Make certain you address technology as part of your annual budgeting process. Other portions of this guide should be useful in identifying specific line items and estimating costs. One way of estimating your overall spending is by how much you spend per employee each year on all your technology needs. In 2006, an NTEN survey found a high correlation between how much a nonprofit spends per employee and how the employees feel about how the state of the organization's technology. The survey indicates that employees at an organization spending $2,500 per employee per year will feel like their organization is an "early" adopter. In contrast, employees at an organization spending $667 per employee per year will feel like their technology is "in trouble." So, budget appropriately, depending on your business needs.

Technology Adoption Identification Correlates with Spending

When seeking grant funds, include technology as part of every grant request.  While some funders will not provide funds for technology, many do allow it as a normal administrative program expense. Consider requesting between 5% to 15% of your overall grant request for project-related technology (hardware, software, training, or services).

Online resources for funding sources include:

• www.TechnologyGrantNews.com, which costs $35/year for an electronic subscription ($80/year for electronic and print versions), covers technology-specific grant opportunities in the United States. 

• www.FoundationCenter.org provides a searchable database of nearly all of the foundations in the United States.  Limited, basic access for a single-user costs $20/month, with cost for multiple-user access to the entire databases can cost several thousand dollars per year.

• www.Philanthropy.com provides a free searchable database, including a "Technology" category, that lists upcoming grant deadlines.  Note that the listings typically include grant requests due in the upcoming 90-days or so.