Almost three-quarters (71%) had operating revenues of under $3 million (43% were below $1 million). The majority (58%) had 10 or fewer employees and a larger majority (71%) had no designated IT staff. Across both survey and case studies, organizations were greatly impacted by their human resources—the amount of staff as well as their knowledge and training. Most lacked in-house IT staff, relying instead on a mix of contractors and non-IT employees which, survey responses revealed, was inadequate for their needs. A full 80% considered their technology use to be either only “serviceable” or “antiquated.” When respondents were asked if they had experienced barriers to effective adoption and use, three barriers emerged: lack of money (83%), lack of time (69%), and insufficient knowledge to make technological decisions (33%).

• Tech vendors received high praise and sharp criticism, as their role was seen as pivotal to a tech project’s success or failure.
• Staff leaders who were committed to new technology made it easier for organizations to realize goals, while resistant leaders could be major barriers to progress. Those staff who solved tech problems or took on projects were lauded as heroes. Even if employees lacked tech expertise, a positive, problem-solving mentality was sometimes enough to make tech projects succeed.
• Decisions about technology appeared to be made in an ad hoc manner as equipment broke and systems became outdated. Only about half of survey respondents had a budget line item to update their technology more often than every five years, and most did not keep it up-to-date. While an implied shortfall within the survey was the lack of bona fide tech plans, the interviews strongly suggest that tech planning is, in fact, being conducted within individual departments.
• Both surveys and case studies stressed organizations’ need for increased tech knowledge and the ways in which a lack of information about technology can deter usage and progress. Respondents wanted to make effective technological decisions but lacked the time and expertise to conduct the necessary research. The fact that over half of survey organizations had no budget for tech training shows the difficulty of keeping up with technological advancements.
• The topic of integrated software systems for data management was one of the biggest issues in the surveys and case studies. Respondents reported great success stories and deep disappointments. Generally, organizations invested in new programs for two major reasons: to better track donations and ticketing, and to decrease the burden of work for employees who were forced to use separate systems to enter donor data and track income. However, the extent to which these software purchases met their needs depended heavily on both the systems chosen and the amount of technological training possessed by those who installed and operated them. Integrated software for accounting and box office was an aspiration of many survey respondents; service organization heads also emphasized this necessity. Survey respondents faced constant struggles to upgrade their tech systems, including software, hardware and security. Acquiring funds to accomplish these goals was a major barrier on both the survey and in the case studies.