Nonprofit Technology Decision Framework
Choose technology based on the work it must support, not the number of features it promises. Use these questions before you buy, renew, or replace a tool.
Move from the question to a usable decision.
Work through the sections in order. Keep each answer concise, specific, and grounded in evidence your team can verify.
Clarify the workflow
Identify the problem, current workaround, affected users, and what a successful process looks like.
Check actual capacity
Determine who will own setup, training, support, accessibility review, and ongoing maintenance.
Compare total cost
Include subscriptions, migration, integrations, onboarding, staff time, renewals, and exit costs.
Review privacy and risk
Check permissions, data ownership, retention, security safeguards, vendor access, and portability.
Pilot and decide
Test with representative users, record results, and set a date to adopt, revise, or decline.
See what “specific enough” looks like.
This is a fictional example for structure. Replace every detail with your organization’s facts, evidence, and decision context.
Completed example
Compare two booking tools and the current process using accessibility, annual cost, staff training, integration fit, data export, security controls, and the results of a two-week pilot. Record evidence and unresolved risks before deciding.
Use this resource
Practical materials to adapt with your team. Scores are self-assessment prompts, not third-party certifications or eligibility determinations.
Turn the outline into finished work.
These existing Fixers can help you pressure-test the thinking, build the deliverable, and create the follow-through.
Decision Brief Generator
Compare technology options using the criteria that matter to your organization.
Open FixerWhat Am I Missing?
Surface implementation, privacy, accessibility, and adoption risks before you buy.
Open FixerFind the Right Resource
Clarify whether the real need is software, outside expertise, funding, or a redesigned workflow.
Open FixerCommon questions
Use the framework with confidence.
Should price be the first comparison point?
No. Start with the workflow, required outcomes, user needs, and implementation capacity. Compare total cost only after confirming fit.
How long should a technology pilot run?
Use the shortest period that lets representative users complete real tasks and gives the team enough evidence to evaluate adoption, quality, access, and support needs.
What if the current tool is frustrating but still usable?
Compare the cost of improving the existing process with the full cost and disruption of replacement. A workflow fix may create more value than a new subscription.
Adapt this framework to your organization’s size, governance requirements, and local context. Review consequential decisions with your team.
Related practical resources
Explore another framework, adapt the example, and use AskTQ to turn your next decision into usable work.
AskTQ
Ask more, get more done.
Bring the real context, upload supporting files, and use AskTQ to turn this framework into a decision, plan, or finished deliverable.