Apparo CEO Lavonne McLean explains why technology is not overhead but essential infrastructure that helps nonprofits grow and serve more people.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — September, 2026 — When people learn I lead a technology nonprofit, they are often surprised to hear me say, “I don’t care about technology.”
That may be an unusual admission from the CEO of a technology nonprofit. Learning that I lead a nonprofit organization is no surprise: service and community have always been part of who I am. In college, I volunteered as a Big Sister to a young elementary school student. I delivered Meals on Wheels. I routinely participated in food drives, book drives, and other opportunities to give back.
Technology was different. It did not feel like heart work. It felt necessary, useful, and sometimes frustrating, but not usually inspiring.
I was not the person waiting for the newest phone or geeking out over the latest innovation. I upgraded my phone when the old one stopped working. A new computer or even a new remote meant I had to learn something I had not asked to learn. I was the opposite of a tinkerer. I was perfectly happy letting someone else figure it out for me.
If you had told that woman she would one day become the CEO of a technology organization, I would have laughed. Honestly, the people who knew me then probably would have laughed, too.
So, years ago, when I considered leaving a stable career in financial services to join an organization focused on technology, I was nervous. The opportunity to work in the nonprofit sector excited me. The technology part did not.
Then I began to understand what technology could make possible.
I saw that a new system was not simply a collection of attractive dashboards, automated workflows, or sophisticated reports. For a nonprofit, the right system could mean securing the funding needed to sustain a mission. It could give time back to a staff member wearing three different hats. It could help an organization see, perhaps for the first time, that a program was working, identify where it was falling short, and make better decisions for the people it served.
That is exactly what happened for Hope Renovations, a Triangle-based nonprofit that envisions a world of equity in the construction industry, where all people can access the opportunity to renovate their lives. Through a dual mission of preparing underemployed women and gender-expansive individuals for construction careers while helping older adults age in place, Hope Renovations was looking for a way to scale its growing Trades Training Program.
As the recipient of Apparo’s Mission Possible Award in the Triangle region, Hope Renovations partnered with a skilled volunteer team from Accenture to identify and implement a learning management system that could support expansion across multiple locations. After evaluating potential solutions, the organization selected Canvas as a centralized platform for training delivery, communication, and program management.
One year after implementation, Hope Renovations reported that Canvas continues to streamline operations by making course updates easier, improving communication across locations, and reducing administrative burden for staff. The organization says the platform has supported sustainable growth, helping increase enrollment from 48 students in 2024 to 88 students in 2025 while creating a more consistent and engaging experience for participants. This nonprofit’s staff also reported greater confidence in their ability to scale programming, launch new training opportunities, and support future expansion.
This is what I care about. Somewhere along the way, I also had to challenge the story I had told about myself: that I simply was not a “technology person.” Leadership requires that kind of flexibility, the willingness to question our own assumptions, change our minds, and grow beyond the identities we have assigned ourselves.
Now, I see technology everywhere in the life I value. It allowed me to capture my son’s high school graduation in extraordinary clarity and share the almost unreal turquoise waters of Jamaica with the people I love. It allows me to work from my phone, take an important call, and still be the mother I want to be. It lets me stay home with a sick child without becoming entirely disconnected from my work. And it means I no longer have to hold every detail in my head. I can type or speak a note and trust that a system will remind me when I need it.
I did not become someone who loves technology simply because it is new. I became someone who recognizes how technology can give us back time, presence, connection, and possibility.
Today, I lead Apparo, a nonprofit that has helped nearly 1,500 nonprofits use technology to amplify their impact. The organizations we serve rarely come to us because they want technology for technology’s sake. They come because something important is not working, or because they can see an opportunity but cannot reach it with the tools, capacity, or expertise they currently have.
Hope Renovations is one story among hundreds. Their team saw significant growth potential but needed the right systems to support expansion without increasing complexity. Like many nonprofits, they needed technology that could help them scale efficiently, improve participant experiences, and free staff to focus on mission-driven work. Other organizations may struggle with fragmented data, cybersecurity concerns, or the rapid pace of emerging technologies such as AI. The underlying challenge is often the same: technology stands between them and the impact they want to create.
These are often described as technology problems. But they are really mission problems.
When nonprofit technology does not work, the consequences are deeply human. Staff burn out. Funding opportunities are missed. Leaders make decisions without reliable information. Programs struggle to scale. People wait longer for services or never receive them at all.
And yet, technology is still too often treated as administrative overhead; something to fund only after the “real work” has been covered. Hope Renovations’ experience shows why that distinction no longer reflects reality. Technology is part of the real work. It is the infrastructure beneath fundraising, service delivery, communication, measurement, collaboration, and growth.
For nonprofits navigating rising community needs, constrained resources, evolving cybersecurity threats, and the rapid emergence of AI, technology is no longer a nice-to-have. It is mission-critical.
That does not mean every nonprofit needs the newest platform or trendiest tool. In fact, chasing technology without a clear purpose can waste money and create more work. The question should never begin with, “What technology should we buy?” It should begin with, “What are we trying to make possible?”
Once the desired outcome is clear, technology becomes a means, not the end.
One of the greatest barriers nonprofits face is that funding for technology remains extraordinarily difficult to secure. Technology is still too often categorized as overhead or expected to fit within already-constrained program budgets, even though those programs depend on reliable systems, secure data, and capable staff. If we want nonprofits to produce meaningful, durable results, we must invest in the infrastructure that makes those results possible. Funding programs while overlooking the technology beneath them is like asking an organization to build higher without strengthening its foundation.
I still do not care about having technology simply because it is new, impressive, or innovative. I care about whether it gives someone time back. I care whether it helps a leader make a better decision, a staff member avoids burnout, a funder sees meaningful results, or a nonprofit like Hope Renovations has the capacity and resources to fulfill their mission.
I care about stronger nonprofits. I care about thriving communities. And I have come to love technology because of what it can make possible.
About Apparo
Apparo is a Charlotte, N.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects nonprofits with technology expertise and resources to amplify their impact. Since its founding, Apparo has served nearly 1,500 nonprofits through skilled volunteer projects, education, cohort programs, and grant support, helping mission-driven organizations build the capacity, resilience and infrastructure needed to create lasting change. Learn more at apparo.org.
About the Author
Lavonne McLean is the Chief Executive Officer of Apparo. She is a community-centered executive committed to helping mission-driven organizations build the capacity, resilience, and infrastructure needed to create lasting change.
