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What Does Managed IT Look Like for a Nonprofit?

Donor data, grant compliance, tight budgets and the discounts most nonprofits leave unclaimed.

Managed IT for a nonprofit means protecting donor and client data, meeting the compliance terms in grants and contracts, keeping staff and volunteers productive on a limited budget, and taking advantage of the technology discounts and grants that many nonprofits never claim. The mission is different from a business; the threats are the same.

What is different

  • Budget. Every dollar spent on technology is a dollar not spent on the mission, so the plan has to be efficient and defensible to a board.
  • Data. Donor records, client case files, health or financial information depending on the program. A breach damages trust with the people who fund the work.
  • Grants and funders. Federal and foundation grants increasingly carry security and data-handling requirements.
  • Volunteers and turnover. Many people need access for short periods, on personal devices, which makes identity and offboarding critical.
  • Distributed teams. Program sites, remote staff and board members all need secure access.

What nonprofit-focused IT covers

  • Managed support priced for the organization's size, with a vCIO who can present a technology plan to the board.
  • Microsoft 365 configured with nonprofit licensing and secured with MFA and conditional access. See do nonprofits get Microsoft 365 discounts.
  • Security fundamentals: endpoint detection, email security, backups, encryption on laptops, and security awareness training for staff and volunteers.
  • Identity lifecycle so volunteers and departing staff lose access the day they leave.
  • Support for donor management and program platforms, and vendor management with them.
  • Cyber insurance and grant compliance readiness.
  • Budgeting help; see how much a small organization should budget for IT.

Low-cost, high-impact first steps

Enforce MFA, claim Microsoft nonprofit licensing, put a password manager in place, back up Microsoft 365 data, train the team on phishing, and write down who has access to what.

Mentis Group provides managed IT for nonprofits in Dallas-Fort Worth, with fully managed and co-managed options. See the industries we serve for the others.

Have a question about your own environment? Schedule a consultation with Mentis Group or call (866) 901-7808.