As a social impact network connecting women globally for change, technology is at the core of World Pulse's mission. But bridging the tech sector and the nonprofit world isn't always intuitive. World Pulse incoming CEO Lourdes Rivas recently teamed up with Okta to reflect on what NGOs and tech companies can learn from each other.

On the surface, nonprofits and for-profit organizations stand on opposite ends of the spectrum. One aims to drive social good, while the other focuses on making money. Despite this significant difference in mission, there's so much these groups can learn from each other, especially when it comes to tech companies and NGOs.

As NGOs have been urged to explore tech-centric strategies to enhance their efficiency and further their impact, tech companies have faced increasing pressure to create meaningful societal change and take accountability for their influence.

While NGOs and tech companies have their fair share of respective issues — from tech's burnout prone work culture and questionable use of data to nonprofits' world's perceived difficulty in connecting impact with data — they also stand to benefit immensely from each other's strengths.

We can tap into those strengths by fostering a dialogue that respects and understands each sector’s unique challenges, goals and methodologies. The key is to break away from the teacher-pupil mindset and instead focus on mutual learning and collaboration.

Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, NGOs can work with tech companies to access funding, cutting-edge technologies, and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach. Tech companies can learn more from NGOs about ethical approaches, diversity and inclusion, and pressing grassroots social issues that they may be unaware of.

To cultivate this kind of dialogue, here are communication-based strategies that can help these two sectors better understand each other.

Building Bridges: from Social to Tech

Translate impact stories into data

NGOs have ambitious goals because the problems they are tackling are immense. While traditional funders often connect deeply with compelling impact stories, stakeholders in the tech sector are driven by dynamic data-driven dashboards that display metrics over time.

By presenting your actions as problems and outcomes that can move a representative metric, you can complement your narratives with quantitative data, showcasing the impact at the scale you aim to achieve through the implementation of technology.

Data visualization can bridge the gap between heartfelt stories and hard data, making it a powerful tool to attract tech corporate funding and support. Tech companies usually thrive on data-driven decision-making, so they will be more likely to support initiatives that can demonstrate clear, measurable outcomes.

By translating individual stories into broader, measurable trends, NGOs can present their impact in a format that resonates with tech stakeholders and attract the support and skill sets needed to implement technology.

Start with the problem — not the solution

If you want to implement technology as an NGO, avoid starting with the question, "What tools can I build or adopt?"

It may seem counterintuitive, but the mindset of great tech companies is focused on thinking about problems first. Technology is not magical. It’s broad, adaptable, and powerful. Therefore, it’s best to remain open to possibilities rather than narrowing down your solution based on what you currently know from experience.

Instead of jumping straight to solutions, talk with tech professionals about the core problems you are trying to tackle. A long list of requirements for a new tool or software solution will most likely result in a digital replication of the problem you had or introduce new issues.

Presenting the challenges you are trying to solve to a tech company can be very engaging for their employees and network. It opens opportunities for collaboration and partnership, as tech professionals often find tackling complex problems compelling.

This approach not only enhances problem-solving but also creates a strong narrative for potential partners and funders, fostering deeper and more meaningful collaborations.

Embrace iteration when solving problems

A key part of tech companies moving from incremental to exponential results is implementing to learn about rather than to solve a problem. This approach can help in attaining exponential impact results in an ever-changing environment.

For example, a 5-year plan filled with detailed outcomes to achieve may not appeal to tech companies for collaboration. They have learned that small, iterative learning steps yield much better results than deeply detailed long-term plans.

Make your tech implementation proposal or challenge small and manageable. Identify and understand potential failures without the pressure of solving all your problems at once. Look out for your assumptions: What are you taking for granted? What if these assumptions don't hold true?

This approach fosters an environment where learning from mistakes becomes part of the process and will feel more feasible and appealing to tech companies to collaborate with you or even fund the project. Why? Because this iterative, learning-focused method both encourages continuous improvement for your organization and aligns closely with the adaptive strategies tech companies value.

Learn the language: find social-tech translators

Effective technology integration requires more than just external consultants. It demands in-house expertise to facilitate seamless communication and implementation. While a full software development team might be unnecessary, having a technical product or project manager can significantly aid in translating tech concepts across the organization.

One strategy is to look for tech professionals who do fractional work: engaging on an hourly basis with specific objectives. This approach allows you to attract high-caliber talent without the burden of a full-time salary.

How to attract them? Many tech experts are drawn to solving complex problems. Highlighting the unique challenges and social impact of your work can be a magnet for these professionals. Appeal to their passion for tackling difficult issues, and you will bring in experts who are excited to contribute to your mission.

When crafting job descriptions or calls for volunteers, clearly articulate the problems you are trying to solve!

Who to attract? Roles in UX Research for improving direct services, Data Analysts for Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL), or Product Managers to bridge the gap between tech and social impact. Encouraging a blend of diverse profiles will cultivate an environment where technology and social impact can seamlessly intersect.

Building Bridges: from Tech to Social

Swap value proposition for theory of change

Your products and services are always delivered to people who live in a world that needs profound change—though our visions for that change may differ, I assume here that we all share this idea.

How nonprofits frame their value proposition as a Theory of Change can be illuminating for tech companies.

The Theory of Change approach involves identifying a gap in a specific social context that needs addressing and creating a path to bridge it. Once you establish your pillars, you can measure both qualitative and quantitative changes in the mid and long term.

I invite corporations to try presenting their value proposition in this way. Here's a powerful question to ask across your organization: What will be different in the world after our company's intervention in the market, if we were to disappear?

Framing your company vision and mission under the light of what will change in the world with your intervention and shift to a more purpose-driven approach, rather than focusing solely on the value you add to a specific customer group, can be transformative for your company. And it will be more clear for NGOs to see why they could work with you. No NGO is compelled by ‘Increase Revenue With This New App’.

Reframe users as constituents

Almost no NGOs refer to the recipients of their products or services as 'users'. To justify their existence, NGOs must benefit and involve the population they address, not just have them use their products or services. That’s why they are called constituents: Those people who are necessary and crucial to the success of an organization. There has been a lot of thought and work into the decision to use this term.

Do not ask for user engagement and churn rate or login frequency when assessing a tech solution with an NGO. Understand that metrics attached to revenue do not match metrics attached to impact. Using something doesn't necessarily mean it provides a benefit.

Tech companies often count users and their time on apps as a primary metric. The frequency of app use or the total time a user spends on it often turns into a KPI. Instead, when engaging with an NGO be curious about their MEL (Measuring, Evaluating and Learning) framework. You’ll learn a lot!

It might seem a small wording detail, but it is a frame of mind. If this shift becomes possible, we might be on our way to start solutions together with NGOs to clearly involve and benefit humanity instead of merely increasing the amount of apps we use on our mobile phones.

From acquisition and retention to outreach and belonging

In most marketing and product development frameworks in tech companies, the terms 'acquisition and retention' are commonly used. These terms are not as prevalent in nonprofits, primarily because they are not acquiring or retaining anyone. And neither should be tech companies!

Instead, nonprofits often need to reach out to the communities they serve, as these communities are often isolated and ignored. The goal is to help them feel they belong within the programs and initiatives implemented so they can make them their own, build personal agency, and expand them across their community.

If you are called by a non-profit to help in their expansion or marketing efforts, use outreach and belonging mindsets to measure your results. It will resonate and speak to your commitment to helping in their true mission: not just growth, but expand their help and support to more people.

The language we use profoundly affects how we frame ideas, initiatives, and resources. So not only change the words but start to embrace this within your company. You might be on your way towards a more humane approach to attracting new customers, advertising, and growth.

Just imagine your customers feeling they are the constituents co-creating great products and services supporting social change, and that they belong to a community of other beneficiaries just like them.

Learn the language: find tech-social translators

Partner with NGOs that align with your areas of interest and learn from them as you seek to make a positive impact in the world.

Identify a liaison with NGO experience, ideally someone who has been deeply involved in one to drive your social CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. This person will help determine how your organization can best add value to the NGO's mission.

Many knowledgeable, experienced, and grassroots NGOs are already doing incredible work. Instead of running an entire initiative yourself in a sector outside your core expertise, support these NGOs by sharing your knowledge, funding and sponsoring their initiatives as a collaborator.

The right translator liaison will be able to identify common goals and deliver results valuable to your company without disrupting the NGO’s work. This approach ensures that your involvement supports the NGO’s goals without burdening them with additional reporting requirements.

Respect the unique strengths and needs of NGOs and thoughtfully integrate your resources and expertise to build meaningful, impactful partnerships that benefit both the social and tech sectors.

The Perfect Match

When it comes to collaboration, do not assume a shared language and mindset. This goes for both sectors.

Learn about methodologies and frameworks and feel free to adapt. If a nomenclature does not sound right, change it. Make it your own. If a framework needs another step to make sure it covers a risk, include it.

Delve into the core meaning and intent of frameworks and approaches, nomenclature and values, and surface options for you both to adapt and adopt. Standardization is fine and not reinventing the wheel is good too but, in my experience, the wheel for technology use in NGOs is yet to be invented and, luckily, once it is established, it has the potential to transform the for-profit tech world into a more caring, committed, and accountable one.