Why nonprofits can benefit most from digitization in 2021

• Date: 01 February 2021
• Published date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30932

FEBRUARY 2021 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

5

© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Technology

Why nonprots can benet most

from digitization in 2021

By Angelina Lawton, CEO, Sportsdigita

Businesses of all sizes, industries and models alike

are affected by the proliferation of technology and

tools that make organizations more efcient and

scalable. As technology allows us to build faster,

smarter, more efcient and resilient models that lead

to company growth and increased revenues, we can

turn these same innovations to supercharge our hu-

man capabilities in a process known as “digitization.”

Going digital often requires overhauling existing

systems, processes and cultures to incorporate and

align new technologies across a business. Of course,

some companies are better positioned to join the dig-

ital revolution than others. Nonprots, for instance,

typically operate on smaller budgets that allow little

room for error. According to the MIT Center for

Information Systems Research (CISR), only 28% of

established companies have successfully digitized:

That means there is a huge opportunity for non-prot

businesses among others to embrace their digital

footprint and move to a more tech-savvy approach.

Here’s ve ways why nonprots, in particular, can

benet from shifting to a “going digital” mentality

in 2021 and beyond:

• Accurate, clear, shareable data. More than most

companies, nonprots must rely on data to justify the

digital technologies they invest in. Digitization allows

for swifter and smarter calculation, aggregation and

sharing of that information. Given the tight budgets

of nonprots, quantiable evidence that supports

their business strategies are critical to balancing the

books and securing continued funding.

• Workforce efciency. Digitization allows your

staff to focus on critical tasks while letting the tech-

nology do the rest. During the pandemic, most non-

prots have relied on shrinking workforces, creating

a need for technologies that can pick up the slack for

furloughed employees. “Work smarter, not harder”

isn’t just a credo anymore—it’s an imperative. Digi-

tization makes it achievable.

• Scaling. Technologies, when properly intro-

duced, allow organizations to grow at scale. Once the

infrastructure is in place to allow a nonprot’s digital

transformation to take hold, systems and processes

can continue at larger capacity as the organization

continues to grow and gain momentum. A lean

workforce today, when combined with the process

of digitization, may actually help a nonprot create

more jobs and extend its altruistic reach.

• Integrations. Your technologies should all inte-

grate with one another to create the most seamless

workow possible for your nonprot’s team. cus-

tomer relationship management, email, presentation

creation and other tools should all work together as

part of a cohesive tech stack for your organization to

optimize communications, planning, and efciency.

• Retargeting. A nonprot has the ability to nudge

a user who already has visited the organization’s

website through digital retargeting, introducing

them to additional content and information that may

interest them. This may help move the needle faster

on purchase and donation decisions, and help urge

those who had been on the fence into taking action.

Digitization is both empowering and benecial to

all nonprots alike. If you already have a dedicated

workforce, imagine how much more productive your

team could be through complete digitization and

automation of your processes. This affords itself op-

portunities for even more of a return on investment

for lower-budget nonprots.

All of which will help fuel organizational growth,

help to more effectively disseminate the missions of

nonprots and reward an already dedicated workforce

by providing tools that will amplify their success. ■

About the author

Angelina Lawton has combined her passion for

sports, branding and technology to become Founder

and CEO of Sportsdigita and a respected leader in the

sports industry. She was recently named by Forbes as

one of “The Most Powerful Women in U.S. Sports” and was

a cover story feature for Inc. magazine. Sportsdigita has

disrupted the sports industry by partnering with more

than 400+ clients across professional sports and enter-

prise with its ground-breaking interactive presentation

platform, Digideck. Angelina received a bachelor of arts

with a focus in journalism from Arizona State University

and was formerly the SVP of corporate communications

for the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.