In the social impact sector, being “scrappy” is often badge of honor. Nonprofits routinely stretch every dollar to ensure maximum funding goes directly to their programs. However, when it comes to technology, this efficiency-first mindset can accidentally lead to underinvestment, disjointed tools, and missed opportunities.
On a recent episode of the Charity Charge Show, host Grayson Harris sat down with Adam Eads, Director at TechSoup, and Kelly Ricker, Chief Operating Officer at the Global Technology Association for IT Channel Leaders (GTIA). They discussed a powerful new grant collaboration designed to change the narrative around nonprofit technology. By funding the enrollment of 100 new organizations into the TechSoup Plus platform, GTIA and TechSoup are helping social entrepreneurs bridge the gap between simply having access to software and truly adopting it—with a specific focus on navigating the rapidly changing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Key Takeaways
- Acquisition vs. Adoption: Securing a software discount is only step one. True digital transformation requires ongoing education to help staff effectively integrate and use those tools to advance their mission.
- The 1% Philanthropy Gap: Less than 1% of global philanthropic funding is currently directed toward technology. Foundations must begin viewing operational tech investments as essential infrastructure rather than compliance-heavy “overhead.”
- AI is a Mindset Shift, Not an IT Problem: Successfully implementing AI isn’t about transforming nonprofit leaders into computer scientists. It is a change-management exercise focused on small, daily operational wins that free up time for community work.
- Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Learning: Because every nonprofit operates at a different stage of digital maturity, technology training cannot be one-size-fits-all. It must be modular, bite-sized, and meted out exactly where the organization stands.
The Q&A: Insights from the Experts
Grayson Harris: Kelly, can you set the stage regarding the mission of the GTIA Foundation and how this grant program came to life?
Kelly Ricker: We are a foundation within a 501(c)(6) trade association that serves the indirect IT sales channel. Our members let us know that charitable giving is incredibly important to them, and because we are in the fortunate position of having a significant endowment, we stood up our 501(c)(3) private foundation.
We give back in three distinct ways: local community service where our industry gathers, direct donations nominated by our members, and our formal grants program. That grants program is how we connected with TechSoup. Their proposal jumped out of the pile because it focused on teaching other nonprofits how to leverage AI to better maximize their real-world impact.
Grayson Harris: Adam, tell us about TechSoup’s broader mission and what you are looking to achieve through this specific collaboration.
Adam Eads: TechSoup is a nonprofit that has been around for nearly 40 years. We operate as a translator between the technology sector and the nonprofit sector. We help nonprofits understand their technology roadmaps, and we help corporate partners—like Microsoft, Google, and Adobe—understand the unique, non-corporate challenges that charities face.
Through this grant from GTIA, we are adding 100 new members to our TechSoup Plus community. While we’ve spent decades removing the barrier of acquiring technology, TechSoup Plus focuses on adoption. It provides access to a community, exclusive events, and an on-demand platform with over 200 courses. We want to help organizations take their digital journey in manageable, bite-sized pieces rather than being overwhelmed by the enormity of tech changes like AI.
“Most nonprofit professionals did not get into this work because they are passionate about the technical aspects of IT. They are passionate about feeding their community or supporting survivors. We want technology to enable that work, not bog them down.” > — Adam Eads, TechSoup
Grayson Harris: You mentioned a common pitfall where a nonprofit’s operational tech doesn’t match its growth. What does that look like in practice?
Adam Eads: We very often see organizations that started with just two passionate people using a free Gmail account and a Facebook page. But when they grow to 10 or 15 people over a few years, those early systems breakdown. Without a dedicated CTO, technology growth happens haphazardly. You end up with mismatched tools—one person using Google Drive, another using SharePoint, some using Zoom, others on Teams.
Our job isn’t necessarily to help organizations get more stuff. Much more often, it’s helping them wind back the clock, remove redundancies, and figure out how to better use the tools they already have.
Grayson Harris: Kelly, given your role in operations, how did your internal team align on the decision to fund an operational, technology-focused grant rather than a traditional programmatic one?
Kelly Ricker: It certainly helps that our members work in the IT sector and do this every day; they understand that charities are essentially small businesses. To fulfill your mission, you have to run an efficient operation.
When we were building our roadmap, someone on our committee rightly pointed out that while funding shiny, front-facing programmatic causes is wonderful, organizations fundamentally need operational infrastructure to survive. We approached it as a “yes, and” strategy. We still fund great community projects, but we explicitly include operational grants because we want nonprofits to work smarter, not harder, allowing them to spend more time with the people they serve.
Grayson Harris: Looking to the future, how should nonprofit executive directors approach the sudden rise of AI tools in their daily workflows?
Adam Eads: It requires an openness to change and a focus on change management. AI is evolving week by week. It’s no longer just standalone tools like ChatGPT; it’s becoming tiny widgets embedded in software we already use, like Adobe Acrobat.
We want leaders to clear-eyed about the risks but open to navigating the space. The shift happens when you experience small victories. When a professional realizes they can co-create a PowerPoint deck with an AI assistant in 30 minutes instead of the usual four hours, that suddenly frees them up to focus on the core elements of their mission.
Kelly Ricker: I agree, and I actually think smaller, scrappy organizations have a unique opportunity to take the lead here because they are already used to doing more with less. If you have an overburdened staff, the opportunity to fast-track administrative workflows is impossible to ignore.
Connect and Grow Your Impact
- To learn more about tech resource allocations, discounts, and custom learning pathways, visit TechSoup.
- If you are a nonprofit seeking operational or technological grant funding, explore current opportunities at GTIA Grants.
