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Consultant wants to plug in technology-poor nonprofits

Doris Reeves-Lipscomb discovers agencies are reluctant to upgrade from pencils and filing cabinets.

By DAVE GUSSOW
Published February 14, 2005

Doris Reeves-Lipscomb thinks nonprofit organizations in the Tampa Bay area need support. More precisely, tech support.

Yet when she began what was then a one-woman mission to assess agencies' use of technology two years ago, the reaction was not overwhelming.

"Initially, it was like, "What are you selling?"' said Reeves-Lipscomb, an organization development consultant from Safety Harbor. "It was very hard to have the doors open. It was cold calls. People didn't know who I was."

Reeves-Lipscomb didn't give up. Since that shaky start, she has spearheaded an effort that now includes multiple agencies in the area and the creation of the Technology Assistance Nonprofit Network Task Force working with the Management Assistance Program in Tampa (www.maptampabay.org)

The group's goals involve surveying at least 100 nonprofits about their technical needs and use by spring. It also will research, and possibly develop, a plan to create another nonprofit agency, whose work would be devoted to the tech needs of not-for-profit agencies.

Similar agencies have been operating for years in areas such as Seattle with NPower (www.npower.org) and Chicago with the IT Resource Center. NPower's mission statement, for example, aims "to ensure all nonprofits can use technology to expand the reach and impact of their work." Part of its service includes an online method for nonprofits to develop technology plans.

While it may seem every facet of a community has been touched by technology, from businesses to consumers to schools, many nonprofits have been left behind.

Money can be scarce and technology can be seen as a luxury. Technical expertise, or the lack of it, is a major issue for many agencies.

"Some people view technology as an intrusion on the feel-good side of providing service to people," said Pat Gehant, director of information technology at the Juvenile Welfare Board in Pinellas County.

But, she said, "If we want to be better at what we do, we need more information at our fingertips. And we need technology to do that."

The board was one of the early supporters of Reeves-Lipscomb's efforts, which was important because it acts as an umbrella organization working with other nonprofits and groups that provide direct services.

The board conducted its own survey of nonprofits with Reeves-Lipscomb last year, which found many agencies without the equipment, training and understanding of technology to use it effectively.

In addition, agencies that fund the nonprofits saw technology as a short-term cost, not a long-term investment that could improve performance and delivery of services.

From outdated hand-me-down computers to one e-mail address for entire staffs to agencies that wanted a Web site but had no way to access the Internet, Gehant says, the problems can be difficult to comprehend in 2005.

"It's connecting the return on investment to the new way of doing things," Gehant said. "It's hard sometimes to move people to the new way."

The old way is using paper documents that can be hard to find, process, manage and keep up to date. The new way is, "the data should always be available to you, and it should always be current."

Reeves-Lipscomb, 52, began the project after seeing the tech support agencies in Seattle and Chicago. She has a master's degree in social work from Florida State University and worked a variety of jobs for nonprofits and government before moving to this area full time in 2000.

She simply wanted to know what was occurring here, and if she could help. For months, she set up meetings and gathered information on her own as time allowed.

While she has received one small contract to conduct the survey for the Juvenile Welfare Board, most of her work has been free.

"I'm a consultant, but I sometimes perform like a nonprofit with the projects I take on," she said. "I believe in community service, and I believe in making a difference."

It's not clear where the technology assistance group goes from here. The idea of creating another agency has pros and cons. Business support will be crucial. And even community volunteers could be involved.

"I'm not sold on one way of doing it," Gehant said. "Setting up a nonprofit to provide resources has to be defined. ... We don't want to compete with a resource or a business in the community."

In Seattle and Chicago, she points out, the agencies were created years ago when there was little or no competition to provide such tech support services. Can a new nonprofit keep its staff? Volunteers can be good, but they have nothing to make them see projects to their conclusion.

Reeves-Lipscomb agreed, saying a new agency would simply be a facilitator "formed to bring together expertise and the willingness to help. ... We're trying to bring together as many resources as we can without taking away from the limited resources available to these organizations. We'll probably have to look at the private sector to help out."

Dave Gussow can be reached at 727 771-4328 or gussow@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 12, 2005, 08:49:01]