I spoke with a reader who advocates for having individuals who are experts in Technology on every board in the same way boards have members who are experts in Finance. He provides excellent reasoning and ideas for how boards should proceed.

Also, the web site Board.Dev has great information about building tech governance.

Tech Strategists Are Essential for Effective Nonprofit Boards

As told by a Board Member somewhere in the US.

I want to share the experiences of several boards and organizations – all of which could benefit from having technology experts on their boards. The first example was a national board for a convening organization. The organization was an absolute leader and pioneer in its field. They held a large conference every year that was phenomenal and which was also their primary revenue stream. Then COVID hit and it was a death blow because they were so underdeveloped on the technology side. They had no idea how to create parallel or similar energy online as they had with in-person events. And while the board had a few younger people who were tech natives, they did not have any board members who were tech strategists, people who truly understood the possibilities and the risks. They also did not have staff who were tech experts. The organization had an online community, but they were probably five or 10 years behind current trends and technology use. From afar, it looked like they had checked the boxes, but when you looked closer, it was not the case. They did try some online things instead of the convening, but those events did not have much energy and could not get sponsors. The organization is now a shadow of what it was and there is a question whether it will continue to exist.

Another example is a nonprofit that had a major cybersecurity issue. They had a lot of information stolen and were not prepared for it. This damaged their reputation. No organization can just think, “Oh this won’t happen to us” because ransom, phishing, and other attacks are happening all the time. And nonprofits have information on both clients and donors that, if stolen, can cause legal risks far beyond the headaches of being hacked.

A final organization – this is a positive example — provided professional services for nonprofit capacity building. All their work was conducted in person. Staff started to see a slight decline in the use of their services. They recognized multiple forces at play . The way people work had changed – because of Covid and because of technology. Some competitors emerged with a tech-first solution. A couple of funders asked why technology was not used more. Staff realized that using technology would allow them to serve a broader geographic area and perhaps also bring costs down. At the same time, they had a lot of fear and many questions: How do we actually make a change to use more technology? What would it look like to operate with a more tech-driven solution? This organization had several people from big tech companies on its board. So, the staff came to the board with questions and the board members were able to help staff think about the changes and how to implement them. Board members were able to educate staff on best practices, state of the art tech, and the like. It was very positive on all sides. The board bought into the idea of using more tech, so they were excited to raise the money to make it possible. And the staff felt they had the full support – and expertise – of the board.

I think all three nonprofit organizations could benefit from similar things:

Scenario Planning

In my experience, 80% of the conversations at the board level are about fundraising or just getting reports. Truly little is generative. But scenario planning is a generative exercise that boards should be practicing. For example, boards could ask: What happens if the ED quits? What if a big grant does not come through?

So, looking back to the first organization, we should have asked – what if we are not able to do in-person convenings? How would we sustain this organization? What would it take? What role would technology play and how could we afford the investment?

For the second organization (and every organization), the board should have asked what preparations had been put in place for a cyber-attack.

The final organization, the staff came to the board to do some scenario planning. But it might have been better to incorporate this into the annual rhythm of board business so the organization would have been ahead of the trends, not responding to them.

Create a Technology Committee

Every board should have a Technology Committee analogous to a Finance Committee. Because technology is changing so quickly, an organization needs members who have a strong and strategic tech background, and who are already on top of tech trends. This committee would create guidelines, provide input, analyze risks, and offer oversights, at the strategic level.

The Technology Committee could have an annual compliance check to ensure the latest and best tech security practices have been implemented. It could ask hard questions about how technology is used in the organization’s field, what new advances are happening, what the gaps are, and where investment is needed. Recognize that getting behind in tech investments can hurt the organization’s security and impact.

The Technology Committee should report to the full board just as the Finance Committee does.

Create a Policy for Making Tech Decisions

I think also that boards should have a policy for making tech decisions. They need to think about what tech to keep, what to adopt, and what to leave behind. This policy could be created by the Technology Committee and reviewed yearly.

Plan for  Change Management

Adopting new technology means change, so the board and the organization should have someone who is adept at change management to help go through the process.

Include Technology in Your CEO Evaluation

Organizations should make technology one of the items included in its CEO evaluation. Ask how the CEO and their staff track trends in technology for the organization’s field. Is the CEO building a team that has a high level of tech competence? Also is the CEO building a team that is agile and can be comfortable with change? Including tech questions in the annual evaluation ensures that the subject is reviewed yearly.

A Bonus: More Donors

Organizations that bring people on to their board from the tech industry and with tech expertise  open up a great pool of individual and organizational donors. Many companies donate both money and technology to nonprofits if a staff member is on that nonprofit’s board. They will also sponsor tables at your events.