Abstract This paper aims to fill an international gap in knowledge about the adoption of information and communication technologies by third sector organisations. In Australia, the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada, such research that exists into the usefulness of the spread of ICT into community-based organizations, is limited in its coverage and by its tendency to rely on a management approach to analysis. This paper summarizes findings of all of the identifiable surveys, compares their findings, and proposes the use of Social Network Theory as a more useful lens through which to analyse current developments.