What does it mean to be an innovative charity?

Creating an innovative culture

58% of executives cite insufficient organisational alignment or cultural resistance as the biggest barrier to business adoption of data-driven analytics. Innovation must be embraced at all levels of a company’s culture. Status quos must be challenged, embedded competencies and assets must be leveraged, and people must feel comfortable and supported enough to think outside of the box.People at all levels need to take ownership over an innovative way of working if an organisation is going to optimise the rewards of acting and thinking differently. Tools, templates and processes are required to roll out and plan, but you need a leadership and culture that is willing to get on board with innovation. For that to happen, it’s important to foster an innovative workplace culture that invites collaboration. Open-plan workspace, remotely accessible content libraries and brainstorming sessions are just some working methods that encourage collaborative thinking.

Change Management

There are problems that need to be addressed before innovation can be fully embraced within an organisation. On one hand, there may be a lack of understanding or confidence in new procedures. On the other, there may be unrealistically high expectations. These obstacles are surmountable. An iterative approach, where it is understood that development will happen organically and over time, is crucial. A process of trial and error is necessary to some extent. The acceptance of, and preparation for, initial failure is a necessary part of the process, as it will provide your organisation with invaluable lessons.

Securing Buy-In

It’s important to make sure that people throughout your organisation are on board with any innovation campaigns you are trying to implement. You may initially have trouble demonstrating the value of an investment. This can be counteracted by starting small, gathering data and using it to demonstrate ROI before scaling up operations. Poor foundations lead to poor results. Good underlying systems will have to be built upon insights drawn from data analysis and brought in line with your organisation’s values before innovation can take place.

Don’t Be Scared of Failure - Embrace the Lessons it Brings

It’s easy to be disheartened, particularly if early attempts to innovate don’t take off. Unfortunately, there is no ’one-size-fits-all’ method of approaching innovation. But making mistakes can provide you with vital lessons. You will need the right strategy for your organisation’s particular goals. No-one can provide this blueprint for you. But by trying things that don’t succeed you will gain valuable insights about your supporters and service users that you would not otherwise have. Start small in order to prevent untenable losses. Draw conclusions from insights gleaned from data analysis. Reassess and approach the campaign from a new perspective. Once your results are in line with your aims you can dedicate more resources to scale up operations.

Innovation Challenge

Trillium deliver digital transformation for charity and not-for-profit organisations. By bringing together strategy, digital and CRM, they transform user experience, with a focus on acquisition, retention and engagement. Their CRM and website solutions provide you with the insights and tools to develop innovative fundraising approaches, connect with supporters and positively manage all your relationships, donor and beyond. Trillium are launching an ’Innovation Challenge’. You can enter by telling them your challenge, in order to win Dec days of consultancy and development, with them delivering proof of concept for innovation.