In our recent work with non-profits, we’ve been challenged to design digital infrastructure that helps them further their missions and do more with their existing resources. One solution we’ve developed is to create digital platforms that seamlessly connect non-profit programs to communities. Going digital provides two distinct advantages for our non-profit clients: measurable scalability and more freedom to direct resources toward strategy and development. Our projects with PolicyLink.org and New York Cares are great examples of effective digital infrastructure for both non-profits and the communities they serve.

This week, Bureau Blank launched the PolicyLink.org flagship site. This site is the base of PolicyLink’s digital platform for organizing communities around key social and economic challenges. Before the launch, building a new community site could take months and most resources were directed toward site design and development. With the new platform, sites can be created in minutes and are immediately integrated into the PolicyLink network. This amplifies PolicyLink’s ability to empower action and facilitate policy change by leveraging the combined efforts of individual communities to solve the complex problems that lead to social and economic inequity.

Using our strategic planning process, we were able to pinpoint and anticipate the needs of a vibrant, growing GAIN organization. We built out an easy-to-use management interface that allows PolicyLink staff to create new websites and share content quickly and easily throughout their whole network. Our in-depth strategy research allows us to tailor both the administrative and audience experiences for successful GAIN initiatives.

Now, Bureau Blank is working with New York Cares to refine their online platform to facilitate recruitment and opportunity sharing across their network. New York Cares is a non-profit that mobilizes volunteers to address local needs. Traditionally, staff in the field personally recruited and signed up each interested volunteer. With that model, recruitment and signup require an unnecessarily large share of time and resources. With the improved platform, New York Cares will be able to reach a wider range of potential volunteers and quickly engage them with worthwhile causes in their area.

Why does this matter?

Non-profits and GAIN sector organizations address a range of complex, systemic issues — often without the support of the latest technology or a large resource pool. We follow these principles when designing and developing digital infrastructure for GAIN:

• Mission first: Platforms must be designed in a way that furthers and reflects the critical missions our clients have undertaken.
• Do more with less: Digital infrastructure must leverage existing resources, despite changing financial or overhead capabilities.
• Simplify management: Digital infrastructure should facilitate administration by providing faster digital alternatives to analog processes.
• Specialize function: The unique needs within GAIN require specialized platforms that can provide relevant, efficient experiences with impact beyond sales or social capital.

In the case of PolicyLink, practitioners now enjoy the support of a large, easily accessible network of information, best practices and technical assistance. By providing a digital forum for these practitioners, traditionally siloed efforts can be shared, amplified and refined.

Our work to develop robust infrastructure allows our non-profit clients to use their resources most efficiently and more strategically allocate their resources. We provide a combination of strategic direction and specialized tools tailored to the unique needs within GAIN. Ultimately, these tools and infrastructure empower our GAIN clients to strengthen the critical roles they play in our everyday lives.

Check out PolicyLink’s new website at http://www.policylink.org/!