 And Laura, as Quinn, I am an independent consultant specializing in technology and website strategy for nonprofits. And I especially work with organizations on the beginning stages of projects. So try to take their project from a kind of fuzzy vision of what they want to happen to an action plan. So you have a technology project. So let's say you need computers or a new website or a constituent relationship management system or maybe even you have a interesting new idea for a technology solution. How do you find technology funders? There are almost no specific sources of funding just for technology. How you ask for money for technology really depends on your current funders and the specifics of how they think about what they're funding. Don't rule out the possibility that you might have a major funder who could be compelled to support technology. So for instance, maybe you've got a donor who made their money in the technology sector and is really interested in a $10,000 technology project. For foundation funders, start by talking to any existing funders you can get on the phone about your needs at a high level and the way that they support technology needs. Honestly, it does the whole sector a favor when we have a conversation with our funders that technology infrastructure like pretty much all infrastructure doesn't magically happen for free. Something that needs funding as well. All right, so let's start with funding for technology infrastructure, which is probably honestly the hardest. So let's say you need funding for computers or to upgrade your constituent management system. It's really hard to ask funders, so honestly, either institutional or individual funders to support infrastructure. It's just not sexy. It's just not the type of thing they're excited to fund. This probably starts with talking to your current funders, especially foundation funders might be a source for this, to understand how they think about this. So it's like a conversation about unreserved funding or about operating funds. Some funders will support general operating. Some have specific programs that are like might be a different person to talk to or some just don't do it. So some funders will say, I'm sorry, I don't support technology and as much as I might like and probably you might like that that was not the answer that is unfortunately what some funders will say. But you could also think about potential sources of unreserved income at your organization that could be moved around to support technology infrastructure. And then perhaps you could fundraise for something else. So basically you could look for more funding for a program or do an additional gala or additional individual fundraising drive and use that for your technology infrastructure. Okay, what about technology as part of an existing program? This is a place where nonprofits have found it a lot easier to ask for funding. For instance, maybe you can load technology into a project budget as an operating cost. So you have a line item and it is technology. So for instance, a lot of proposals have a line item for shipping and mailing. Why the heck is shipping and mailing a valid expense? But technology isn't. That is just kind of crazy 1960s. So another way of thinking about a technology for an existing program is to say in your proposal that new technology is needed to successfully carry out the program. So to succeed. So for instance, you'll need mobile phones for your field staff or a client serving website and make sure to say why that technology is directly related to the programmatic goal. So just say, and we're going to need this. But to say, and here's why it will help, what it will help with. We'll be able to help more clients and here's how many. So to be specific, what about technology as a new project or a new program? So this is the easiest to visualize, but not necessarily easy to get funding for. So this would be, say, you need a new website or a new constituent relationship management system to effectively do your work. That may absolutely be true, but the way that institutional funders are set up. So foundations, it means they rarely have programs that that type of grant will fit under. It might actually be easier to ask for general operating funds. So to increase your general operating funds or just operating funds to cover the project, though, if you can say you're using the technology in kind of a different and a new way to facilitate a core part of your mission, that might be more interesting to funders. So to say, instead of just, we need a new website to say, we need a new website that is going to be primarily about providing to historical documents about the county or connecting those who want to do maybe sewing projects with shelters who need pillows or blankets. I'm making fast stuff up right now. So, and those can be the core of your proposal to the foundation or even better if you have a technology project that feels like it does things in a whole new way where the project is the technology. That may be something that funders find sexy for better or worse. Many funders like to fund things that seem like they haven't been done before. So in general, like for most things, sending out proposals to people or foundations, you don't really have a relationship isn't likely to be worth the time, a technology, except maybe a really interesting new use of technology just isn't a great way to form a new funding relationship. Instead, it's best to focus on the funders you already have and what they're likely to fund. If you're wondering what specifically you should cover and what you should put in a request for technology funding, stay tuned. That will be in part two of our series.