From Clipboards to Cloud Systems: How Operations Management Has Transformed Since 2009
by Michelle Adler Rogoff, Operations Director, forgood.
When I think back to my early days working in Khayelitsha in 2009, the operational challenges we faced feel almost unimaginable now. We carried cash to buy supplies. Ordering stationery meant a trip to town. Reports were handwritten and filed in lever-arch folders. Recording meetings, managing data, or producing any kind of analysis was slow, manual, and resource heavy. If you needed to get somewhere, you negotiated with taxis and hoped for the best.
Fast forward to Rosebank in 2025 — and it’s a different world. We work with AI assistants, e-wallets, Uber taxis, instant messaging, and on-demand delivery. Stationery, food, or groceries arrive with a few taps on a smartphone. Reports write themselves (almost). Dashboards give real-time insights. It’s hard to imagine running operations without these tools that make everything faster, easier, and more precise.
But this shift is about more than convenience — it’s about capacity, collaboration, and access. The same work that once took an entire team now takes one well-equipped person with smart systems. Operations have evolved from “making do” to “working smart.” Technology has freed us to focus on what really matters: people, relationships, and strategy.
Still, I often find myself wondering — how much has the NGO sector been able to move with this pace of change? Many organisations still face barriers to technology access, funding for digital systems, or training to use these tools effectively. And that’s where we, at forgood, see an opportunity. With the growth and changes in access to these tools, there are more and more open-source software options available out there and many of the big providers offer discounts to NPOs.
Our vision is to help bring our Cause Network along with us — sharing the tips, tools, and technology that can help NGOs work smarter, faster, and with greater impact. If the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that progress shouldn’t be limited to those who can afford it. Real impact comes when innovation is shared. Join one of our master classes to find out more. If you are already a Cause on the forgood platform, let us help you to create needs that will attract skilled corporate volunteers who can help you improve your tech and systems within your NGO.
From clipboards to cloud systems, we’ve come a long way. Now it’s about making sure everyone else can come with us.
