals and 74 percent of development officers said they do.
In addition, the survey found that the economy is affecting technology planning, as more than half of the respondents said that it is more difficult than ever to raise money for technology investments. As a result, 54 percent of all respondents said their organizations do not have a long-term technology plan.
For more information: Contact Joyce O’Brien, at jobrien@afpnet.org, or write to info@telosa.com.
