I’ve worked in nonprofit organizations for 20 years, now as the Business Intelligence Manager at the Kansas Health Foundation, and I have learned that one of the most important parts of nonprofit work is the part that almost nobody sees: the structure behind your impact.

Think about your nonprofit like it’s a body.

• The people working in your organization are its beating heart. 
• Each internal department—finance, HR, communications—make up the skeleton, holding everything upright.
• The work you do in the world, such as your services, programs and partnerships, are the body’s limbs.
• And connecting all of those together are the processes and tools that make up the central nervous system of your organization. This is where I work.

Without a central nervous system, your limbs cannot reach out or carry you forward. Without the right systems in place, your mission will not make a sustainable impact.

Recommendations for Your Central Nervous System

The central nervous system requires a few non-negotiable processes and tools. 

A Digital Rolodex

Staff need to be able to build on each other’s work. If one person meets with a partner on Tuesday and another person is attending an event with the same partner on Thursday, they need to know that. 

A digital rolodex, or what we in the field call a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, keeps track of the work being done by each of the limbs of your organization: donor relationships, funding acquired, people served and more.

For the organization’s limbs to move forward, staff cannot work in silos.

Unified Communication

When staff go out to do the work of your mission, are they using the same communication tools and messaging? Are they scheduling meetings through your organization’s centralized calendaring system, or a third-party technology that connects just to their calendar? Are they sending emails, texts or instant messages? Through what platform? Are they hosting webinars or sending surveys through tools that collect data? Where does that data go?

Staff need organizational-level communication tools that feel unified internally and externally to create a unified experience for everyone.

Centralized Data

Finally, your organization needs data. Not just any data, but centralized, baseline data that the entire organization can add to and draw from. Whether you’re writing a grant, making a funding decision, or completing your 990, staff need to pull from a single source of truth. 

When you’re building this central nervous system for your organization, my best advice is to keep it simple. Any tool that requires a manual the size of a textbook isn’t going to get used. Ease of access matters, especially if your staff are traveling across the state and building relationships on the go. 

The Central Nervous System in Action

One of the most tangible signs that your central nervous system is working is that participation goes up.

For example, at the Kansas Health Foundation, we implemented a new tool to support our annual HealthRise event. Staff used a unified system that houses our own digital rolodex to identify, invite and register attendees for the event. The same tool checked people in, confirming their attendance.

On the day of the event, we had standing-room only. Participation went up. 

That’s a direct result of having a system that effectively supported staff in their work.

Building Your Own Central Nervous System

For as much love as you give your mission, give just as much love to your central nervous system. Invest in it with the same intentionality you bring to your programs and partnerships to build long-term sustainability. 

The world might not see your systems connecting all the people and pieces together, but they are what make the world see your impact.