How can I overcome low tech confidence in my organisation?

Schools, particularly those with a strong history and alumni community, are often rooted in tradition and love to stay in contact with their alumni through long-established posted correspondence or in-person events. If you’re working in a traditional development office, it can be difficult to persuade your small team to spend time learning about a new system to bring digital communications to your alumni, and learning about the new features available to you can often be more overwhelming than exciting. It’s important to find a system that is simple to use, packed with the features that you will use, and tailored to schools like yours, so you don’t waste time scrolling through endless options that won’t make your life any easier. With in-house 1 to 1 training from our team, your development office will soon be up and running, and we’re always on the other end of the line to help you out with any fiddly bits. 

"As a newcomer to the practicalities of a database set-up, such as Toucan Tech's, for me the most valuable resource has been the unqualified support I have received from each and all the Toucan staff. Their patience, professionalism and friendliness have been outstanding." 

Roger Crisp, Director of External Relations, Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury

Charities and fundraising teams are focused on ensuring that the donations gathered go directly towards the cause that donors are supporting, so adding new technology can seem like more of a hindrance, with time needed to get to grips with new systems and volunteers that might not be tech experts. One of the most important ways to ensure that you can use your system confidently is knowing that your data is accurate and secure; this is especially important with the recent increase in digital communications, coupled with more supporters becoming vulnerable, leading to fundraisers using technology to flag potential concerns. Our set-up process ensures that your data is clean and accurate, so you can use your system with confidence and know that your supporters will receive the right messages for their situation. 

“My charity relies on an efficient database and website to manage our fundraising events, email newsletters and admin processes - we switched to ToucanTech and have found the system so easy to use with phenomenal support from their expert data and training team”

Spencer Gelding, Chief Executive, Beit Halochem

Commit to a new behaviour for 90 days and it will become a lifestyle

Have you ever looked at a new system and thought, it would be a full time job to learn how to use this! Adapting to using new technology and systems can be tricky: often, the language used isn’t universal across different programmes, and it can feel like you need more time to learn your way around than you’ll actually end up saving in the long term. Add that to the pressure of having to get to grips with the data that might have been in spreadsheets for years, and it can suddenly feel like a much bigger challenge. If you’re feeling downtrodden about your current processes, and doubtful you have the time to get to know a new system, we hear you. At ToucanTech, we offer a simple, easy-to-use interface so everyone in your fundraising or development team can easily progress towards the goals you set. 

Reduce the number of moving parts across the systems you manage

Managing multiple systems can exacerbate the issues we all face from time to time with technology. If you’re communicating with external contacts and running events programmes, it’s likely that you or your team is operating more than one system, and it’s possible that these aren’t integrated with one another. This doesn’t only present potential problems from a resource, training and efficiency perspective, but it introduces far more scope for human error, which is something to avoid at all costs when handling personal or sensitive data. 

Keep it simple with an all-in-one solution like the ToucanTech system, combining a powerful database with an easy-to-use email engine and a connected log-in portal, allowing you to keep a closer eye on your community. What’s more, you can direct your questions to our friendly customer service team at any time, and feel confident that you will receive a speedy reply tailored to your organisation to help walk you through any issues.

Our customers are creating strong community connections all over the world. Discuss ways to make your community more engaged with an experienced ToucanTech engagement evangelist; organise a time to talk to the team here.