Canadian nonprofits are investing in digital transformation to drive efficiency and growth, Sage study finds
24 März 2022 - 2:00PM
Sage (FTSE: SGE), the leader in accounting, financial, HR
and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, today
released a new study on the Canadian nonprofit sector, Grow
Together: How digital transformation empowers Canadian nonprofit
organizations to embrace change. The study found that nonprofits
have seized the opportunity during the pandemic to rethink and
change the way they operate to gain efficiencies and better serve
their communities, despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19.
Transforming operations to overcome
challenges
In partnership with Leger, a Canadian research firm, Sage found
that 9 in 10 nonprofits consider their digital transformation
efforts a top priority to update business processes and gain
efficiencies:
- 27% have already gone through the process and are
digital-first
- 47% are in the process of digitizing key processes
- 16% have plans to digitize key processes
The pressure on nonprofits to transform their operations is
driven by both external and internal challenges. The pandemic has
inflicted the following top five common external challenges on
nonprofits:
- Program disruptions (43%)
- Staffing shortages (39%)
- Decreases in funding (36%)
- Uncertainty related to service delivery mechanisms due to the
pandemic (36%)
- Increased demand for services (32%)
Furthermore, two-thirds of nonprofits believe these external
barriers will persist in 2022. As such, the need to accelerate or
continue digital transformation initiatives is pressing to help
overcome these acute challenges.
In addition, four in five Canadian nonprofits said they are
experiencing the following internal challenges, which are causing
operational friction within their organization:
- Lack of staff with the right skill set to manage the digital
transformation journey (25%)
- Inefficiencies and delays due to multiple, disparate systems
(23%)
- Manual, time-consuming reporting (23%)
Making strategic choices
Supporting digital transformation has been difficult for
nonprofits when resources, financial or otherwise, have been
stretched to their limit during the pandemic. In fact, 28% of
Canadian nonprofits experienced a decrease in 2021 revenue, with
four in ten experiencing more than 25% decrease in revenue.
One-third of nonprofits saw a decrease in funding from both
foundations and corporations over the last twelve months.
Facing both resource constraints and the need to overcome
operational challenges, management of nonprofits are changing their
approach to utilizing new technologies.
“The very interesting mindset change that really occurred for us
with COVID-19 is technology was not seen as a cost centre, but
technology was seen as an enabler – we invested money to make
money,” said Jennifer Neal, Director, Corporate Services,
AdaptAbilities, an Edmonton-based nonprofit that provides services
for individuals with special needs and their families.
Nonprofit organizations that have begun their digital
transformation are beginning to reap the benefits with clear
efficiencies, including:
- Clearer data and reporting mechanisms
- Stronger tools to stay organized across the business
- Easier transition to working remotely
- Time saved on administrative duties
The nonprofit sector believes that technology is vital for both
the immediate well-being of their teams as well as their long-term
success.
“As a result of implementing these technologies, stress will go
down – we’re investing in less stress,” said Rémi Straus, Finance
and Corporate Services Director, Duke of Edinburgh’s International
Award.
Planning ahead
Looking ahead into 2022, nonprofits are beginning to express
some optimism:
- 4 in 10 are forecasting a revenue increase for 2022, with 44%
expecting an increase of 25% or higher
- 35% expect year-over-year revenue to remain flat
- 15% expect a decrease in revenue
- 8% are uncertain of their revenue projections
Growth is top-of-mind for these nonprofit organizations. Four in
ten are planning to prioritize the expansion of their donor base,
build their digital presence on social media and increase brand
awareness. To achieve these priorities, their top investments will
include the increased use of digital/automated platforms, increased
marketing budget, and hiring skilled staff.
“We continue to admire the resilience of our nonprofit
customers,” said Daniel Oh, Country Manager (interim), Sage Canada.
“As a technology partner to many Canadian nonprofits, we are
encouraged by both the strategic and cultural shifts of these
organizations. We recognize the dedication and hard work of
nonprofits to support many important causes and are proud to be
helping them uncover efficiencies and deliver insights so they can
provide more and better service to their communities.”
To learn more, please download the full Grow Together: How
digital transformation empowers Canadian nonprofit organizations to
embrace change report.
Media contactMonique
DanielSagemonique.daniel@sage.com(905) 781-0758
MethodologySage partnered with Leger, national
research and analytics firm, to survey 75 non-profit financial
directors across Canada between January 12th and January 25th,
2022. We also conducted focus groups with six non-profit financial
directors between January 27th and February 7th, 2022.
About SageSage exists to knock down barriers so
everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small and
mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners and accountants.
Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work
and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships
with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our
digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering
insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time,
technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic
inequality and the climate crisis.
About LegerLeger is the largest Canadian-owned
market research and analytics company, with more than 600 employees
in eight Canadian and US offices. Recently, Leger presented the
most accurate polling results for the 2021 Canadian federal
election (including the most accurate results in Ontario, Quebec
and British Columbia) and the 2019 Canadian federal election. This
accuracy is due to the quality of the company’s LEO panel and its
employees’ expertise. For more information: leger360.com
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