5 Capacity Drivers for Organizational Growth: Part Two, Digital Client Communication

In this blog series, we are exploring five capacity drivers that support the growth of social good organizations. Second in this series is digital client communication. 

Communicating directly with program participants is vital to developing trust and ensuring that individual client needs are being met. Yet, consider the vast amount of communication that happens with each program participant. It can start to feel like paperwork, notes, forms and spreadsheets are flying around each other and creating a perfect storm for errors or misplaced information.  

A recent Nonprofit Finance Fund survey found that 86 percent of nonprofits say demand for their services continues to rise, and 57 percent of nonprofits say they can’t meet the rising demand for services. This gap between service demand and capacity to serve has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. And social good organizations can save dozens of hours by reducing manual paperwork and one-off communication—hours that can be spent serving more people and help bridge this gap.  

Digital communication adds efficiency and allows organizations to serve more people—but that’s not all. Here are a few additional benefits to taking communication digital: 

Real-Time Information 

Imagine a centralized communication portal that enables organizations to easily send emails or texts that help program participants stay on track. Program managers can send notices, surveys and assessments from a single place designed to help clients organize documentation, forms and feedback. And because all communication is stored in the digital client database, duplicates are prevented and updates are always in real time.  

Empowered Clients 

Consider a day in the life of a client. Caseworkers are often communicating with community members who come to them in times of great need. In some instances, participants can be particularly vulnerable and may be actively engaged in traumatic circumstances. For survivors of domestic violence, parents with childcare needs or others who might find it challenging to play “phone tag” or come into a physical office space, digital communication is a must. It’s a fast, accurate and effective way to deliver and receive information and close the feedback loop. 

Nurturing always-on communication with clients empowers them to participate on their terms, which allows for multiple connection points and builds trust.  

Accelerated Community Impact

Picture a day when we are able to serve everyone in need. Communicating with participants digitally improves the client experience and gives social good workers time back in their day to focus on serving more people. The more people served, the faster we can make a positive impact in our communities. 

Digital communication with participants can help unlock the ability to scale, provide more relief in shorter timeframes and accelerate lasting change. 

Want to learn how digital communication works and more ways to support the growth of your social good organization? Head over to our 5 Capacity Drivers eBook. 

Check out Part Three, Easily Configurable Database.