Mobile 101: Leveraging Mobile for Nonprofits and LibrariesHow your organization can benefit from using and creating mobileBy: Kevin LoJune 6, 2011

If you’re not already familiar with basic terms and definitions of mobiledevices and networks, you may want to read the first part in this series,Mobile 101: The Basics of Mobile Technologies. In this second piece we willdive deeper into the implications of the mobile shift for nonprofits andlibraries. There are two vectors by which we can analyze how mobiletechnology - both the IT components and the content that exists in themobile sphere – that are relevant to the community benefit sector: theinward-facing aspects of organizations as users of mobile technology, andthe outward-facing aspect of organizations as producers of content for mobile technology.

Nonprofits and Libraries as Device and Data Users

Do you remember the first time you started using wireless networking? Today we don’t think much about how youcan access data in the middle of a meeting space, or a cafe, or the library, and being as productive as you wouldbe tethered to your desk at the office. Mobile technology too has advanced to an extent that work can be furtheruntethered as long as you are in an area with sufficient wireless access. In some ways the “new” mobiletechnology is not all that new, except you now can do your work on different devices than before, using differentinterfaces and technologies. Mobile technologies thus adds further flexibility to your workforce by allowing them towork anywhere.

Flattening the Learning Curve

Similarly, when we first learned to use Microsoft Windows or Mac OS there is a learning curve to understandingthe functionality and interfaces to do the things we need to do. Now we have additional interfaces to learn, butthat which is understood to be more intuitive. As we use more touch gestures instead of keystrokes, taps insteadof clicks, mobile devices are designed to be more user friendly and removes as much as possible the layer betweenhuman and machine, something that is still all too familiar whenever there’s a problem on our desktop or laptop.This deliberate “flattening” of the technology learning curve is beneficial to the sector, as training needs decreaseif users are already familiar with the technology in their daily lives.

Access from the Cloud

Mobile technologies working in the cloud, as defined by applications and services delivered by a third party overthe Internet, and delivered to devices and platforms regardless of build, is another way nonprofits and libraries arerealizing the benefits. You can now post a fundraiser as a Facebook event on your computer at work, check theattendance for the same event on your phone, and modify the location because of an unexpected change fromyour tablet at home. Even nonprofit-specific tasks such as donor management and fundraising can be done via thecloud, let alone more common tasks like office productivity or data management. Libraries, as key supporters ofopen information and accessibility have also moved to using mobile by developing apps that inform patrons ofevents, allows users to place holds on an item in their collection, or shows new additions available for check-out.Since your data remains off-site you are now free to access it from any network or device.

Salesforce.com, the company that developed the epynomous constituent relationship management (CRM) packagewhose donation many nonprofits use, is perhaps one of the earliest and strongest proponents to cloud andplatform-independent usage. They also ensure that both their core CRM package as well as their new collaborationsuite Chatter can be accessed via different form devices and platforms seamlessly.

As companies develop and utilize cloud and mobile technologes more for the commercial sector, nonprofits andlibraries will benefit as well. For example, some of TechSoup’s donating partners can be used via the cloud andmobile devices already, and we can expect more donor partners to expand in that direction.

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Leveraging Existing Assets

In addition, since nonprofits are no strangers to consumerization - consumer devices used increasingly in theworkplace - as the corporate sector adjusts for this trend, social benefit organizations who have already adjustedshould take full advantage of all the new options available. Volunteers and new employees may already beembracing smartphones and tablets in their personal lives, so organizations should be structured to leverage thoseassets.

If, five years ago, you may have worried about the phone or computer that your intern won’t have, you nowshould work towards creating an environment where some of your work can leverage mobile and cloudtechnologies so that they can work with their own devices. At the same time, IT managers and accidental techiesmust be ahead of the curve in terms of policies and guidelines to accomodate these devices. Even if you onlyaccess data in the cloud, remnants of your visits or downloaded information may lead to data loss should they bemisplaced. For more information, refer to our earlier article or our blog post on using your own computer at work.

Nonprofits and Libraries as Content Creators and Aggregators

In addition to how organizations can use mobile technologies internally, we must reconceptualize ourorganizations in cyberspace where your supporters and allies can connect and interact with you in an increasingmobile world.

Does Your Site Work on Mobile?

One obvious consideration is how your site looks on a mobile device. Depending on your mission and thedemographics of your visitors you should find out how your site is rendered on an iPhone or Android device. If youtweeted or posted a Facebook update about your event and linked it back to your site, you’d want to make surethat the information you’ve posted is at least legible on the mobile device that a reader may have gotten thatinformation in the first place.

Excessive graphics or an overly specialized layout might cause pages to load improperly on a mobile device. Betteryet, if you are using a formal CMS like Drupal or Sharepoint, there will be tools that allow for automatic mobilerendering, or creation of a special mobile domain. Your mobile users would then be redirected from“www.localhealthservices.org” to “m.localhealthservices.org” for instance. If your online presence is alreadyleveraging tools in the cloud, this optimization would be less disruptive since most of these are already mobileoptimized.

Citing the earlier example, by using Facebook as the tool for your fundraising event, you now ensure thatoutreach and marketing reach your supporters and constituents getting this info using a mobile device. Even if youdidn’t specifically use the event feature in Facebook, your event management software should allow forbroadcasting via all social media sites, where many users may be getting via smartphones or tablets. Your emaildistribution tool should also allow for proper rendering or linking from a mobile device. If your site hosts richmedia like videos or slideshows, that is a another consideration because Flash video, the format that is used formany video sites, may require additional workarounds by the user to be viewable on certain devices. If you areupdating your site now or plan to do so in the near future it would be important to keep these considerations inmind.

Creating and Aggregating Content

Beyond the existing elements like email and web presence however, organizations may choose to deploy mobilespecific features should they greatly enhance their mission. Like any other IT investment, you should consider howmuch return you can expect on the investment you put in. Here are some action that you may want to take toenhance your mobile presence:

Creating apps. Probably the most straightforward way to ride the mobile wave (but perhaps requiring thegreatest investment for questionable returns) is to create an app for your organization. The type of app youcreate will depend of your mission, but like many commercial sites you may choose to “applify” your websiteinto a mobile-ready app. You can also take your normal outreach material and make that into an app. Forexample, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has an app for its popular Seafood Watch guide on sustainable fish, andthe First Amendment Coalition has an app iOpenGov reference and guide for Open Access Law.

Location awareness. Although your users and supporters may be roaming, the fact that mobile devices haveGPS has spawned a genre of online activity that advertises one’s location to their social network. WithFoursquare and Gowalla as the early pioneers, and companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter all joining thefray, location-based recognition is expected to be an increasingly important part of one’s mobile footprint.

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Although for now they are still limited to commercial applications, for example special deals or coupons for thosewho “check-in” the most, nonprofits like museums and galleries are already using leveraging this feature toraise awareness. Libraries can issue “badges” for users who visit often, or to those who participate in certainevents at a set frequency.

Better digital storytelling. Using the cameras that come with smartphones and tablets, nonprofits shouldencourage their community of supporters to use this feature to better tell your story. TechSoup readers areprobably familiar with digital storytelling already, but the community interaction afforded by mobile activity canbe a powerful tool to shed a different light on your work. For example, Instagram is a popular app on iPhonesthat allows for snapshots to be taken by users, propogated to their social networks, and geotagged withFoursquare. If, say, a volunteer or staff used such functionality to tell their story volunteering at a shelter, orfor a field trip sponsored by a historical society, this could be a powerful message to both funders andsupporters.

Conclusion

Mobile technologies are enabling greater productivity within an organization, and are offering new ways ofinteraction with our stakeholders. Although the competitive landscape and industry standards are still shifting,organizations should begin to educate themselves about the opportunities this mobile evolution will bring. Like anyother IT investment, a change in both internal and external processes should be well thought out and discussedwith all relevant stakeholders.

If your IT infrastructure is lacking the basics to keep your staff running, you probably should not invest in newtechnologies until you have those basics down. Likewise, if your website hasn’t been updated since your last internwas here, and you don’t have a proper content strategy, pursuing a mobile-ready website should not be your firstpriority.

Even as the competition is shaking out amongst the data providers, the device makers, and the softwaredevelopers, community benefit organizations should be ready to deploy mobile as an organizational strategy andutilize it in their implemention and execution of their mission.

Additional Resources

Engaging Constituents Using Mobile Technology

Mobile Technology for Advocacy and Activism (webinar)

Using Mobile Technologies for Outreach and Education (webinar)

MobileActive.org

Building Websites for a Mobile Phone

Who Is Your Mayor?

What New Web or Mobile Technologies or Tactics Will Help Organizations and Enterprises Increase SocialImpact?

Applications for Good

Top 30 Library iPhone Apps

San Jose Public Library’s Mobile App Goes Live!

How Nonprofit Supporters Are Using Their Smartphones

Are You Considering a Mobile App for Your Nonprofit?

7 Ways for Nonprofits to Use Mobile Phones to Rake in Cash

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About the Author:Kevin Lo is a technology analyst for Techsoup. He has been involved with technology in the nonprofit sector forover 10 years, and is now working on TechSoup's Tech Beginner's Guide and Security Corner initiatives. He hasan MPA and an MA in International Relations from the Maxwell School in Syracuse University.

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Copyright © 2011 CompuMentor. This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.

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