Safe Horizon Techology Assessment

Every nonprofit organization has a mission. Many nonprofit organizations also constantly struggle to maintain and increase funding in order to carry out their missions to the fullest extent possible. More often than not, when a nonprofit organization receives new or increased funding, it is put towards expanding or creating new programs that further its mission. However, when this happens there is often a price because many nonprofits see programming as a higher priority than office infrastructure, which is often overlooked to the point where it starts to affect how programs could be implemented. This is a phenomenon that occurs not only in small start-up nonprofit organizations, but in large established ones as well. Safe Horizon is one of the nations’ largest nonprofit organizations, serving the approximately eight million residents of New York City and operating more than 80 programs focused on victim services. It is constantly pressed to deal with growing and varying critical constituent needs, to the point where it can fall victim to the aforementioned scenario. Using surveys and focus groups, this study assessed the impact that an under-attended infrastructure can have on program implementation. Recommendations derived from the study’s data are meant to highlight possible strategies for developing and extending the viability of technology infrastructure within a nonprofit environment. It is also intended to introduce the possibility of extending this model of assessment to other programs and nonprofit organizations.