Nonprofit organizations traditionally face tight budgets that force them to make hard choices about how to spend their money. These organizations, however, also have legitimate needs that, when met, can help them thrive. Marketing dollars, for example, don’t earn money to pad CEOs’ pockets. They earn money the organization needs to fight childhood cancer, ensure a fair wage for women in third world nations, pursue potable water, and so forth.

Unfortunately, the benefit of spending money on nonprofit IT consulting can be a little harder to see sometimes. That might be why nonprofits often fail to stay up to date on security, data, and technological advancements that could benefit them. However, when done right, technological support for nonprofits can help these organizations to more effectively reach their goals and advance their causes.

Nonprofit IT consulting provides solutions for reaching critical members of the nonprofit community.

A nonprofit has many people it needs to reach. Donors, volunteers, even the people the nonprofit is designed to benefit, all need to know the organization exists and how they can interact with it. In fact, reaching the right people is critical to a nonprofit’s survival.

Nonprofit IT consulting can help. For example, data management solutions can make it easier to identify high-value donors, track interactions in order to create more effective follow up with potential donors or volunteers, or even identify potential beneficiaries of the nonprofit. One organization used data management solutions to increase the number of human trafficking and child marriage victims it was able to identify and rescue.

Nonprofit IT consulting reduces the load on the nonprofit itself.

Nonprofit organizations are often trying to accomplish a great deal with limited resources. Time devoted to technology may be time that is taken away from pursuing other organizational goals.

Reducing the load on nonprofits is one of the benefits of nonprofit IT consulting. This service can create, implement, and maintain technological solutions without compromising the organization’s ability to pursue its other goals. And, it can do so more effectively because these professionals bring expertise to their jobs that surpasses that available within the nonprofit itself.

Nonprofit IT consulting streamlines processes for greater efficiency and cost savings.

Creating efficiency within technological processes can help organizations save money and achieve their goals more effectively. For example, saving time on identifying potential donors leaves more time for convincing them to participate in your organization’s goals. Identifying areas that can be streamlined, and identifying solutions that improve upon organizational efficiency, is the domain of nonprofit IT consulting. This technological support evaluates an organization’s IT needs and finds ways to meet these needs while reducing cost, time, and confusion in order to improve the overall functioning of the organization.

Nonprofit IT consulting focuses on the organization’s goals and needs.

Every nonprofit is different. As a result, their technological needs are all different, as well. When you hire an IT nonprofit consultant, you can expect to receive support that is tailored to your organization’s goals and needs. Rather than offering a one size fits all approach, the consultant will identify your organization’s core technological needs and find a solution that meets these needs.

Whether those needs be staying within a strict budget, improving reach to target populations, increasing donor monies, improving volunteer interactions, and more, these solutions will fit your organization. As a result, these solutions will enable your organization to continue advancing its unique mission in effective ways.

Nonprofit IT consulting meets the organization’s budget.

Financial realities must always be considered when pursuing technological support for your nonprofit. The right support will recognize and honor these realities. wFor example, here at Texas Systems Group, we can provide solutions that are innovative and less expensive than are traditional approaches. As a result, we can enable nonprofits to reach their technological goals with the budget available to them.

Nonprofit IT consulting helps to advance the organization’s mission.

Technology and technological improvements can help to advance your organization’s mission in meaningful ways. For example, your mission of raising money to feed children in a third world nation might be advanced by implementing security solutions that make donors feel more confident in giving their sensitive personal information to you.

You can expect your IT consultant to keep your organization’s mission in mind as they assist you with your technological needs. Their support will always consider your end goals and needs, making their solutions a tailored, and effective, fit for your nonprofit.

Nonprofit IT consulting is a great way to advance your organization’s mission and meet its needs while facing the unique challenges that being a nonprofit brings. It is not a splurge, and it is not superfluous. Instead, it can contribute to your organization’s ultimate goals. By allowing you to reach critical members of your community more effectively, reducing the load your organization faces, improving efficiency and cost savings, and doing all of this within your budget, goals, and mission, it can help you to run a more effective organization.

If you need assistance with your IT needs, do not hesitate to reach out to Texas Systems Group. We have years of experience providing forward-thinking and tailored solutions to nonprofits of all kinds. As a managed service provider, we are proud to help support the many nonprofits that are making a positive difference, and we can provide the forward-thinking support your organization needs in a way that is tailored to your specific nonprofit.

Even if your organization uses a Managed IT Service Provider with many security solutions guarding you against hackers, you still may fall victim to a cyberattack. If you, your employees or colleagues practice unsafe habits online, you could be leaving the door wide open for bad guys to steal sensitive information, infect your network and hinder your daily operations. Employees are one of the biggest threats to your data security, even with other effective solutions in place.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). NCSAM was created in collaboration with the US Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to ensure you have the resources needed to stay safer, more secure online. We want to take the opportunity this month to educate you on what you can do to help protect your organization’s sensitive data.

It’s everybody’s responsibility to understand what cybersecurity threats they are faced with and how to prevent cyberattacks in the workplace. The most effective way is to combine the efforts of your Managed IT Services with end-user education. We will provide helpful tips that you can use to ensure you are doing your part to stay safe online.

Own IT

Take ownership of your social media cybersecurity. Every time you log in to a social network – whether on a computer or mobile device – make sure you are practicing safe habits. Especially if you use that same computer or device to access company information. Safe habits include being careful about what you post on social media, keeping your mobile apps up-to-date and ensuring your privacy settings are turned on.

Secure IT

We will take a look at ways to help keep your identity and sensitive information safe on the internet. This includes password best practices and how to shop online safely. We’ll also discuss what phishing is and ways you can spot a phishing email or message.

Protect IT

Keeping your personal information safe is important, but you must also do your best to protect your organization’s information. Remote workers are becoming more and more common, which increases the risk of exposing company data. We will discuss some easy tips to safely connect to public Wi-Fi and help reduce your risk of attacks.

Employee cybersecurity training coupled with robust Managed IT Service security solutions is the best way to effectively protect your organization against attacks.