Bringing tech and non-profits closer together - A Q&A with Lauren Crichton - June 9, 2022
A Cool Conversation with another creator with a heart for non-profits
One of the best things about writing a newsletter is the friends you meet along the way. This week, I want to introduce you to Lauren Crichton. Lauren is one of the few fellow writers using the Substack platform to reach non-profit readers. Her bi-weekly newsletter, Pass It On, shares knowledge and insights from inspiring tech and non-profit leaders. Topics range from how to run effective remote meetings to creating gender equity in the social impact sector. As you'll see from her answers, Lauren's ultimate goal is to bring our two worlds closer together.
Lauren, tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a British-born language enthusiast living and working in Stockholm, Sweden. Before entering the tech world, I cut my academic teeth at Oxford University, where I studied for a BA in Modern Languages and MSt in Linguistics. Since graduating, I’ve experienced the tech sector from a few different perspectives: first digital agency, then corporate innovation, and now startup. I currently lead marketing at Sana Labs, a startup using technology to reimagine workplace learning. When I’m not plotting a marketing campaign, you’ll find me on a squash court or hanging out with my fur babies, Chess and Steffi.
You learned linguistics and turned into a rock star in the tech and startup field. What got you hooked on non-profits?
My journey toward the non-profit sector is a personal one. It starts with the many conversations between myself and my father. My father is a charity executive. He and I have always been open about our jobs and asked each other for advice. Through these discussions, we discovered a knowledge gap between our sectors. He'd tell me about a challenge he was facing, and I'd suggest a framework from the tech industry to solve it. These frameworks were just as relevant for leaders like my father, but he'd never heard of them because they originated outside his sector. And because of how content algorithms work on platforms like Google and LinkedIn, that wasn't about to change. This felt wrong to me.
When the pandemic took its grip in 2020, I decided to take action. How could the UK charity sector face a £10bn shortfall and take its entire workforce online at the same time? An impossible task. Meanwhile, many tech companies had breezed into remote work and were making even more money. The least we could bloody do is share some advice! I launched my first newsletter a few weeks later and never looked back.
Okay, so I love the word, “bloody”. But back to the topic at hand, I know you have a substack publication, Pass It On, specifically for non-profits, tell us more about it. What are you looking to do with it?
Pass It On has evolved a lot since that first issue. Now, the knowledge sharing is bi-directional: leaders from both Tech and Non-profits are doing interviews and takeovers. There's a lot of hubris in Tech—a tendency to think we have all the answers. But we have a lot to learn from the non-profit world, too! I'm proud that my newsletter is opening up that exchange.
I am just curious, what are some of the biggest lessons you think the non-profit sector could learn from the our friends in tech?
That's a big question! These are my top three:
#1 Fall in love with the problem, not the solution
Humans jump to solutions like we jump to conclusions. Usually, it's because we fall in love with our first ideas. But first ideas are rarely the best ideas. To increase our chances of finding the right solution, we need to broaden our understanding of the problem. In the tech world, that usually starts by talking to the people we seek to serve.
Then, we start brainstorming solutions. Lots of them. Because when we come up with lots of ideas, we create better ideas. And the more ideas we have, the better our reasoning becomes about what idea we should choose.
#2 Obsess over outcomes, not outputs
What is our organisation trying to achieve, and how will we know when we've achieved it? That's an outcome. It's a very different framing from asking your team how many projects they will deliver. Historically, the tech industry has been results-oriented because (a) we've had the means to measure things and (b) our funding model requires it. Venture capitalists give early-stage startups cash to prove their business idea works. I'd love to see a similar funding model for the non-profit world. Today, non-profits have to specify solutions to win bids. But to my previous point, how do you know that's the right solution? More flexible funding models would help non-profits become more outcome and problem-oriented.
#3 Embrace uncertainty
Startups often operate in complex environments. There are many things you don't know that you don't know. To thrive under this uncertainty, you have to swap control for constraints and plans for experiments.
Done right, you create a culture of continuous learning that fosters innovation. Of course, every organization doesn't operate in a complex context. But every organization benefits from a continuous learning culture.
Given your father's work and the reaching out you have done to the non-profit world, do you think you would ever want to be more involved with a non-profit?
Yes! I'd like to become a board member. I've been on the committee of my squash club for three years, so a charity board feels like the natural next step.
In the meantime, I'm volunteering for a brilliant service called Digital Candle. The service provides UK non-profits with free digital advice by connecting them with experts from the business world.
Lauren, that sounds awesome. Perhaps some squash lessons are in my future. And I definitely see you as a huge asset to any nonprofit board. Where do you see Pass It On going in the next few months?
I want to make Pass It On more collaborative and interactive. Create opportunities for readers from both sectors to meet and exchange ideas. Exactly how I'll do that remains to be seen, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
Fun Question…. It's summer! Any big travel plans coming up for you?
I have two exciting trips coming up in July and August.
The first is to Bregenz, an Austrian city famous for its annual outdoor opera festival. It's like nothing you've experienced. The opera stage is on the lake, and the performance starts as the sun sets over the mountains. Bregenz has a special place in my heart. My mother is a theatrical costumier and has worked on many of the festival's operas over the years. After the pandemic kept us away, we can't wait to return as tourists.
The second trip is back to the UK for my stepsister's wedding. I live in Sweden and haven't seen my stepfamily since 2019, so this occasion feels extra special.
Otherwise, I plan to hang around Stockholm and enjoy some downtime. Swedish people typically take four to five weeks of vacation over July. After five years of living in the country, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this ritual. Old habits die hard!
Lauren, that sounds like a blast. Thanks for hanging out with us today!
And friends, check out Lauren’s newsletter at passiton.substack.com