Nonprofits are Changing the World by Embracing Technology
Journalists face a significant amount of hardship in bringing trustworthy news to the public. With personal threats, disinformation, and a volatile media landscape, these brave individuals are doing pivotal work while putting their lives on the line. Supporting their efforts is the International Center for Journalists, a nonprofit organization that provides world-class training, mentoring, fellowships, and financial support to its growing global network.
Stateside, Achieving the Dream is doing its part to support students of all backgrounds by serving as a catalyst for more equitable and economically vibrant communities. A nonprofit organization, Achieving the Dream, focuses its efforts on creating real change through institutional reform, public policy influence, and community engagement.
Although both of these organizations have different mission statements, they have one thing in common—building a better world by aiding underserved communities. But in order to build that better world, they need to provide their networks with the funding that allows them to do their critical work.
Evolving Operational Priorities
In an ever-changing economic environment, nonprofit organizations face a growing number of financial challenges. Securing sustainable funding, operating within tight budget constraints, complying with complex regulatory requirements, and maintaining transparency in financial reporting are necessities that have made their way to the top of the list.
For the International Center for Journalists, their number one priority was to provide their network with funds as fast as possible. Firmly believing in the adage that “news never sleeps,” their business model included quick monetary responses—enabling their journalists to receive the resources that would enable them to provide accurate, lifesaving information. However, with newsrooms located across five continents, their highly manual operations made it difficult to achieve this goal.
Achieving the Dream faced a similar operational challenge—time-consuming manual payments to their supplier network were causing financial reporting delays. With an organizational emphasis on operating as effective financial stewards of donor resources, Achieving the Dream wanted to improve supplier relationships and receive more accurate data in the process—all in pursuit of their main goal to transform the way colleges run.
Both of these organizations had clear visions, and both had specific payments needs that were critical to their success. For these nonprofits, finding the right technology partner was the clear path forward. Automation was the only solution that would give them the ability to improve their internal infrastructure, strengthen financial sustainability, and provide the capabilities needed to reach their goals.
Automation Fuels Your Mission
For today’s nonprofit organizations, the adoption of finance technology provides significant benefits that go beyond payments. Not only does automation enable a quicker disbursement of funds, but it also leads to improved spend management, strengthened supplier relationships, built-in security features, better data accuracy, and increased fraud prevention—all while maintaining donor trust and confidence.
With finance automation, the International Center for Journalists was able to meet its goal of quickly paying out its network of journalists—even as that number steadily increased month after month. With technology, they benefited from additional operational efficiencies, including improved invoice management, automated tax form collection, and real-time data visibility.
Achieving the Dream was no different. With finance technology, they could completely automate payments to their suppliers, saving a significant amount of time. Plus, they streamlined invoice processing, improved supplier onboarding, accelerated tax form collection, and implemented better fraud prevention measures.
By achieving their operational goals with technology and finding new efficiencies in the process, these two nonprofits were able to re-focus their time and efforts on maximizing their impact and advancing their missions.
Creating Positive Change Worldwide
Throughout history, nonprofit organizations have served as a pinnacle of hope and perseverance for underserved communities.
Today, the International Center for Journalists continues to provide the trustworthy news essential to free and strong societies, while Achieving the Dream is creating more opportunities for students to have equal access to fulfilling, long-lasting careers.
These organizations are making a significant impact in the world—sharing the common goal of serving the public good. As nonprofits continue to face a constantly changing external environment, finance automation will continue to be a key partner—providing the operational support they need to do good for generations to come.
