With many HBS Healthcare Alumni Association Alumni volunteering with non-profits, how can this sector provide new ideas that challenge our mindsets to lead in 2023’s economic headwinds?
Underfunded and understaffed…but still growing: A Non-Profit’s Tech Playbook for Fortune 500s to Consider:
With over 1.5 million non-profits in the United States1, how does a social enterprise compete to secure the hearts and minds as well as contributions needed to run a sustainable organization? Similar to Fortune 500s, non-profits look to emerging technologies to support their growth, but often are hindered without IT departments and external consultants as well as restricted funding to invest in such tech infrastructure. In this Q&A, Steve Wastell and Paula Ficara (co-founders of the Apex Protection Project) share their emerging technology strategy that provides a playbook for their non-profit’s daily operations as well as a platform for long-term growth. For Fortune 500 employees and consultants who are reading this article, Paula’s and Steve’s ideas can help challenge our assumptions around what resources are really needed to achieve upcoming 2023 C-Suite aspirations.
Q. With millions of non-profits that have worthy remits, how have tech solutions supported the Apex Protection Project, a non-profit whose mission is to help save wolves, a species that humanity has not necessarily supported since the beginning of time.
A. (Paula) From Little Red Riding Hood to The Three Little Pigs, society has not painted wolves in the best light. Moreover, with wolves being a popular element of the Game of Thrones’ series, we have seen an uptake in people wanting to get a “cool looking” pet, but soon realize wolves and/or wolf-dogs are not family pets and then these living beings are then abandoned and often euthanized. To address these pain points, our non-profit leverages a combination of technical tools that enable us to amplify our limited resources.
(Steve) Our Social Media Manager, Caroline Wolf, selects multiple channels that resonate with different population segments and catalyze action. As some of your readers might recall from a Forbes article, the average attention span of a millennial is 12 seconds—and for Gen Zers, that number is 8 seconds2. As such, when it comes to our content, we have discovered that the format which lends itself to the most virality and reach of GenZ, are short form vertical videos under 30 seconds - also popularly known in the tech world as SWIFT.
With these findings and other research that Caroline has completed, while we have leveraged some resources for Facebook towards our GenX and Baby Boomers, we are focusing on GenZ. For instance, once a week we go live on TikTok to engage with our current supporters and potential future advocates. When it comes to our social media strategy, we capitalize on current TikTok trends to reach people outside of the wolf advocacy echo chambers so that we can educate a new demographic about the value of our Apex predators. In terms of metrics, our prior state of engagement was in person and approximately 3,500 supporters annually and that number has exploded to over 15,000 per session. The value created include when others on the channel provide peer feedback to those occasional joiners who voice interest in buying a cool-looking wolf. Interestingly, we have discovered that such peer feedback has more of an impact than our team reprimanding these uninformed individuals.
Finally, Paula and I recognize that while we would like to engage with all demographics, we have to make some hard decisions as to where we invest our limited funding. Given the research that we have completed, we have invested the majority of our social media efforts in targeting Gen-Z audiences on TikTok because they are the most socially and politically engaged generation. We’re projecting that this cohort are the ones most likely to become our future politicians whose views on the environment coupled with their passion for sustainability, will be the generation to save our planet and our vulnerable wolf populations.
Q. Without global teams of employees and consultants as well as million-dollar+ budgets, what best practices can you share with the readership as they consider how emerging technologies might support their growth goals?
A. (Paula) Emerging technologies are tools, not a strategy. What we have discovered to be most effective to engage with our supporters are personal connections where wolves are our best ambassadors. There is something magical when a person gets to meet one of our ambassadors in person. Still, we recognize that not everyone can visit our location in person so social media tools like this YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4jA_SN4hgg) enable potential advocates to get a sense of the true nature of wolves and why they should consider supporting the Apex Protection Project. And as Steve and I recognize that human-centered design is a frequently referenced term at Fortune 500s, we have crafted in-person offerings that leverage tech to support our wolf ambassadors and human volunteers.
(Steve) Also, the change management aspects are just as important as selecting the right tech tools. And by this, it means that C-Suite executives need to trust their tech leaders. Frankly, when Caroline first began to share her ideas with Paula and me, we were skeptical of some of these ideas since we’re not digital natives like she is; and it’s easier to admit this today, versus those earlier days. After all, I’ve seen the impact that these tech solutions have, such as an explosion in our video views (9.5 million). And these actions have led to nearly 200 new donors who help provide a sustainable home for our existing wolves and the ever-increasing inflow of new ones who require safety and love.
(Paula) Let me wrap up by challenging to see if your corporate culture supports the mission, vision, and daily operating principles of your organization. If one reads the bios of our board members and volunteers, you can see the passion, commitment, and frankly love of what each person contributes on their own free will. https://www.apexprotectionproject.org/the-apex-team For readers, does your organization have such a supportive culture where your executives lead from the back and truly care about the welfare of their employees? And while it might be a taboo topic of having alphas and omegas at Fortune 500s, let’s face it, have “high potential” lists been completely erased from your firms? No pun intended, but perhaps your next team building session takes place with us as our “Taboo” truly led through example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g35lWS2J-U) and perhaps your team can learn some new tech-leadership ideas from our ambassadors?
1-How many nonprofit organizations are there in the U.S.? | Knowledge base | Candid Learning
2-Patel, Deep, 5 Differences Between Marketing To Millennials Vs. Gen Z, Forbes, November 27, 2017