IT and Telecoms Budgeting for Charities and Non-profits

Over the last few years, two things have become very clear: the future is very online; and the present is even more expensive! Fundraising is never an easy task, and with people having to cut back due to the cost-of-living pressures, unnecessary expenses in charities can be the difference between someone getting the help they need and not.

When it comes to IT and telecoms, the expense is a necessary one. Every charity needs access to the internet and to a computer, and with many charities needing operational call centres, the costs of these contracts can be huge and long-lasting. Because of this, it might seem like upgrading to better hardware and systems is an investment not worth exploring but when it comes to securing your organisation’s data, keeping up with technology is a must.

A lot of the nationwide IT and telecoms providers can rely on their brand recognition to increase charges, while selecting a more local company reduces time spent dealing with issues as you can quickly get things resolved as and when they pop up.

Before you go running to a new supplier for a quote (which you should always do…hint hint), here are a few things you should be doing to find out whether your IT and Telecoms spend is right for your budget:

Assess your current infrastructure

If you’re looking to reassess your current budget on your IT and Telecoms, before you do anything else, look at the state of your current infrastructure – and not just your hardware, look at what software are you using as well.

Old infrastructure can be expensive to manage, both financially and in the time your staff spend working on it. By finding out where your technology gets in the way of productivity, you can see what hardware you need to replace.

This is not a one-person job. In fact, getting feedback from anyone who interacts with your IT and Telecoms, whether that’s staff or callers, will help you find where improvements can be made.

Set your budgetary goals

Investing in infrastructure can save you money in the long run, and the latest technology can certainly help your organisation with fundraising, but it’s unlikely that you want to spend a significant portion of your funding on your IT. That’s why it’s important to define clear objectives to the support you need within the charity.

These can include:

• Cybersecurity improvements 
• Upgrading hardware and software
• Optimising communication channels
• Increasing accessibility and inclusivity
• Ensuring a strong disaster recovery process
• Training and Development
• And lots more…

With these objectives, it’s also important to set measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each one.

Unless you’re an expert in IT and telecoms, you might find it a challenge to come up with clear objectives – you might not be sure what improving your IT and telecoms can do for your organisation. If you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we can help you set clear goals.

Once you have these targets for your IT and Telecoms to meet – then it’s the fun part! You’ve got to get on the hunt for quotes and proposals.

There’s no easy way around finding the right proposal, but the real goal is to get a good expectation as to the cost required to meet your organisation’s objectives.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Once you’ve entered a contract with a company, you must monitor their performance against your  objectives. There are hundreds of businesses ready and willing to help you with your IT and Telecoms and making sure the one you’re working with is properly supporting you is vital.

If the partnership isn’t working or costs begin to spiral, don’t be afraid to find another supplier. Keeping an eye on the market, especially for things like broadband and telecoms, is so important to seeing if you’re continuing to get a good deal months, and even years, into your contracts.

Our work with Black Country Women’s Aid

We’ve worked with BCWA for over 20 years, and you can read all about how we’ve helped them over that time in our case study.

If you’d like to know more about the work that we do, or you just want a quote from us to compare with your current supplier, give us a call at 01675 466637 or email enquiries@hubtelit.co.uk.