Summary: We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Nonprofits face a unique challenge of solving complex problems with limited resources. At Tuck, we prioritize nonprofit clients because our experts are well-versed in strategies and tools to streamline their processes, uncover efficiencies, and accelerate their missions. One area we spot as a quick win for improvement is in implementing a project management tool.
What is the best project management tool for nonprofits?
In our semi-humble opinion, ClickUp is the best project management tool for a nonprofit. Not only do they offer exclusive discounts for nonprofits (and a 100% free version), but they’ve also thoughtfully crafted templates and features specifically tailored towards nonprofits. Some of these features include:
- ClickUp Goals: Easily set fundraising goals and track progress. Leverage custom fields to capture any information specific to your mission.
- ClickUp Calendar: Resource management is a breeze when you can create and maintain your volunteer schedule in the same place where you’re tracking organizational to-do’s.
- Time Tracking: Which resources are strained the most? As a nonprofit, all hands are on deck. Time tracking provides visibility into where you can be more efficient.
- Formula Fields: Easily track budget, remaining budget, and expenditures and tie each to the tasks your team completes to identify where the budget is going and how much is left.
- Public Sharing: Communicate timelines and progress with ease to sponsors or external vendors.
How can ClickUp save nonprofits time and money?
Nonprofit organizations who implement ClickUp have seen the following results:
- Streamline existing processes = more time & money
- Automate tedious tasks = more time to work on your mission
- Templatize processes = increase team and onboarding efficiency
- Improve role clarity for staff
- Encourage cohesive, organized, and trackable team communication
- Automate tracking on organizational objectives and key results
What are the long-term impacts of using ClickUp?
Businesses who move to ClickUp have seen long-term impacts such as:
- 8+ hours saved each week on meetings and team updates
- 50% decrease in time spent building and sharing reports
- 80% increase in improved teamwork
What are OKRs?
The short version of the explanation is: Objective + Key Results.
This concept was coined by John Doerr, author of Measure What Matters. Our organization has seen immense improvement by leveraging an OKR system (we claimed #356 on the Inc 5000 list by attaining 17x growth from 2019 to 2022…and you guessed, by leveraging an OKR system).
ClickUp happens to be a big fan of OKRs, as well. They have their own OKR template you can install with a single click. We leverage it here at Tuck and you can read more about how it helped us throttle our rapid growth in recent years.
How do you track OKRs in ClickUp?
Aside from installing their pre-made OKR template we mentioned above, there a few additional parameters ClickUp recommends to make the most of the system.
- Start with SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
- Track progress using the free OKR template using statuses.
- The template comes preloaded with the statuses: “To Do, In Progress and Complete” but you can easily customize them for your mission.
- Set deadlines for each of your Objectives + Key Results, and also set start and end dates for each of the tasks nested beneath your OKRs.
- Meet with your team regularly to monitor progress and address any barriers.
Free Clickup Project Plan Template for Nonprofits
Ready to give ClickUp a spin? As a Ruby-tier ClickUp Solution Partner, our team of ClickUp-verified experts here at Tuck built a ClickUp template for nonprofit projects. Now, this one was created specifically for the use case of a charity race, such as a 5K, but can be easily adapted for other nonprofit fundraising events.
Download the Free ClickUp Template
Want to see it in action before you implement it yourself? Check out our case study with the Partnership Project where we used ClickUp to manage $22M in grants.
Closing
Tuck Consulting Group specializes in helping nonprofits further their mission by increasing operational efficiencies through our project management expertise. If your organization is under $500K per year in annual budget, we invite you to apply for our pro bono services, where we can help you implement ClickUp and even run a few of your projects for free.
Erica Statly
Marketing & Project Management Consultant
Erica is a marketing and project management consultant with a knack for building online communities through organic strategies. Her expertise in SEO, content marketing, project management, and brand development wields impactful results.
Erica has her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and a Bachelors in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations. As a Charleston, South Carolina resident she spends her free time trying out local run clubs, exploring the local food scene, or at the beach with her pup.