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The Mapping Process

After you have a sense of what nonprofits in your community need, you need to map preexisting resources to them. Who in the area provides technology support and capacity building? The process of resource mapping should reflect and respond to the needs assessment. Mapping resources without knowing the needs implicitly assumes you know what the needs are. In the experience of all community organizations interviewed for this toolkit, existing resources were not universally known to the nonprofits that needed them.

Because a truly comprehensive resource mapping could expand indefinitely, define at the outset how extensive it will be. Jennifer Keller Jackson estimated that it took about 350 hours, including preliminary research conducted by an earlier consultant.

However, allow time for the discovery of new resources. Both Fanning and Keller Jackson found many surprises, even though they already knew their communities pretty well. “You may think you know the landscape when you begin, but it was the tip of the iceberg,” Jennifer Keller Jackson says. “I knew mostly white, well-funded organizations … then I found Byte Back, DC Link and Learn, Reliacom Community Services, and other resources as a result of the local connections I subsequently made.”

See Appendix 2 for suggested questions to gather information on local technology assistance providers.

Enlist Help

Like gathering statistics, some calling of organizations and cataloging of resources may be done more cost-effectively by enlisting a graduate student, Americorps worker, or intern, under the main consultant’s supervision. Technology Works hired a student who was much cheaper than a lead consultant.

Tips for Finding Resources

Before the investigation begins, check to see if any resource maps already exist. Ask local technical-assistance providers if they have lists of resources for their own internal use or for referring clients. Ask for past technology or management-assistance studies of nonprofits. The Web site www.TechSoup.org lists technology assistance providers nationally; they will be a good place to start for some of the major players. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management members database (www.alliance.org) is an online directories of organizations that provide all types of assistance—technological and otherwise—to nonprofits.

Main sources of resource information will surface through the connections of the assessment coordinators, funders, and consultants, as well as through the connections made during the process. Nonprofits are excellent sources of information about resources, especially nonprofits that have been successful with their technology use. Also turn to the project funder(s) and advisory-group members for recommendations. National organizations such as the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (www.nten.org) may be useful as well. Other possible contacts include technology staff at large nonprofits, the Red Cross, the United Way, and the technology department of the local school district.

One technique that worked for resource mapping in DC was a networking event. On short notice, Jennifer Keller Jackson sent out an e-mail call for technologists who worked with nonprofits. A large number came (food and beverages were served), and the event dramatically increased Technology Works’ knowledge of existing consultants and organizations. It was also a useful networking opportunity for the technologists, leading to work referrals.

Resource mapping for a rural county in upstate New York is obviously a completely different process from resource mapping for New York City. The magnitude of the project, the types of organizations found, and the places to search are each radically different. The strategies described here stem mainly from experiences in urban areas; here are just a few possible strategies for more rural communities:

• Go where the technology is. Are any high-technology companies in the area? They may be a place people go to for community technology support. Contact a community-relations office. Similarly, visit the nearest computer store and ask who it refers people to and whether it ever works with nonprofits.
• What are the small businesses and schools using? Even if few or no resources exist specifically for nonprofits, some may be directed at schools and small businesses. Talk with the school district about how it trains its teachers in technology use and how it supports its own information systems. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce or other organizations that represent or serve small businesses to ask how these businesses meet their technology planning, training, Web-design, and systems-administration needs.
• Seek out community members where they are. It may be useful to seek out more general community forums as places to find out about technology support. Attending a PTA or Neighborhood Association meeting could generate many leads.
• Contact public agencies. In the Michigan study, the United Way found that in rural areas, nonprofit-related services were often housed under public agencies. Local government may be an excellent source to find out what is available to nonprofits in a given community.
• Look for constituency-based initiatives. This category includes nationwide efforts that focus on specific roles within nonprofits or specific types of nonprofits. Examples include the American Society of Association Executives (www.asae.org) and Arts Wire (www.artswire.org). The best way to find out where and how these initiatives are playing a role is by asking the staff at nonprofits who they have heard of and gone to for help.

Last updated: 1 August 2001 mff
www.benton.org/Practice/TA/commkitpage5.html