Organizers' Collaborative conducted a survey of our membership in the Fall of 2007. We received nearly a hundred responses. Here is what we found out.

Who's Involved

Over 87% of those who responded have been involved with OC for a year a more with 62% being involved for 3 years or more. Respondents were often organizers with technical skills working with organizations with little to no IT support. Most folks are from very small organizations and surprisingly the next largest group were from large organizations with small and midsized groups ranking last. It could be that our unique mix of those who desperately need skills and those who have developed the time and space to share, account for this distribution. It is hard to say.

It is not surprising that 63% of respondents were in organizations whose primary mission was advocacy. Social and human resource organizations were identified by 39%, political organizations at 33% and arts and culture groups at 15%. This distribution is very consistent with our understanding of who we serve.

Important issues

When asked about the most pressing issues facing their organizations and groups, respondents indicated that general communication issues were at the top of the list with 98% indicating this as a high interest area. Within this, effective email (93%) and web (86%) communications were the priority. Folks are also concerned with engaging donors and volunteers as well as managing the data related to these constituents. Data management was indicated as an important concern for 83% of respondents. Donor (74%), volunteer management (73%) and fundraising (71%) were next in line.

There seemed to be very low interest in GIS, social networking, CMS, online donations, policy issues, using technology for advocacy, FOSS, security, and organizing strategies. Some of this low interest is probably related to a low understanding or vision for how these might relate to their organization (i.e. GIS, policy, FOSS). Others are clearly less of struggle for folks than in the past (i.e. online donations). Other items probably were too vague (i.e. tech for advocacy).

Database use

Regarding database use, folks are using a range of database strategies from online shared systems to single desktop installs. Surprisingly, lots of folks are still using post-it notes and scattered databases. One respondent indicated -- “Try as we might to integrate all lists into one managed database, we still have rogue databases. A real problem for us!!!." Folks indicated they were starting to collect data with analytics like Google and CRMs like Salesforce and CiviCRM seemed popular. Since this went out to OC and Organizer Database email lists, there were lots of folks using ODB.

Use & Training

In terms of use and training needs, respondents were very comfortable with and had strong use of websites, desktop publishing, email lists, discussion forums, mail merge and using databases for outreach. The areas of strong use where there seemed to be training needs were in online fundraising, online advocacy and organizing, using fundraising databases, and online community building tools. Training opportunities may exist in the areas of online surveys and online intern and volunteer recruitment. People seemed to have no idea about how or why they might use voter databases. This is interesting given the level of advocacy and political work being done by respondents. There is still a lot of room for knowledge building and improved understanding of these technologies.

Tech Challenges

When asked about the kinds of technology challenges folks were facing, here are some of the main issues:

Lack of funds for tech
old equipment, high cost of technology, finding funds, Microsoft monopoly-vendors, keeping up with tech updates

Lack of IT knowledge
coordinating for hosting system, lack of dedicated IT support, retaining IT talent, using the tech that exists, no desktop support, implementing new tech, keeping equipment running, lack of priority

Users
fear of technology, organizing staff & volunteers, training staff, staff ignorance, learning to use new tech, lack of knowledge about database, tech literacy, usability, figuring out right technology

Data Integration
Managing email / spam, developing an email database, integrating data systems, keeping data up to date, consolidating info, Keeping info up-to-date, improve data mining, integrating accounting, diverse data formats, file management, need a multi user database,

Online Communications
Using the website, managing website, getting the most out of website, Graphic design, creating interactivity on the web, newsletter distribution software constraints, ability to create online newsletter

Volunteer Management
volunteer management software, office management systems

Security
privacy & legal issues

Fundraising
Online fundraising, improving fundraising

Social Networking
Social network, reaching global audience, Virtual organization

Communication challenges

When asked about the kinds of communication challenges folks were facing, here are some of the main issues:

Messaging
Message discipline, executing on strategy, consistency

Being Strategic
Need a strategy, identifying challenge, developing a strategy, lack of vision, no plan, political strategies, using communication tools to prompt action, communication needs / wants, following up on conversations

Freshness of Information
Keeping website current, timeliness, website is a disaster, creating steady flow of info

Capacity
Budget, Short staffed, capacity, costs, bridge tech divide, staff training, personnel, building community skills, personalities

Mainstream Media
Visibility, getting media to pick up messages, mass communication, maintaining indy media

Engagement
Keeping our donors, supporters informed, outreach, motivation, fundraising appeals, email list enticing to read

Basic systems
Phone system, email blocking, spam filters, wading through junk email, disparate locations, virtual organization

Communication Integration
e-marketing system not connected to database, integrating fundraising with website, ticketing system not connected to database, synching data

OC Services

Those who responded had used a wide variety of OC's services or been involved in our programs with the newsletter, conference and both OC and ODB websites at the top of the list. ODB use, information resources, ODB support were well used and few folks have been engaged in our Organizational Divide Initiative. When ranked in order of usefulness electronic communications (newsletter, email lists, websites), conference and ODB topped the list. Information resources, support and training services were near the bottom. These seem to be consistent with the amount of resources and dedication OC devotes to its various programs.

What is interesting is that a number of folks indicated that they don't use our services, but believe in the work we do and are strong supporters. We did get comments that indicated that we had too many websites and too many passwords. Some folks are still advocating for a Mac version of ODB and there were a couple of comments from folks who were still struggling with the ODB software.

For those who gave feedback on reasons why they didn't engage in the conference most folks said it was too far away or too expensive (if you included travel). A few folks indicated that it wasn't relevant or they were not interested in attending. One person felt the time was inconvenient and one person indicated that they felt the knowledge level required was too high.

OC Strengths

When asked about OC strengths folks indicated several areas. The diversity of our membership, our network and connections, the commitment to social justice and a grassroots perspective (including commitment to small groups with limited financial capacity), our willingness to share information, and our persistence. ODB and the Conference were both indicated as strengths and one person mentioned Rich Cowan our founder specifically. Another commented that our growth was good.

OC Needs to Improve

In terms of improvements, respondents mentioned several things. Regarding ODB, having it on the web, better support, and more comprehensive help manual were three main items. Having more resources for mac users and bringing our resources to other geographic regions were also mentioned. Building our capacity by hiring permanent staff, being more personalized, talking to members more on the phone, getting more input from folks and being able to talk to real people were all mentioned. One person urged us to differentiate ourselves more from NTEN and the Tech Foundation by really focusing on our status as practitioners.

OC Opportunities

Respondents saw opportunities for OC in our ability to address a range of social and economic transformations of grassroots projects, generating conversation and connections, and by offering more trainings and seminars especially online. One person really wants a Mac version of ODB.

OC Other Comments

Other comments were that we should start to look for contacts in Atlanta or the South, involve unions more and that we should make sure the technologies we promote and use work for all. There were lots of expressions of love for OC, ODB, the websites and other resources.

Let's hear from you!!!

So how do the findings from this survey resonate with you? Share with us any thoughts or ideas you have about technology in service to social change. So take some time and submit a comment.