Technology Is About People: Stephen Lavery on Care, Community, and Building Better Nonprofits
Key Takeaways
- Technology is about people first. The best nonprofit technology isn’t simply efficient—it’s designed to help staff care for communities more effectively and confidently.
- Digital stewardship is now part of nonprofit leadership. Protecting community data has become just as important as protecting financial resources, especially as cybersecurity threats continue to evolve.
- Small technology changes can have a big impact. Simple practices like multi-factor authentication, password managers, and stronger systems can meaningfully reduce risk without requiring major investments.
- Community makes complex work more sustainable. Whether you’re leading technology, fundraising, or programs, connecting with peers reminds us that we’re not solving these challenges alone.
- Care can take many forms. Improving a workflow, building a better system, or helping a colleague navigate new technology is another way of strengthening the people and missions nonprofits exist to serve.
Technology is often treated as something separate from the heart of nonprofit work. It lives behind the scenes in databases, software, and systems while the visible work happens in programs, fundraising, and community relationships. Stephen Lavery sees it differently.
For Stephen, technology has always been about people. Every system he helps build, every process he improves, and every colleague he helps gain confidence with new tools is another opportunity to make nonprofit work a little easier and a little more human. It’s a perspective that feels especially relevant as organizations navigate rapid technological change while continuing to care for their communities.
A Career Built Around Care
Stephen’s path into nonprofit technology wasn’t planned.
He originally studied political science and imagined a future in public service, with an interest in civic engagement and international affairs. Volunteer work eventually led him into education, where he became an elementary special education teacher before moving into workforce development and, unexpectedly, nonprofit technology.
When a new role introduced him to Salesforce, he became the person responsible for helping an organization transform manual grantmaking processes into a modern grants management system. What started as learning one platform grew into years of improving workflows, collaborating across departments, and helping staff work more effectively.
Looking back, Stephen sees that every stage of his career has been connected by something much deeper than technology itself.
“I’ve been surrounded by people in caregiving professions my entire life,” he reflects. “They helped me understand the world and my place in it… I think I was always destined to work in a role that’s like that.”
That realization changed how he thinks about his own work.
“I think technology work is a great way to express care.”
It’s not a perspective people often associate with software or digital systems, but Stephen explains it simply. When he helps someone feel confident using a new tool, builds a system that saves staff time, or creates a process that helps an organization reach more people, he isn’t just solving technical problems.
He’s helping people care for their communities more effectively.
“That,” he says, “is a great expression of care… and that’s something that I’ve found really motivates me and keeps me in this line of work.”
Building Better Systems Means Building Better Organizations
Technology touches almost every part of nonprofit work, yet it is often one of the last things organizations have the capacity to prioritize.
For many nonprofits, digital systems become one more responsibility sitting on someone’s already overflowing desk. Dedicated technology leadership remains out of reach, even though technology influences how organizations communicate, collaborate, deliver programs, steward donors, and measure impact.
Stephen believes that is slowly beginning to change.
“I hear more and more people really tuning in to the need for technology,” he says. “When we’re able to prioritize it, it makes a big difference.”
That shift matters because technology isn’t simply about efficiency. Better systems remove friction from everyday work, reduce manual tasks, improve decision-making, and create more space for staff to focus on relationships instead of repetitive processes.
When technology is treated as part of an organization’s mission rather than an afterthought, everyone benefits.
Protecting Communities Means Protecting Their Data
While new technology creates opportunities, Stephen is equally thoughtful about the responsibilities that come with it.
One challenge he believes deserves far more attention across the nonprofit sector is cybersecurity.
As artificial intelligence rapidly changes how phishing campaigns and scams are created, nonprofits have become increasingly attractive targets. Many organizations simply don’t have the staff, expertise, or financial resources needed to stay ahead of evolving threats.
For Stephen, the concern goes well beyond organizational risk.
“So many of our organizations work with vulnerable communities that have really valuable data,” he explains. “That data belongs to those communities. We’re stewards of that.”
It’s a powerful reminder that cybersecurity isn’t only an IT issue. It’s part of an organization’s commitment to the people it serves.
The encouraging news, he says, is that meaningful improvements don’t always require large investments. Multi-factor authentication, password managers, and stronger password practices can significantly reduce risk while building a stronger foundation for long-term security.
His advice is practical rather than alarmist: start with the basics, keep learning, and recognize that protecting community data has become part of nonprofit leadership.
Community Makes the Work Sustainable
Despite the challenges facing the sector, Stephen remains remarkably hopeful.
That hope doesn’t come from believing the work is getting easier. It comes from the people doing it.
Through conversations in The Nonprofit Hive and the broader nonprofit technology community, he’s found colleagues who are generous with their knowledge, eager to collaborate, and committed to solving difficult problems together.
“Every time I have a conversation with someone in our sector,” he says, “I find kind and supportive and encouraging and resilient people who are trying to solve some of the biggest problems that we have in the world.”
For someone working in nonprofit technology, those connections matter.
Many organizations have only one technology professional, making it easy to feel isolated. Community reminds people they aren’t the only ones navigating new systems, changing expectations, or complex organizational challenges.
“I draw so much energy from just being part of the different kinds of communities,” Stephen says. “That very much keeps me motivated to soldier on and keep doing this work.”
In a time when it would be easy to focus only on uncertainty, Stephen sees something different.
“It would be very easy to feel hopeless,” he reflects, “and I see the opposite in our sector.”
Staying Human in a Digital World
Stephen’s work may revolve around technology, but his perspective is ultimately about people.
He reminds us that behind every database is a family receiving support. Behind every improved workflow is a staff member with more time to focus on relationships. Behind every security practice is a community trusting an organization with their information.
Technology will continue to evolve. New tools will emerge, expectations will shift, and challenges will inevitably follow.
What shouldn’t change is the reason nonprofits invest in those tools in the first place.
When technology is grounded in care, collaboration, and service, it becomes much more than software. It becomes another way of helping people do meaningful work—and another way of strengthening the communities nonprofits exist to serve.