Navigating the world of IT as sole proprietor or small business can be complex and challenging. But for NPOs strapped for resources and with limited access to IT expertise, it can be even more daunting.
If you've been wanting to get creative in how you can support your local community AND leverage your hard-earned IT skills or are a non-profit looking for ways to improve your IT infrastructure and get access to tech resources, you're in the right place.
In the on-demand webinar and resource guide below, you can expect to walk away learning more about:
Common challenges in the IT space for nonprofits
Solutions and suggestions from Matt’s 14 years of experience in supporting NPOs
IT security and efficiency advice for NPOs (overall advice to key challenges)
Resource and support recommendations for NPOs
Matt has been in the IT industry for over 25 years. With special opportunities to be mentored and, in-turn, mentor others, Matt’s experience and dedication have led to award-winning projects and industry-wide recognition. After over a decade of donating IT skills to non-profits, Matt discovered a consistent need for IT support in the non-profit space. And IT4NP was born. Happily married with 5 kids and currently residing in Jacksonville, FL., Matt can be found woodworking, rock climbing (gyms, not mountains) and kayaking/paddle boarding. Learn more about Matt in his featured article and by tuning into the session below!
Watch the on-demand version of the webinar, jump to key sections or keep scrolling to catch the full write-up below!
Supporting Local Nonprofits: Using Your IT Skills to Benefit Your Community Featuring Matt Slaga, previously live
Primarily written in Matt's words from his perspective:
About Matt
I work for World Wide Technology and provide support for an amazing team of principal architects. I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I’ve been in the tech industry for a long time. Achieved some technical certifications during my career. Since 2008, I have been an IT volunteer for a number of nonprofits across the US. Enough so, that in 2017, along with a group of like-minded individuals…
IT4NP: IT for Non-profit
We started a non-profit whose mission is to help other nonprofits with their technology needs. Our main focus has been smaller organizations, as they seem to be the ones who need the most help. We provide all our services at no cost, and all of our income is from donations and occasional fundraisers. The next introduction slide is something that originated from IT4NP. Several of the nonprofits that we work with are not local to us, and at times they need local support. The board met, and came up with some ideas around finding and training individuals on entry-level tasks. That’s when the idea for Future Tech Skills Inc was born.
FTSI: Future Tech Skills Inc.
We created FTSI as a part of IT4NP, but the goals expanded beyond needing local on-site support. Our goal with FTSI is to provide technical certification scholarships to aspiring future tech leaders, who may not have the opportunity or means or know where to begin.
And that is what we put together. Not only a scholarship program, but a complete provision of curricula, labs, exam voucher, and, I think, a key to our success, each student is assigned a mentor to guide and encourage them through the journey. And, on top of this, we provide real-world experience by offering opportunities to assist IT4NP with the various support, installations, cabling and design work. Once they complete their certification, to help build them into leaders, the opportunity to act as a mentor for future students.
We are starting off focused on entry-level certifications, partnered with CompTIA, but plan to expand beyond this as our scholarship base continues to grow. But, we are small, so we are taking it slowly and expanding as needed.
Future Tech Leaders In-Action
Most Nonprofits Are Not Started by IT Pros
Non-profits are started because of a need or a want to help other people. Those that start non-profits have found a passion for their calling and build their org’s mission on fulfilling this need in their community. However, the vast majority of these founders are not IT Pros. They build and create their organizations, perhaps have a great understanding of people and processes and finding volunteers, but struggle with how to tie technology into their mission.
Since most nonprofits live off donations and fundraisers, they don’t have large budgets. Even something like purchasing a PC can be a big expenditure. On top of this, you’d be surprised how many vendors will take advantage of their lack of knowledge to sell nonprofits items they don’t need. Many are struggling and simply need help. For us IT Pros, it may seem routine to question a vendor or help spec out a PC. For a nonprofit, it can be a stressful.
Why help?
If you stop and think about all the nonprofits out there, you would probably be surprised. I’d bet everyone here has benefited from a nonprofit at one point or another during their lifetimes. You’ve probably been to a nonprofit hospital, or to a zoo, park, visited historic places, maybe a member of boy scouts or girl scouts, little league, 4-H, or maybe you learned to swim at a YMCA. I could go on and on.
Why help nonprofits? A way to give back. If you have been impacted by a nonprofit, wouldn’t you like to see others have the same opportunity? This is where we can make a direct impact on our communities.
How to engage with non-profits
These planning steps are designed to help you find the right nonprofit to volunteer for. Our time is valuable, so I’d recommend a little study before you dive in.
Find a non-profit whose mission you are passionate about. Once you locate one or a few, before reaching out, do some research. Not sure what is around you? Check out this resource
Research: Who are they? What do they do? What is their mission? Even go as far as determining what they use today? (Nslookups, etc – email, collaboration, etc). That can give you a peak at how much help they need.
What the non-profit does
What is their mission
Who do they help?
Build Rapport: The best way to do that is to get involved.
Volunteer for non-IT roles
Offer your expertise
If after these steps, you feel comfortable helping further: Schedule a meeting, discuss your background, explain why you would like to help, and offer your expertise.
Ways to Engage
As a company
You can provide discounts
You can create specific offerings focused on nonprofits
If you are a services or product company, you can provide your products pro-bono
(and there is lots of great tax benefits to doing so)
Nonprofits are a networking bunch, so don’t be surprised if you start getting calls from other non-profits.
As an individual
I think this is where we can all get involved. A common benefit at most companies is time off to volunteer.
That’s how I got started. I used a volunteer day to help a nonprofit with a vendor discussion about customer relationship software. Granted, I’m no expert in CRM, but I know enough about the technical side to know the right questions to ask..
It was simple to me, a little research beforehand, asking normal questions that IT professionals would ask, but the director of the nonprofit was blown away. What I did was to ensure the organization was getting what they needed, not paying for what they didn’t, while explaining what the nonprofit did in the community, following up with a discount request.
At the end of the negotiation, the nonprofit got what they needed, saved money and felt confident in their purchase. And the vendor had a better understanding of the nonprofit and felt good about giving a discount. For me, it was really an eye opener.
Opportunities to help
When I talk about this topic, I usually hear, ‘I’d like to help, but I’m not sure how’. Here’s some ideas:
Start simple! Meet with them, ask about their pain points. The assistance I provide most often are things like research, suggestions, maybe road-mapping exercises, and technical assessments.
Research and Suggestion Document: Ex: Non-profit is looking for a collaboration solution. Collect requirements, research vendors, feature mapping, costs; then provide suggestions in a document.
Technical Assessment: How old are the computers? How is the connectivity and environment? Output could be suggestions, critical impact map, budget planning, etc.
Cost Efficiency: A very important item finding ways to reduce cost. Researching vendor discounts, product usage review. It’s rare that I can’t find discounts or ways for the nonprofit to save money on their tech spend, while keeping the same or providing better functionality.
A suggestion from my experience, be open about your expertise areas. For instance, I typically don’t get involved in CRM or billing systems. I can help facilitate and discuss the technical items in discussions with vendors, but I’m no expert. I’m very open about this when I volunteer. But know this – your knowledge and experience as an IT champion gives you a significant edge for the nonprofit when working with technology or software vendors. It changes the dynamic of the discussion in a positive way.
Sample Deliverables
Below is a sampling of some of the deliverables IT4NP has provided to organizations. These do take a little time and research to put together, but they are worth the effort. They directly make an impact on the efficiency of the nonprofit, allowing them to focus on their mission, and not on IT.
Everything from cost comparisons, return on investment estimates, device placement planning, coverage maps, knowledge base, and more. These types of items help the nonprofit plan for the future, and know how to budget their IT expenses - which is a huge win for them – and one less thing to stress about.
Other Opportunities to Help
Equipment Donations
Like most of us techies, we have garages or basements full of equipment; many nonprofits can use that equipment; we might think it is old, but I’ve worked with nonprofits who are using PCs from 2010 where their typical day includes logging into their computer, and spending 5 minutes getting coffee while their PC logs them in.
You have a specialty
Everyone has a specialty that they are good at – see if the non-profit can use it, then offer to help or train or whatever works in that situation.
Your Time
Whatever the case – almost all non-profits need volunteers. There is nothing better than the feeling of helping others and making an impact.
Your Fiscal Support
And, of course, if your time doesn’t permit but your pocketbook does, every small non-profit needs money to fund their limited budgets.
Non-Profit Discounts
Lenovo for NPOs
Lenovo for Nonprofits at TechSoup
Lenovo Discount Programs: Education, Healthcare, First Responder & Senior
Lenovo Foundation: Charitable giving, grants & other funding opportunities
Microsoft for NPOs
Basic includes web-based office apps, Outlook, Teams. Standard – local install of office apps, webinar hosting in teams, scheduler. Premium – Intune, Azure Information Protection
Microsoft Business Basic Free for up to 300 users
Microsoft 365 Business Standard $3/user/month
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Free for up to 10 users, 11+ - $5/user/month
Microsoft Pricing for NPOs
How do these discounts compare to corporate pricing? It’s significant. The 10 Premium accounts equates to $220 per month.
Azure Grants for NPOs
This one is amazing. How about $3,500 in Azure grants annually. Any service, and a special nonprofit onboarding concierge. These programs are taking nonprofits to the next level.
You see, Microsoft gets it.
What better way to help communities than to help those that are making a difference in them every single day.
Annual grant for 501c3 Organizations
$3,500 in Azure services credits per year across the entire portfolio
Usable in any service billed through Azure
Offers an Onboarding Concierge and Success Center
Ads for social impact
How about some free advertising? ‘Ads for Social Impact’, part of the ‘Microsoft Advertising’ group offers grants for Microsoft approved nonprofits starting at $3k per month.
Microsoft Advertising offers grants starting at $3,000 USD monthly
Includes Bing, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com, MSN and Edge
Tech Soup
Techsoup is amazing. It’s a tech marketplace built exclusively for nonprofits. I’d recommend every nonprofit be a member. It’s free to sign up. You can see a small sampling of the vendors are part of Techsoup’s discount offerings. Well worth investigating.
Non-profit Tech Marketplace
Only for Non-profit organizations
TechSoup negotiates with many vendors to provide discounts/grants
Every NPO should be a member
Amazon for NPOs
Validated and provided through TechSoup
Valid for most AWS offerings
Amazon Smile – support a charity just by shopping (https://smile.amazon.com)
Google for NPOs -
Non-profit pricing gives access to Gmail, web-based Google apps, conferencing
Free Plans to Enterprise Plans
Adobe for NPOs
Significant discounts on Adobe products
Validated and provided through TechSoup
Access to Creative Cloud, Adobe Express, Adobe Acrobat Pro & more
Mobile Beacon for Nonprofits
The Mobile Beacon donation program at TechSoup provides 4G unlimited mobile broadband hotspots to eligible nonprofits, charities, schools, and libraries throughout the United States.
How to ask for Non-Profit Discounts
Be strategic when asking other vendors for discounts. So, a couple of notes here:
Be clear in your role
When working with a vendor on behalf of a nonprofit, be upfront what your role is. When vendors know they are talking to someone who knows what they are doing, it changes the dynamic.
Communicate the mission
Be armed with the nonprofit’s mission, and how they enhance and help the community.
Then ask for a discount
And, simply, ask for nonprofit discounts, and for them to call them out in quotes. Don’t expect all vendors to give discounts. It is their choice.
Q & A
Q. How many NPOs are you working with right now? Do you work with one at a time or multiple at once?
A. Right now, we're working with 4 or 5. There's a total of 7 of us on the board, all with a host a special technical expertise - so we really divide and support many groups at once as a whole across the US.
Q. When you first started volunteering with NPOs, do you recall what your average time per week or what the initial time commitment was like for you?
A. In all honesty, the amount of time you commit is up to you. When you start engaging with an NPO, you'll let them know what you can do and go from there. Say, you support by joining a 1 hour vendor call. But maybe you'll do 3-4 hours of research, plus the call, it's 5 or more hours. But if you want to explore more regular support beyond that, that's a whole other animal. You'll need to understand how much support they need, how often you'll be called on. Since you are volunteering your time, in essence, you can really dictate what your availability is. And to be honest, some folks might stretch your support a little bit. You can support and acquiesce if you like, but you can always say no. Just share you can't help with that this time, but have them let you know the next thing that comes up and maybe you have more time to support.
Q. Along that same vein, do you find that the level of support an NPO needs upfront changes as you get further down the line in terms of organization or system implementation? Or does the level of support remain constant throughout the lifecycle of support?
A. That's another great question. So, for IT4NP, we do some support, but we are more project based. For instance, we've got a NP in Florida that we're helping on Saturdays. We're revamping their entire network - new wireless access points, security cameras, new switches, firewalls and everything. It's a major undertaking, but it's project based. So if you lead with this method and they need support later, you can come out when you can or get support elsewhere with the vendors or systems we create. Also, at IT4NP, we all have full-time jobs and families too, so we have to balance. But since we believe strongly in this and want to support when we can, but there are times when we just can't. If it's major, you know, we can help get on the phone with the support vendor. But we try as an organization not to get too involved in specific tickets as that requires maybe someone on the phone at night, etc. It's about being more tactical and strategic - helping with the big picture. So just decide how you want to engage and go forward with that.
Q. Did you have a favorite NPO or project that you've worked with or on in the past decade or so that you've found really rewarding?
A. There's an NPO in Warrington Virginia that we support on a pretty regular basis. It's a bereavement support ministry who help people through loss. The things we do and help them with - we can see it everyday making a difference to people. People finding hope after something drastic like that happens. That's one we all have a real passion to help out.
Q. What do you find to be the most common IT challenge when you meet with NPOs?
A. Most of the NPOs are struggling with their donor platforms - finding the right one or being able to afford them - it's amazing how expensive they can be. In addition, a lot of them that we start with are perhaps using Go Daddy for email - not that there's anything wrong with Go Daddy email but it's just not really what we'd consider an enterprise solution, so we start discussions about maybe using Microsoft or Google products - just finding the right fit and what works best for them. Those two areas are what we see most often. Also all that have physical offices often need help with infrastructure - whether that's computers or network internet. Many are using home-type firewalls which are not really sufficient for these organizations who have a finance computer and sensitive information to protect.
Q. Is Techsoup free and do I have to be an NPO to join?
A. You can sign up to Techsoup for free and you do need to provide your 501(c)3paperwork and IRS documentation (the organizations offering the discounts will validate it - can take a week or two to complete the process). They do have some offerings that have fees to set-up things on the background since Techsoup themselves are an NPO. For example, to get set up on Techsoup with Lenovo, it might be $5 or $10 to set up. Some are free, but overall, the fees are pretty minimal. I think the most is a $75 to access the AWS $1,000 grant.
Q. When asking for a discount, do you come prepared with a specific number or percentage or let the vendor offer?
A. Great question - I'm careful not to hammer a vendor. I let them offer or provide whatever the discount is. Like I mentioned earlier, explain the mission and bring it home to them in a way that doesn't make them feel obligated - rather inspired - to understand the impact and want to help bring that impact about with a discount offer. When we are helping an NPO consider a new vendor, we often explore multiple simultaneously and we'll let them know. We'll tell them that we're also looking at x, y, z other vendor, so that gives the expectation for them to bring their best offer since they are competing for the business.
From the vendor side of the table, it's important to understand that NPOs really like to see vendors who are offering discounts to NPOs - not matter what size. It makes them feel like their mission can go further and that they are justified in their impact as well if others see what they are doing and want to help enable that with a discount.
Closing Thoughts
Most non-profits need help. YOU are uniquely situated to assist and you can have a direct impact. Always do you research as an NPO or as a IT professional looking to support. And know that engaging in your community and helping out NPOs can be really rewarding.
Did you enjoy the webinar? Do you have any questions for Matt? Drop your thoughts or questions in the comments below while tagging Matt and let us know if you enjoyed this piece.
Another special thanks again to Matt for sharing his expertise and experience in the community! Learn more about Matt in this featured article.
Connect with Matt: