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Why IT Matters

Why IT Matters

Why IT Matters

Why does anything we do matter? What can we do to increase our impact, change our perspective, and make a difference in our worlds? Why IT Matters is a series of conversations hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters, about change, especially as experienced by nonprofits, technology experts, and the worlds that are served by the impact economy. What are we willing to do to change the course of our work, and who are the leaders, executives, and everyday heroes offering ideas and actions? We invite you to listen to conversations that begin with nonprofit technologists and continue to encompass philanthropy, faith, business leadership, and systemic racism. This podcast is about not being defined, and our conversations evolve and grow, accordingly.
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Top 10 Why IT Matters Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Why IT Matters episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Why IT Matters for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Why IT Matters episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Why IT Matters - The Soul of Nonprofits with Liz Moore
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12/01/21 • 54 min

Leading a state association of nonprofits, particularly in a state like Montana, is a balancing act. Our guest Liz Moore, Executive Director of Montana Nonprofit Association, talks through these challenges and opportunities creating a vibrant and localized nonprofit community. The common assumptions of access, education, and infrastructure change when considering rural communities and how nonprofits fill critical service gaps. When a state like Montana moves through a crisis like Covid-19, Liz tells us how nonprofits have survived and where urgent needs remain. This is a case study in thinking about meeting community, funding, and professional development needs across a myriad of organizations that span a broad social and political gamut. Understanding the roles that healthy government, business vitality, and nonprofits can play together and shifting our mindset related to nonprofit infrastructure needs from “Why are nonprofits asking for more?” to “Why would we make a decision that hurts nonprofits?” is how these three entities can best work together. For listeners unaware of how nonprofit state associations partner with governments, keep nonprofits alive, preserve and help change cultures, and form national policy networks, this is a highly educational conversation.

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“Life shrinks or expands proportionate to your courage,” is the wisdom of our guest, Christina Herancourt, President and Co-Founder of Mission CRM on this episode of Why IT Matters: There’s Something Happening Here. There are moments in our lives when we’re handed what could be perceived as setbacks, obstacles, competition, and fear, and we have the opportunity to turn them to our advantage, and the greater good.

Listen to a story of “dollars, cents, and common sense,” in Christina’s own words as we talk about her experience as a woman leader in technology, that of her business as it built (and re-built to be in alignment with the nonprofit common data model #NCDM) a widely-regarded and Microsoft-acquired application, and talk about what it means to be of true service to nonprofit organizations as businesses and platforms. Here’s a hint: We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done. And, in female entrepreneurship, it’s the tailwinds that lift you up that matter most.

This is a journey of grit, fortitude, and service, and a reminder that as businesses and people in order to meet the challenges of this decade, we must lead with a servant’s mind. Also, for the first time in a Why IT Matters episode, both Tim and Tracy were choked up. Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

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Why IT Matters - The Nonprofit Common Data Model with Erik Arnold
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11/17/20 • 56 min

Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

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We wanted to talk in-depth with the incredibly talented Sara Llanes from World Vision regarding implementing organization-wide change at a global humanitarian nonprofit. We did get there – however, the conversation took what we felt was an important turn toward reconciling faith, identity, and “doing good,” towards the change we want to see in this world. This is one discussion you don’t want to miss! Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

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In celebration of Dreamforce 2020, Now it Matters talks with Jessica Hauser, Executive Director of DBG Detroit about the enormous impact Salesforce has had on the organization, and the change management process along the way. We also touch on racial justice, greater nonprofit technology investments, and the interaction between nonprofits and philanthropy - an area of Jessica’s explicit expertise. Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

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Industry executives and leaders got together for a groundbreaking discussion on how the definition of CRM is changing for nonprofits, and how the current landscape of tools and strategies available to nonprofits is rising to meet new opportunities and expectations. Why IT Matters brought together a panel to reframe the common understanding of CRM as a single tool investment and challenged assumptions regarding what is possible with today’s purpose-built and highly-integrated cloud technologies, especially alongside cloud infrastructure platforms. The panel also talked about how data platforms and technologies serving nonprofits can work together better and drive shared impact and efficiency for the benefit of all organizations.

The panelists:

  • Gabe Cooper - Virtuous
  • Julia Ford - HubSpot
  • Tim Sarrantonio - NeonOne
  • Tim Lockie - Why IT Matters
  • Tracy Kronzak - Why IT Matters

Here’s what was covered:

  • What is the new definition CRM and why does it matter to nonprofits and the impact economy?
  • In a future of non-platform solutions what does this look like for everyday nonprofit staff? What does this mean for CRM Business structures, and what does it mean for business partnerships?
  • How is your company building toward this future, what are the strategy and technology components? What are you doing differently?
  • What does customer success look like? What does customer failure look like? How do we identify and prevent unneeded technology implementations?
  • What’s the impact of emerging global technology innovation? How connected is global (and corporate) innovation trends spur nonprofit innovation trends? What roles and actions should nonprofits take to own the innovation of the technology designed for them?
  • How do we ensure ownership of nonprofit data and its portability in our work?
  • How do we elevate POC and women-owned businesses that are emerging and looking for business partners and opportunities?
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Why IT Matters - Disrupting with Love with Chantal Forster
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06/14/21 • 63 min

Continuing our discussions on Why IT Matters: Creating the New Norms with Kate Ruff about how nonprofits are best supported with data structures, standards, and models, we push into new territory with Chantal Forster, Executive Director of the Technology Association of Grantmakers on how nonprofits can be better served by the philanthropic world, including with how philanthropy collects and digests data. We talk about creating new philanthropic culture, how businesses, data platforms, and academics serving nonprofits need greater participation in the discussion of data standards, and the need for critical technology infrastructure funding and support for the nonprofit ecosystem, at large. And, dive into the work of the newly-formed “Honeycomb Alliance,” which is seeking new funding for digital infrastructure work for nonprofits. Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

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Why IT Matters - Black in Tech with Darrell Booker
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05/26/21 • 82 min

A year ago today, the protests against the killing of George Floyd began in Minneapolis. In recognition of the global dialogue of racial justice in the past year, we are offering a lengthy, candid, and at times explicit, discussion of what it means to be Black in the world of corporate IT in 2021. Our guest, Darrell Booker, Program Manager for the Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black and African-American Communities (NTA) at Microsoft Philanthropies, whom we previously hosted on Why IT Matters: Where We Can Lean In More returns, representing his journey, frustrations, and hopes for changing how the world of corporate IT receives, supports and grows Black employees.

This conversation is profoundly complex and challenging and touches on the structural and personal aspects of racism and its direct impact on living one’s life. As much as we strive to retain our authenticity in the workplace, this is an unpacking of how the very institutional structures that we seek to undo become how our authenticity and identity become eroded in the attempt. Before we arrive with the desire to understand and solve problems, especially as white people, the first step is divesting our intent from the outcomes we want to see. Why IT Matters is hosted by Tracy Kronzak and Tim Lockie of Now IT Matters!

WARNING: Video contains explicit authentic language.

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You’ll learn so much from our guest today, including that civic association was built on volunteerism, that there are nearly forty thousand nonprofit technology organizations, and how important the makers of this space are. This episode connects a history of movement organizing with the world of information technology. We talk with Billy about his groundbreaking work navigating the local, ad-hoc, democratized, and unseen work of technology makers with the global need for infrastructure and support. Billy’s history uniquely positions him as a leader in bringing to light what it means to be in service to the impact economy with technology instead of being in service to technology as consumers. Along the way, we also talk about how polarization has crept into technology and the need for breaking down barriers to dialogue - which are frequently erected when technology is created to stimulate addition, gamification, and reward ever-divergent narratives.

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This episode is as much a Coda to some of the discussions we’ve been having throughout 2022. It is perhaps an opportunity to change the narrative and set a new course for how we engage with the impact economy as businesses and technology leaders. We also announce some exciting news: Tim has officially launched thehumanstack.com as the outcome of work that has taken place over the past four years. Travels, connections, trust building, mentorship, and the value of constantly iterating our thinking are the themes of this discussion. Along the way, we make a bookmark for a future episode called “Tim and Tracy Tell All The Stories.” Tell us what resonates with you on this one because we’re trying to tackle some big themes in the context of what feels like a constant crisis happening around us. Enjoy!

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FAQ

How many episodes does Why IT Matters have?

Why IT Matters currently has 53 episodes available.

What topics does Why IT Matters cover?

The podcast is about Non-Profit, Podcasts, Technology and Business.

What is the most popular episode on Why IT Matters?

The episode title 'A Double Order of Nontoxic Optimism with a Side of Good Please with Becky Endicott and Jon McCoy' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Why IT Matters?

The average episode length on Why IT Matters is 58 minutes.

How often are episodes of Why IT Matters released?

Episodes of Why IT Matters are typically released every 12 days, 1 hour.

When was the first episode of Why IT Matters?

The first episode of Why IT Matters was released on Nov 10, 2020.

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