Document Management for Nonprofits: An Introduction

Nonprofits are a fast-growing sector. In fact, since 2001, private nonprofits have grown by 33%–much faster than other classes of employment, such as self-employment (18%), federal government positions (18%), and private for-profit businesses (9%).  

With so much growth, the nonprofit sector needs to embrace technology to continue its missions effectively. One of the smartest changes a growing nonprofit can invest in is a document management system. When it comes to document management for nonprofits, it’s usually best to have a centralized, secure location for document storage, especially if a nonprofit has a lot of documents to manage. Ready to learn more about document management for nonprofits? Below are some important things to keep in mind.

Many different types of organizations can benefit from using document management systems, but nonprofits specifically can uniquely benefit from them. Here’s how document management systems can be particularly advantageous for nonprofits:

Increased Productivity

Document management systems are vital for storing, finding, and organizing content. One study found that 83% of employees will recreate documents if they can’t quickly find them on the company network. That’s a waste of time and money for any organization, but nonprofits especially can’t afford to waste resources. Document management systems also feature version control to help reduce errors, increase productivity, and ensure that everyone is referencing up-to-date information. 

Another way document management systems increase productivity is by enhancing collaboration. Remote work is becoming more popular among nonprofits, and in order to facilitate communication, nonprofits need effective solutions to store, access, and share information. Document management systems empower nonprofit employees to easily grant users, groups, and roles access to documents and folders.

Document and Information Security

Let’s look at security issues, starting with document management and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This act has had a significant impact on how nonprofit organizations have kept track of their documents over the past eighteen years. The SOX Act requires that financial documents be audited annually. The Chief Financial Officer of the organization certifies the audit. The audit also involves someone knowledgeable in accounting with the process. Additionally, the SOX Act regulates how long documents are stored. This means that if you run a nonprofit organization, you’ll need a highly organized document management platform. 

Document management for nonprofits requires several elements to simplify the auditing process. Documents should be easily searchable so that board members can track the documents that can be saved and make notes of which documents should be released soon. Nonprofits also frequently deal with sensitive information, such as financial and banking details from donations, personally identifiable information, government contracts, and other content that needs to be protected—making security a priority for documentation. Document management systems can easily identify sensitive documents by applying Personal Identifiable Information (PII) settings to storage folders.

Additionally, document management should take place in a single, centralized platform, plus a backup plan. This way, nonprofits don’t risk violating the SOX Act by accidentally keeping documents. This mistake can happen if an organization has multiple versions of the same document across different platforms.

Vasion makes it easier for nonprofits to comply with the SOX Act, especially because nonprofits deal with a lot of documents that can otherwise become difficult to track and organize. Our central platform keeps all of your documents in one place so you don’t have to pull documents from emails, fax notices, and other sources before your yearly audit.

Increased Storage with Lower Costs

Because content management and document management systems can store files on the cloud, nonprofits don’t have to spend money on physical storage. With many solutions, you can keep your current storage providers with native third-party storage integrations like OneDrive for Business, Google Drive, AWS Workdocs, AWS S3,  and Box. You can also search, secure, and collaborate across any or all of these storage platforms, allowing you to store more information at a lower cost. More data storage also makes it easier to create audit trails for better compliance.

Document management for nonprofits can get tricky at times. Many organizations take the leap to digital-only documents. Others store items in multiple formats. Volunteers without access to online resources require paper versions of policies and procedures. Some documents need multiple formats and locations for careful storage, such as significant historical files.

Because document management for nonprofits is so complex, it’s important for nonprofit leaders to use best practices for document storage. We already mentioned some basics above, but what else can a nonprofit do to make sure that they keep their documents organized properly?

It all comes down to finding the right document management platform. Nonprofits have several options for their document storage and management, but the right choice will perform well across several metrics.

One crucial metric is security. Nonprofit organizations save donor information, and that information must stay secure to maintain donor trust. The best document management platforms will have tight security as well as customization options. Your document security should work right alongside your organizational structure. Vasion allows you to keep documents secure by adding encryption data at rest to your existing document platform.

Next, look for a document management platform that supports simple, organized workflows. The more you can get done within a single platform, the better. This way, you’ll have an easier time keeping track of document-related tasks, lower your risk of losing track of tasks, and save a lot of time.

Consider Vasion’s document management platform, for example. We don’t just help enterprises; we also help nonprofits keep their documents organized and secure. Vasion has a user-friendly platform that supports all kinds of nonprofit document-related workflows. If your organization creates its own eForms, you can move that operation straight to your Vasion platform. Vasion makes eForm customization simple, so you can use the format that best reflects your nonprofit organization.

Vasion also has a capture function that lets users digitize analog documents. For important historical documents, this means having a backup document in case the original is lost or stolen. It also provides a way for nonprofits to share documents that could otherwise only be seen in person. For less important documents, it means being able to destroy and recycle physical copies once you’ve digitized them. This option can leave your organization with more working space and less clutter.

Vasion is also a good option if many of your documents require signatures. Our platform supports eSignatures so that you don’t have to print a document every time you need someone to sign it. Instead, you can conveniently route documents to multiple signers, make any document signature-ready, support both internal and external users, and even ensure that eSignatures are binding.

Want to learn more about your digital document storage options? Vasion is here to help. We can make your analog-to-digital transformation simple and help your nonprofit thrive. Start by scheduling your demo today, or contact us to ask your questions about nonprofit document management.