NAME: Priscilla Wong
TITLE: IT Volunteer
(1) How did you first hear about Mother’s Choice?
It started with a birthday party and TwoPresents introduced us to Mother’s Choice. Our fondest memory of Mother’s Choice was the amazing annual Family Walkathon event that truly opened our eyes to the work of Mother’s Choice. My children enjoyed the fun event, and there were touching moments meeting with real families that would otherwise be not complete without Mother’s Choice.
(2) What made you decide to volunteer with Mother’s Choice?
I am a veteran of technology and telecommunication business for the last 20+ years. I’m currently an IT volunteer coordinating users’ requirements and adoption for the Salesforce upgrade project. I heard about the opportunity to volunteer with MC through a friend who has been volunteering in Mother’s Choice Fundraising team.
(3) What impressed most at Mother’s Choice?
I’m very impressed with the judicious use of technology, process automation to drive accountability, governance and organisation goals. This is evidential in all aspects within Mother’s Choice from campaigning, donors relationship, beneficiaries follow up to internal/external staff management.
(4) Why do you believe is it important for non-profit organizations to invest in IT?
I see IT-enabled efficiency resulting in more children getting the right support at the right time. As a donor/volunteer, accountability and governance are assurances that the NGO is channeling every fund into the right purpose, lot other NGOs spent too much on admin wastage instead of helping those in needs. A challenge for Mother’s Choice while keeping the admin cost low, massive data is generated from multi-channel donors interactions and regulatory requirements. IT ensures privacy and quick auditability of these data. Similarly from the beneficiaries perspective, it renders transparency to processes and continuity of individual cases.
(5) Would you recommend other professionals to donate their time and expertise to Mother’s Choice?
Most certainly, a way of maintaining our sense of purpose in the corporate world, especially in a large organisation. Beyond cost-saving, it is an avenue for Mother’s Choice team to learn the latest technology, innovation and best practices.