SimplyCast has partnered with the Community Sector Council of Nova Scotia to provide data collection tools and communications support to Nova Scotian non-profit organizations.

The partnership, called the Sector Digitization project, will focus on data collection for the non-profit sector, and CSCNS member organizations will have access to SimplyCast’s digital community engagement tools to connect with volunteers, members, and donors.

“A lot of the management systems that we were looking at were really directed more to the private sector in the way the private sector operates,” said Arlene MacDonald, Executive Director of CSCNS. “And so, it gives us a system that is specific to how the not-for-profit sector operates.”

MacDonald said SimplyCast’s platform cost less than a third of some of the available options for private companies while being fully customized. By working with a Canadian company, the data CSCNS is collecting can be stored in Canada and will be subject to Canadian privacy laws. Dartmouth-based SimplyCast is a communication automation company known for its customer-flow application SimplyCast360.

As well, she said investing in Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotian companies like SimplyCast, is a key priority for CSCNS. She said SimplyCast’s active engagement in Nova Scotian communities made the partnership fit. MacDonald said the company has very strong value alignment with CSCNS’s mission to build the economic and social landscape of Nova Scotia.

One of the key issues facing non-profit organizations in Nova Scotia is lack of information. Important data, such as workforce numbers and executive salary information, isn’t currently being collected. Registered charities must report that information to the CRA but registered not-for-profits aren’t required to.

“We’re missing a lot of data on what the workforce in Nova Scotia really looks like without having access to that kind of information,” said MacDonald. “So, this system will allow us to start collecting information on our sector.”

MacDonald said it is clear to her that the non-profit sector has a positive impact on Nova Scotia, but while individual organizations can report on their successes, the sector as a whole lacks the tools to do so. She said there are reporting systems currently in use, but there is no standardized process for reporting in the sector, and that’s what this partnership with SimplyCast solves.

Investing for impact as a strategy has been increasing in all sectors, government included,, MacDonald said. For the non-profit sector to attract investment, it must better articulate its successes and make the return on investment clear to stakeholders.

In addition to data collection and management, the SimplyCast platform allows for process automation, reducing the workload on non-profit employees. MacDonald said Tuesday’s announcement was simplified to a single click, compared to what would have been posts to multiple mailing lists and social media platforms. She said this automation will free up human resources and allow the sector to focus on growth.

“CSCNS is always looking for new ways to innovate and benefit the non-profit community in Nova Scotia as donor, volunteer, and stakeholder demographics change and as our sector becomes more entrepreneurial,” said MacDonald in the statement. “Digital engagement is a critical component of that.”