I’m crushed. Last week, thousands of nonprofits were negatively impacted by a major technological fail by Kimbia (an otherwise robust and respected tech platform). As a small (but growing) member of the nonprofit-tech community, I am deeply concerned about the larger implications for nonprofit technology. Here’s why.

Nonprofits desperately need to embrace new and innovative technological platforms, but they are often slow to adopt. By nature, nonprofits are risk averse. This, in fact, is the reason that the philanthropy sector does not have the types of robust and fast-paced platforms enjoyed by other sectors (as noted in Beth Kanter’s thoughtful piece Why Can’t the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector Scale Generosity? #givedaylessons). Software platforms require significant investment. To capitalize those endeavors, a company must be able to acquire customers efficiently. Nonprofits generally require more resources in the acquisition and implementation process to overcome the risk aversion (and that's OK!). Unlike the for-profit sector, nonprofit organizations are not structured to take risk - especially mid-sized nonprofits with volunteer boards that drive software and technology expenditure decisions. One of my favorite things about this job is watching a nonprofit organization transform as it becomes comfortable with tech tools. This type of tech-fail will make it more difficult for directors and boards to propose and approve tech-related spending.

We LOVE nonprofits and our passion for technology adoption in this sector is deep. In another industry (let’s say accounting software or a sales platform like Amazon), a competitor of Kimbia’s might be quick to pounce and, perhaps, be thrilled by their fail. Not here. The culture of nonprofits is different and so is the tech sector that supports it. Nonprofit organizations may not jump to other platforms and seek alternative solutions but may decide to end this type of fundraising -- not recognizing that the return for that risk was still a good investment. It just takes one, strategic, tech-averse board member (now with a good example) to undo the forward movement. This will negatively impact everyone in the nonprofit tech space. It could significantly setback innovation since customers’ (nonprofits in this case) risk tolerance has now decreased. We’re all in this together and the common bond around DOING GOOD needs to win the day.

As we move beyond this story, those in the space (tech platforms, influencers, consultants) need to support nonprofits to increase their risk tolerance. There is no excuse for a failure of this magnitude but small errors in technology must be expected. You know they are small and well within a company's skill set by how quickly it is fixed. Ten hours is a long time. We need to help nonprofits understand and evaluate the return for risk equation so that it can be articulated to a board or decision-making body.

Nonprofits that are not trying innovative platforms will be ‘disrupted’ by those who do.

#GivingDayLessons: (1) Recognize this as a business decision failure not a tech fail. Growth is the metric by which we (tech companies) are measured and there is often a good dose of hubris within a software company. The company knew how many nonprofits would be on the platform last week relative to its capacity and probably tried valiantly to scale up. They made a risky decision. (2) Community Foundations/Giving Day Hosts need to have more confidence in their ability to evaluate and select other technology platforms (NOTE: It’s a software company’s job to provide information in a transparent, easy to understand way that earns your trust.) The fact that all of the nonprofits were on the same platform suggests a herd mentality. It may be a coincidence but the Silicon Valley giving day used a different technology platform (Razoo). Instead of following the herd, they had the confidence to evaluate another platform and, in this case, it turned out to be an excellent decision. (3) Nonprofits need us to build their confidence in technology use. The failure of Give Local America is not just about the donations lost last week and the hours of staff time potentially wasted on an event that could not be realized. My heart breaks for the larger failure of confidence in the nonprofit technology space. Nonprofits need those of us who marry a deep passion for their work with technology expertise. More than ever, innovation and well-reasoned risk taking is necessary to grow philanthropy.