Results from the 2011 Nonprofit Tech Staffing

& Spending Survey

Plus: Introducing an Online Benchmarking Tool for the

Nonprofit Sector

Presenters:

Annaliese Hoehling,

Publications Director, NTEN

Michael Gilbert, Founder and President, The Gilbert Center

What we’ll be talking about:

Key findings from the survey NTEN insights from the findings Introducing the online benchmarking tool

based on the survey How you can start using the benchmarking

tool as a Beta Tester

Download the Report!

http://nten.org/research/IT-Staffing

About the Survey

Conducted in November-December, 2011 We asked about their Current Fiscal Year

Organizational Budgets Focused on tech-related staffing, budgets,

and organizational approaches 975 respondents Respondents came from the NTEN and

NPTimes communities

How we segmented responses:

Budget size: Small Orgs: Budget Less Than $1M Medium Orgs: $1M - $5M Large Orgs: $5M - $10M Very Large Orgs: Greater than $10M

Also by “Tech Adoption” Struggling: “We are struggling; we have a

failing infrastructure, and our technology time and budget generally go towards creating workarounds, repairing old equipment, and duplicating tasks.”

Functioning: “We keep the lights on; we have basic systems in place to meet immediate needs. Leadership makes technology decisions based on efficiencies, with little-to-no input from staff/consultant.”

Also by “Tech Adoption” Operating: “We keep up; we have stable

infrastructure and a set of technology policies and practices. Leadership makes technology decisions based on standard levels according to industry/sector information and gathers input from technology staff/consultant before making final decision.”

Leading: “We’re innovators; we recognize that technology is an investment in our mission, and leadership integrates technology decisions with organizational strategy. Technology-responsible staff are involved in overall strategic planning, helping to craft the future of the organization and the plan for how technology can support that work, both inside the organization and through public-facing technologies.”

Tech Adoption Level of Respondents:

Tech Adoption and Org Size

INSERT AUDIENCE POLL

How many FTE Tech Staff does your org have? 0 - 1 1 - 3 3 - 5 5 - 10 > 10

Number of Tech Staff

3.5(average overall)

Small 1.26

Medium 2.76

Large 3.80

Very Large 8.56

Number of Organizational Staff for Every One FTE Tech Staff

60.2(average overall)

Small 24.0

Medium 53.6

Large 86.9

Very Large 116.0

Tech Staffing and “Tech Adoption” Levels

Tech Adoption Level

Ave # of Tech Staff

Ave # of Staff

Supported by Each Tech

Staff

Struggling 0.84 44.03

Functioning 2.46 68.16

Operating 3.91 62.74

Leading 5.27 42.95

Technology Budget Per Org Staff

$3,746.78(average overall)

Small $3,339.20

Medium $3,478.28

Large $5,751.58

Very Large $4,123.16

“We don't actually have a technology budget. Unfortunately, we operate under the ‘if it breaks, it's replaced’ business model. We pay for it and then figure out how to cover it.”

-- from a Functioning organization

Technology Payroll BudgetPer Tech Staff

$36,216.94 (average overall)

Small $6,841.98

Medium $17,315.72

Large $40,897.71

Very Large $57,319.68

“We have no staff for IT. We do everything ourselves and it is a mess.”

– from a Struggling organization

Technology Budget Components and Tech Adoption Levels

TrainingPayroll per Tech Staff

Struggling $640.00 $2,241.67

Functioning $1,597.97 $37,520.45

Operating $3,091.79 $97,529.20

Leading $5,755.81 $179,875.33 Overall

Average: $2,988.06 $89,240.95

Technology Budget Components and Tech Adoption Levels

Capital Spending per Staff Member

Discretionary Spending per Staff Member

Struggling $1,512.11 $1,296.58

Functioning $1,035.52 $683.23

Operating $1,062.12 $706.21

Leading $1,871.93 $1,182.58

Overall Average: $1,205.80 $808.00

INSERT AUDIENCE POLL

Does your org have a formal technology plan, or include technology as part of the overall organizational strategic plan? Yes No Not Sure

Technology Plan

Organization has a formal technology plan?

Have a Tech Plan?

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Yes 36% 40% 42% 40% 55%

No 64% 60% 58% 60% 39%

Organization has a formal technology plan?

INSERT AUDIENCE POLL

Does your org measure the return on investment (ROI) of technology projects or investments? Yes – rigorously or regularly Somewhat – informally or infrequently No I don’t know

Measuring ROI of Technology Projects/Investments:

Tech Adoption and ROI

Tech Effectiveness Score (out of possible 30)

Organization Size Average Score

Small 17.34Medium 18.52Large 18.99Very Large 19.23All Respondents 18.27

Tech Effectiveness Score and Tech Adoption Levels

Technology Adoption Level Ave Score

Struggling 13.89

Functioning 15.28

Operating 19.23

Leading 22.50

Average for all respondents 18.27

Tech Effectiveness Score

Tech Effectiveness Statements rated on a scale of 1 (less true) to 5 (more true):

Average Rating for Each Statement

We have the technology (hardware and software) we need to do our day-to-day work effectively

3.52We have enough skilled staff to support technology functions/needs for the organization 2.85

We have enough training for all staff to use technology effectively for their day-to-day work

2.78We make effective use of technology to support our programmatic work/our services 3.19We make effective use of technology to support our fundraising/development work 2.87We make effective use of technology to support our marketing/communications work 3.12

NTEN Take-Aways from the Numbers:

STAFFING You don’t need to hire staff, but define roles

Flickr: justmakeit

NTEN Take-Aways from the Numbers:

BUDGETSMore money isn’t necessarily smarter

But spending money on getting smarter might help

NTEN Take-Aways from the Numbers:

MEASURING ROI

Even informally or infrequently will help your organization

NTEN Take-Aways from the Numbers:

Overall Organizational Approach to Tech

Small changes can have big impact