“Individually and collectively, the papers included in this book make a strong case for a continued infusion of funds to improve the adoption of technology in the nonprofit sector. This book is an important milestone.”

— Tessie Guillermo, Community Technology Foundation of California

“Given the lack of knowledge about IT in the nonprofit sector, this book provides a useful starting point for students, nonprofit staff, and funders for understanding how NPOs are using technology, the problems associated with its use, and how it can be implemented more effectively.”

— Deborah Balser, Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly

NONPROFITS AND TECHNOLOGY
Emerging Research for Usable Knowledge

Michael Cortés, formerly of University of Colorado, Denver
Kevin M. Rafter, University of San Francisco

From the introduction
“How can nonprofit organizations make better use of today’s rapidly changing information and communication technology? What obstacles do nonprofits face? This book presents research on special challenges facing nonprofits when investing in new technology. The nonprofit manager forewarned is forearmed.”

This book identifies the ways that new information and communication technology both help and hinder nonprofit effectiveness. The book establishes a body of dependable research on the subject, compiling the resources needed to make better technology-adoption and management decisions in the nonprofit sector.

Features

• Chapters by both scholars and practitioners
• Explains the ways in which new technology affects nonprofit effectiveness
• Chapters organized to emphasize the varying approaches to common issues
• Written in a clear, accessible style
• Empirical evidence ranges from in depth case studies to large data sets of thousands of surveys

Contents

Foreword by Tessie Guillermo Introduction, by Michael Cortés and Kevin Rafter   PART 1: TECHNOLOGICAL CAPACITY OF NONPROFITS
Chapter 1:	Infrastructure and Activities: Relating IT to the Work of Nonprofit Organizations   Richard M. Clerkin and Kirsten A. Grønbjerg
Chapter 2:	The Use of Computer and Office Technology among New York City’s Nonprofit Organizations   Julian Wolpert and John E. Seley
Chapter 3:	Adoption of New-Wave Electronic Advocacy Techniques by Nonprofit Child Advocacy Organizations John McNutt
PART 2: BARRIERS TO ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY
Chapter 4:	Barriers to Information Technology Usage in the Nonprofit Sector Peter Manzo and Bill Pitkin
Chapter 5:	Bridging the “Effectiveness Divide” in ICT Use: The Case of Volunteer Recruitment in Canada Yvonne Harrison and Vic Murray
PART 3: THE POTENTIAL FOR TECHNOLOGY
Chapter 6:	A Question of Empowerment: Information Technology and Civic Engagement in New Haven, Connecticut Peter Dobkin Hall
Chapter 7:	Do Information Technologies Influence the Operations of Community Development Corporations? Samuel Nunn
PART 4: STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY USE
Chapter 8:	Designing Information Systems around Decision Making Dale Fitch
Chapter 9:	Geeks for Good: Technology Evangelism and the Role of Circuit Riders in IT Adoption among Nonprofits   Paul-Brian McInerney
Chapter 10:	Organizational Strategies to Foster the Adaptation and Integration of Technology in Grassroots Social Justice Organizations   Carol Silverman and Kevin Rafter

Appendix A
About the Contributors
Index

About the Editors

Michael Cortés (PhD, University of California, Berkley; MSW, University of Michigan) is the former director of the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management at the University of San Francisco. He served previously on the faculty of the Graduate School of Public Affairs at University of Colorado, Denver. Other positions held include Vice-President for Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C., Director of Planning, Finance and Administration at the Levi Strauss Foundation in San Francisco, and Project Director at Interstate Research Associates in Washington, D.C., and Texas.

Kevin Rafter (MA, Graduate Center of the City University of New York) is a research associate at the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management at the University of San Francisco. He completed extensive course work in research methodology, applied statistics, urban social policy, housing policy, and community development. He is currently working on a dissertation about the location of Northern California nonprofit social service organizations relative to social needs and financial resources.

2007, Paper, 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-933478-06-7, Price $32.95