Still, in today's changing environment, the only way that nonprofits can continue delivering on their mission is by tracking, evaluating and adjusting their efforts. A well-built technology plan that allows knowledge and information to be captured and analyzed is the way to get there.

There's no doubt that technology requires money, time and staff. In a tough economy, good assessment and planning skills are needed to help nonprofit leaders identify and make choices so that their organizations continue to support their missions and goals through the use of technology.

By taking advantage of new technologies, there are options that can mitigate an organization's investment risks and result in outstanding improvements in efficiency, often at minimal cost.

Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center (The Hui) has done without for years. A key organization on Maui, The Hui provides training in the visual arts in the absence of a professional program at the community college.

After recently expanding its programs and services, this nonprofit recognized the need for a more seamless workflow to improve its effectiveness.

"We were still doing class registration by hand," said Martin Betz, president and CEO of The Hui. "Since we maintained the same number of staff, the increase in workload affected each employee. We needed to work smarter, not harder."

The organization was dealing with obsolete operating systems, including software that could not be shared between departments and inadequate virus protection. In addition, a number of used computers that had been donated to the The Hui kept breaking down and were too costly to fix.

The Hui did its homework and identified its needs in every department and how they related to the overall organizational mission.

Its staff completed an in-house survey, and the organization called upon computer experts in the community to provide input.

A plan was developed to implement a new system, which included staff training, maintenance and fund raising.

Betz reports that the upgrade of The Hui's system has been fairly smooth over the past year and that they are now in the fine-tuning stage.

"This has been great for us," he said. "Sharing information is easy now."

In addition to capturing knowledge more efficiently, technology can further improve the quality of services that organizations provide. It allows them to analyze the data collected and make adjustments to their programs accordingly.

When developing strategic plans, nonprofit leaders need to think about where they want their organizations to be in the next three to five years.

Those who incorporate technology into their plans realize the benefits that it offers in planning, assessing and responding to a constantly changing environment. Technology is an investment towards a sustainable future.