The days of running a nonprofit organization predominantly with analog systems are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Nonprofits regularly use digital boardrooms to streamline their work processes and enable senior executives to take part in important discussions regardless of their current location. This allows them to make better decisions, earn technology grants, and manage the organization more effectively.
In most industries, the ability to utilize online platforms is a non-negotiable element of success. Fully incorporating board governance technology into your workflow also means allocating enough of your organization’s resources to implement it properly.
Creating a realistic budget is critical to increasing efficiency and formulating a cohesive long-term strategy. It helps provide a structure to your work by ensuring that money is being used wisely to solve pressing and predictable problems. Read on to learn how to budget the best for the use of board governance technology.
Overview: Board Governance Technology
An effective board embraces technology that helps it operate more efficiently, effectively, and securely. Despite a widespread movement toward digital transformation, many boards still rely on outdated strategies to conduct business.
OnBoard offers board committees a platform that’s purpose-built to create fluidity between the boardroom and the nonprofit at large. From board agenda creation and collaboration to meeting enhancement, a modern board management solution equips boards with the intelligence needed to operate at a higher level.
Your organization should immediately notice the benefits of board governance technology. They reduce the amount of wasted time during meetings by allowing team members to quickly assemble and distribute board materials without having to get all parties in the same room. This makes it easier for directors to collaborate throughout the decision-making process, while also saving the organization money in the long run.
Ensure effective, efficient meetings with our comprehensive Board Meeting Agenda Template.
How to Budget for Board Governance Technology
1. Assess Needs and Goals
Before you begin assessing the merits of any digital governance software, it’s best to figure out what your nonprofit requires from any potential solution. The board and other leading administrators should hold multiple meetings to create a list of tools that should be prioritized over others during your search.
The features your team deems to be mandatory from any platform should align fully with your short- and long-term goals. Generally speaking, the platform’s security measures and user experience should always be valued highly.
Of course, these goals are always subject to change. If your organization changes in scope or shifts direction, the board should reconsider its needs and decide if the current technology is up to standard or if your operations would be improved by choosing a new partner.
2. Research and Compare Options
After the board has an understanding of what it needs from board governance technology, you can start studying each potential solution and determine which vendor best suits your organization. Take the time to canvass the market and find several platforms that could make sense for your board before cutting the list down from there.
The Board as a whole should vet each vendor. Take preventive measures so that no single person can take an outsized role in the process, which could let their own biases affect the final decision.
Make a list of each platform’s selling points to easily track their offerings and see how they match up. You can also read reviews from other users to learn if the software is consistently useful or if it is liable to crash or frustrate your board if adopted.
Note any governance technology that includes modern features such as integrating artificial intelligence for meeting minutes. Platforms like this have a greater chance of scaling up or down with your nonprofit over a longer time frame.
3. Estimate Costs
The price point of any board governance technology should never be the principal factor in what platforms you choose to use, but your board should always take cost into account. The initial expense of the technology isn’t the only cost to consider. There’s also the time and money needed to integrate the board portal software into your pre-existing systems, as well as the expenditure involved in creating training programs to teach board members how to use the new tools.
Tech literacy, especially among more seasoned executives, is a learned skill. Never assume that each stakeholder has the same understanding of how digital boardrooms operate or how they can improve their work performance.
The impact of any hidden fees such as subscriptions or the amount of expected maintenance are other factors to keep in mind. Free trials are a good way to try out some of the services offered by different vendors. You can request a free trial for OnBoard by filling out a request form.
4. Build and Budget
Develop a plan to integrate board governance technology into your nonprofit coherently and thoughtfully. Adoptability is a key characteristic of any digital boardroom. If the platform isn’t easily accessible to board members, then it likely won’t be integrated into work processes and could make your team less efficient.
5. Present and Seek Approval
Finally, introduce the software at a board meeting. Even if all board members want to implement new board governance technology, you still have to convince them why one platform is a better choice than the others.
Assemble a board pack with statistics and figures that explain the merits of your chosen platform. Developing a business case for the new tools will also increase the chances of the board agreeing to use the new system.
Getting Started With OnBoard
Regardless of your nonprofit’s size, everyone wants to feel like they are using their resources wisely. No one wants to waste money. When you have a set budget in mind, it’s vital to find technological solutions that help your board conduct business and achieve its goals.
OnBoard is a board management platform that enables governance best practices and makes your team more efficient. It comes with several features that allow board members to collaborate and perform their roles within an organization from anywhere in the world.
Our tools provide ample support for your team during the planning, execution, and review of your plans and strategies. With OnBoard, you can be confident the board has everything it needs to lead your nonprofit into a bright future.
Enhance strategic meetings with OnBoard's intuitive board management tools.
Request a free trial today to see how OnBoard streamlines nonprofit board management.
About The Author
- Gina Guy is an implementation consultant who specializes in working with nonprofit organizations get the most from their board meetings. She loves helping customers ease their workloads through their use of OnBoard. A Purdue University graduate, Gina enjoys refinishing furniture, running, kayaking, and traveling in her spare time. She lives in Monticello, Indiana, with her husband.
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