nfpspark

Throughout my career I've worked with a whole host of third sector (not-for-profit) organisations and seen the front line hard work that founders, staff and volunteers pour into the organisations that they support. I've also seen, and experienced first hand, the behind the scenes adminstration that goes into making not-for-profits function effectively and sustainably. I understand how hard it is - but I've also experienced how using tech strategically can transform the effectiveness and impact of frontline work and significantly reduce the administrative load behind the scenes.

I've built CRMs (customer relationship management - places where you can manange a two way relationship with the people you work with), person-centred-planning portals, staff training and supervision modules, weight loss and mental health trackers, impact reporting tools and more.

nfpspark is a passion project for me - helping not-for-profits use affordable and accessible tech to do less admin and have more impact. Have a read of why I think this is something that not-for-profits can't afford to miss out on below and, if it's something you'd like to develop in your organisation (no matter what your budget) I'd love to chat you through how it could work for your context.

Bridging the Gap: Affordable and Accessible Tech Solutions for Not-for-Profit Projects

Lets be honest for a minute, no one starts a Not-for-Profit organisation because they like the idea of taking on a range of administrative tasks - NFPs start, at the really basic level, because people are passionate about making a difference.

However, in what is now indisputably a digital age, NFP organisations face huge challenges in managing their day-to-day operations efficiently. Staffing, resource management, project planning, grant applications and monitoring - the list can feel endless and overwhelming.

There are a vast range of tools for business out there but for the emerging not-for-profit these come with significant challenges;

Flexibility: The diverse nature of not-for-profit projects demands adaptable software capable of accommodating various operational models, fundraising strategies, and reporting requirements. However, off the shelf software options often fall short in terms of flexibility. Many are designed with rigid structures and predetermined workflows and consequently, NFPs end up needing to tailor their workflows to the limitations of the software rather than allowing the software to carry the administrative burden, resulting in inefficiencies and hindered growth.
Technical Capabilities: While NFPs are driven by their passion for social change, they often lack the technical expertise (and even more frequently) the time required to create a solution in house. In house solutions, if not developed from scratch, tend to involve combining multiple apps or services to achieve a desired outcome.
Affordability: Traditional software solutions designed for commercial enterprises often come with exorbitant price tags, rendering them financially unattainable for emerging NFPs. Limited budgets, reliance on donations, and the need to maximise every penny mean that investing in expensive software licences (particularly those which increase in price by volume of users or logins) is simply unfeasible.

The end result is that many emerging NFPs end up using overlapping apps and services. Slack for project management, JotForm for data acquisition, Excel for managing data. These are all great tools with plenty of strengths but they aren’t designed specifically for the NFP market and once you start to add up the per-user subscriptions for these services things can start to get really expensive really quickly.

I can work with you to help you to develop low/no code custom apps using the powerful Airtable database, Google Workspace (a fantastic tool and 100% free for charities) and the infinitely customisable Softr app at affordable prices for your organisation which will transform your operations and help you to record, assess and demonstrate impact. You'll claw back valuable admin time and get to do more of the things you are passionate about.

Want to know more? Visit nfpspark.co.uk and let's start a conversation!

nfpSpark is a trading name of MTP Creative Solutions Ltd

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