Community IT Innovators Nonprofit Technology Topics

Community IT CTO and cybersecurity expert Matt Eshleman delivers our report on trend lines and took questions live in this popular webinar.In pt 1 we explore a systematic approach to cybersecurity for your nonprofit, talk about the big picture trends, take a couple of audience polls on what type of incidents are common, and demystify some lingo. In pt 2 Matt goes into the report data and pulls out new and disturbing attacks, and finishes up with the best ways to protect yourself, especially from Attacker-in-the-Middle MFA attacks.Is your nonprofit prepared?Drawn from anonymized data from the calendar year 2023 of cybersecurity incidents across end users in our small and mid-sized nonprofit clients, this report shows changes in attacks and emerging threats.Using this real and timely data, Matt walks through recommendations and outlines the practical steps your organization can take to prevent the most frequent attacks. He covers new threats and training best practices for your nonprofit staff around evolving cybersecurity issues, including AI-enabled scams, smishing, adversary-in-the-middle MFA attacks, fake in-person events phishing for credentials, and the return of popup malware, among other new and disturbing trends.You may also be interested in downloading the free Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook to review a framework for focusing on your cybersecurity fundamentals, or using any of our free cybersecurity webinars and podcasts to learn more about specific protections you can take.As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience.Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Webinars are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

How can your nonprofit avoid common headaches with the free Google Workspace implementation as you grow? So many small nonprofits start out using the free Google Workspace platform you can set up and administer yourself. Google makes it easy! But as you grow from a one- or two-person nonprofit to a larger team you may be wondering if Google Workspace is professional enough, and whether it can handle more complex IT needs. And what about volunteers and others who need to access your files – is Google secure? What are best practices on setting up and administering Google Workspace in nonprofits with 10+ staff? Are there steps you can take now to make it easy to keep Google Workspace as you grow?Join Community IT CEO Johan Hammerstrom for a look at what you need to know about growing your nonprofit and managing the IT to go with growth. This webinar is appropriate for nonprofit staff of any technical level, and is recommended for nonprofit managers and leaders. Learn how well-managed IT can help you achieve your mission.Johan makes use of our expertise to give you some simple updates and changes you can make as you grow that can help avoid a lot of work later. Doing these things now can make your Google Workspace more secure and better able to accommodate you as your organization grows in complexity and your IT needs change. As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. Thanks to the Nonprofit Learning Lab for hosting us. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Ethics, AI Tools, and Policies. How is Your Philanthropy Using AI?Part 1 of this podcast introduced basic AI concepts and definitions and gave some practical examples of nonprofits very intentionally using AI  to further their mission. It ended with results of a poll of the audience members and discussion on how nonprofits are using AI tools - individually, organization-wide, and/or to perform their mission.In Part 2, Sarah and Jean delve  deeper into the AI Framework they have developed, to walk the audience through organizational, ethical, and technical considerations, and discuss the policies that ideally your nonprofit or foundation will put in place to govern your use of AI tools. Community IT was thrilled to welcome two respected leaders, Sarah Di Troia from Project Evident and Jean Westrick from Technology Association of Grantmakers, who shared their informed perspective on AI in philanthropy to share this AI Framework with our audience. You will not want to miss this discussion.As society grapples with the increasing prevalence of AI tools, the “Responsible AI Adoption in Philanthropy” guide from Project Evident and the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) provides pragmatic guidance and a holistic evaluation framework for grant makers to adopt AI in alignment with their core values. The framework emphasizes the responsibility of philanthropic organizations to ensure that the usage of AI enables human flourishing, minimizes risk, and maximizes benefit. The easy-to-follow framework includes considerations in three key areas – Organizational, Ethical, and Technical.Sarah Di Troia from Project Evident and Jean Westrick from TAG walked us through the research and thought behind the framework. At the end of the hour they answered a moderated Q&A discussion of the role of nonprofits in the evolution of AI tools, and how your nonprofit can use the Framework to guide your own implementation and thinking about AI at your organization.As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience.Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Webinars are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community. We hope that you can use this Nonprofit AI Framework at your organization. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Ethics, AI Tools, and Policies. How is Your Philanthropy Using AI?Community IT was thrilled to welcome two respected leaders, Sarah Di Troia from Project Evident and Jean Westrick from Technology Association of Grantmakers, who shared their informed perspective on AI in philanthropy to share this AI Framework with our audience. You will not want to miss this discussion.As society grapples with the increasing prevalence of AI tools, the “Responsible AI Adoption in Philanthropy” guide from Project Evident and the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) provides pragmatic guidance and a holistic evaluation framework for grant makers to adopt AI in alignment with their core values. The framework emphasizes the responsibility of philanthropic organizations to ensure that the usage of AI enables human flourishing, minimizes risk, and maximizes benefit. The easy-to-follow framework includes considerations in three key areas – Organizational, Ethical, and Technical.Sarah Di Troia from Project Evident and Jean Westrick from TAG walked us through the research and thought behind the framework. At the end of the hour they answered a moderated Q&A discussion of the role of nonprofits in the evolution of AI tools, and how your nonprofit can use the Framework to guide your own implementation and thinking about AI at your organization.As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience.Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Webinars are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community. We hope that you can use this Nonprofit AI Framework at your organization. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

How to Protect Your Inbox and Your SanityAre you getting more unwelcome email lately? From junk emails, to annoying advertising, to malicious phishing, it can feel like the tools that keep our inboxes spam free aren’t working as well lately.Johan Hammerstrom, our CEO, answers Carolyn’s questions about email safety. How do you know which unsubscribe links are legitimate, how do you flag spam, how do you report phishing emails? Get some helpful and practical tips on cleaning out your subscriptions and protect yourself and your organization. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Do you know if you are in technology debt or investing at the right level in your nonprofit IT?Senior Consultant Nura Aboki sat down with Carolyn Woodard recently and discussed his work as a senior consultant and the strategic responses he sees as the most successful across his clients. You can benefit from these tips no matter the size or technology comfort at your organization. Assessments can help you determine the IT maturity level of your nonprofit and help you invest accordingly.IT maturity is not a judgment call. The chart included on our website is a tool to help evaluate your needs and goals. Your organization may function best at a medium level of maturity – moving to a higher level would not be a wise investment, given your mission or staff size. However, no nonprofit does well at the lowest level of maturity – with failing systems, high cyber risks, or low staff morale around IT systems and training. We always advocate for well-managed IT that is appropriate, affordable, and strategic for your nonprofit.   Listen to Nura’s insights into the importance of doing assessments at any size, and how the assessment can be geared toward your needs and budget. You need to know what you have. When you have a good record of your IT systems and have committed to well-managed IT, you are ready to explore that question of the right IT maturity level for your business needs, and make investments accordingly. Sometimes an external consultant like Nura can be the easiest way to tackle this task, but often a nonprofit can be strategic at the executive level internally. For more on training up your IT leaders and practitioners, check out our webinar Nonprofit Digital Health Workshop. For more from Nura on the need for foundational policies and governance, listen to this podcast. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Join Matt Eshleman, a cybersecurity expert, in a short presentation on AI, new AI tools for nonprofits, some use cases, things to watch out for, new cybersecurity fraud and scams enabled by AI, and ways to protect your organization. In this video, you will learn toLearn about AI and what nonprofits need to know about AIUse cases for AI at your nonprofitNew cybersecurity fraud and scams enabled by AI and how to prevent becoming a victimThis video is designed for nonprofit executives and financial professionals in nonprofits, from CFOs to accountants. If you want to know how AI is going to impact you and your nonprofit, from your work life to cybersecurity, please review this introduction to AI and cybersecurity at nonprofits, hosted by Jitasa University. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Guest speaker Tim Lockie from The Human Stack in a workshop focused on smaller nonprofits struggling to manage IT.In pt 1, Tim describes the tactical issues nonprofits face in trying to work with tech tools. In pt 2, Tim walks through the different mis-alignments that leadership and "boots on the ground" staff can have, and ways to overcome them. He gives a roadmap of where to start and how to keep going.Tim Lockie has been in nonprofits and tech for over 20 years. Over the last decade, he founded Now IT Matters and The Human Stack, dedicated to helping small nonprofits succeed with their technology. View this webinar on nonprofit digital health, for anyone who needs to manage nonprofit IT.Tim led us in a free workshop aimed at small nonprofits, under 15 staff, who are struggling to manage IT. Take his enlightening free quiz on the digital health of your nonprofit (requires registration)Learn where and how to get your IT in order, even if you are not a techie person. Humans first, then technologyTim wants to change the narrative on nonprofit IT by showing how even the smallest nonprofits can get a handle on their tech AND human stack. This workshop is centered on people – how the people at your organization FEEL about technology is going to be fundamental to how you are able to USE technology. As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Guest speaker Tim Lockie from The Human Stack in a workshop focused on smaller nonprofits struggling to manage IT.In pt 1, Tim describes the tactical issues nonprofits face in trying to work with tech tools. In pt 2, Tim walks through the different mis-alignments that leadership and "boots on the ground" staff can have, and ways to overcome them. He gives a roadmap of where to start and how to keep going.Tim Lockie has been in nonprofits and tech for over 20 years. Over the last decade, he founded Now IT Matters and The Human Stack, dedicated to helping small nonprofits succeed with their technology. View this webinar on nonprofit digital health, for anyone who needs to manage nonprofit IT.Tim led us in a free workshop aimed at small nonprofits, under 15 staff, who are struggling to manage IT. Take his enlightening free quiz on the digital health of your nonprofit (requires registration)Learn where and how to get your IT in order, even if you are not a techie person. Humans first, then technologyTim wants to change the narrative on nonprofit IT by showing how even the smallest nonprofits can get a handle on their tech AND human stack. This workshop is centered on people – how the people at your organization FEEL about technology is going to be fundamental to how you are able to USE technology. As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Excerpts from CEO Johan Hammerstrom's appearance on a panel hosted by NXUnite on strategic nonprofit tech decision making. Full video and transcript available on our site: https://communityit.com/panel-dialing-in-being-strategic-about-nonprofit-tech/Nonprofit organizations often grapple with limited resources and outdated technology, limiting their ability to make a difference.  In today’s fast-paced digital world, nonprofits must be strategic about their technology choices to maximize their impact. What do the panelists discuss?– Best practices when driving tech innovation– Tips on how to assess the current state of your tech stack– How to create an effective implementation plan including budget– How to avoid nonprofit tech FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and ensure your tech investments sustainably match your real business needs _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Today Carolyn interviews Jenny Huftalen, Director of Client Services on her new role and long history with Community IT. Jenny has been providing Account Management services for Community IT’s partner organizations since 2007. Now as Director of Client Services, she is responsible for ensuring those partner organizations are receiving the right combination of IT support services that meet their organizational needs and goals. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

How to Communicate to Create a Great RelationshipCommunity IT gets this type of question a lot from nonprofits in our community: My MSP doesn’t talk to me about what they are doing and why their rates have gone up. How can I talk to them to understand what they are doing, when I don’t have a technical background?Johan Hammerstrom, our CEO, addresses communication issues, consolidation and private equity acquisitions in the MSP sector, ways to approach your existing MSP outsourced IT provider, and issues to consider when you are searching for your first MSP or a new MSP. Community IT has also created the “Nonprofit Guide to Vetting a Managed IT Service Provider” free download to help you make informed decisions on your outsourced IT vendor.Learn how to build a good relationship with your MSP, and when to look for a new partner.Full transcript: https://communityit.com/podcast-talking-to-your-msp/ _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Part 2 explores cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Office365 for nonprofits, and hybrid work considerations. In Part 1 our panel discussed AI and the impacts of new AI tools and considerations on nonprofits. We also released a free new AI Acceptable Use Policy Template for nonprofits.Join CTO Matthew Eshleman, Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, and IT Business Manager Team Lead Norwin Herrera, moderated by Carolyn Woodard from Community IT, in part 1 of a lively and specific discussion of all things nonprofit tech for 2024 and beyond. It’s like listening in on your smart friends talking about stuff you need to know about but don’t know who to ask. We’ve gathered our senior experts in one place – ask them your questions at registration or live during this webinar nonprofit tech round table.Kick off the new year with a new understanding of trends and practices that can help your nonprofit succeed. This is one of our most popular webinars and podcasts year after year for a reason. We don’t believe a lot of lingo or jargon is necessary to understand what you need to know to manage IT.As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

How is your organization using AI? What policies do you need? Join CTO Matthew Eshleman, Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, and IT Business Manager Team Lead Norwin Herrera, moderated by Carolyn Woodard from Community IT, in part 1 of a lively and specific discussion of all things nonprofit tech for 2024 and beyond.Part one focuses on the impact of AI on nonprofits, including a free new AI Acceptable Use Policy Template for nonprofits. Part 2 explores cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Office365 for nonprofits, and hybrid work considerations.It’s like listening in on your smart friends talking about stuff you need to know about but don’t know who to ask. We’ve gathered our senior experts in one place – ask them your questions at registration or live during this webinar nonprofit tech round table. Kick off the new year with a new understanding of trends and practices that can help your nonprofit succeed. This is one of our most popular webinars and podcasts year after year for a reason. We don’t believe a lot of lingo or jargon is necessary to understand what you need to know to manage IT.As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

In today’s interview, Carolyn talks with Bill Evans, who is retiring as CFO after 14 years.After a long career at Verizon where he held both operations and finance roles, Bill realized he was ready for a new challenge, and started looking around for a nonprofit where he could assist with his finance expertise as a CFO. Community IT is a 100% employee-owned business, an ESOP, and the job opening that turned up at the moment when he was looking for a challenge required him to learn about ESOP administration and serve as the ESOP Trustee. He has also served as Community IT’s board secretary and will remain as an external board member in 2024. “When you use the term “culture,” … in fact, ESOP becomes part of the culture, but there are cultures which facilitate an ESOP arrangement. There are many companies that may become ESOPs for reasons that are not necessarily a culture fit. In Community IT’s case, David Deal, the founder and longtime CEO, …his vision was for a participatory egalitarian type of business that had employee involvement from A-Z. When he introduced the ESOP concept, it really was an extension of what was already there… It’s important to recognize that ESOP doesn’t create culture. The culture has to start from a different point and ESOP becomes something that enhances that and moves it forward [as it has at Community IT].”- Bill Evans, Retiring CFO, Community IT InnovatorsJoin us for our series featuring interviews with Community IT employees. In this series, we talk about nonprofit technology career paths, career resources, skills, and certifications. We will also touch on mentoring opportunities as you start out on your career and ways to give back if you are further along. If you are wondering what it is like to work at a place like Community IT, you can learn about it here. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Robin Harris is a Cloud Technologies Specialist at Community IT. She primarily works with clients who are moving files into SharePoint, from a server, from another cloud-based file sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive, or creating a file sharing database for the first time.Today she shares some tips from her years of helping many clients who have faced this daunting task, and helps us break it down into smaller tasks. She compares moving your files to moving house. Making sure you throw out all the stuff you don’t want to move and clearly labeling the boxes from each room makes moving day so much easier.But as with all nonprofit tech, there is no one size to fit all. The organizational principles you choose and the leader of the project should fit your nonprofit. As long as the files are organized, it doesn’t matter if you have a committee or an individual in charge. Robin also explains when it is advantageous to have an outside company like Community IT assist with the migration, and some of her tricks for helping nonprofits prepping files to migrate them.Especially for an organization that has been in existence for a very long time, the way files were organized has probably changed often. Sometimes using a “dump truck” approach is the only way to migrate. If your business is such that you are always busy, it’s always going to be hard to prioritize organizing the files, before or after the migration. If you can start to make organization a habit, though, you will find that many other policies will start to fall into place, especially as you think about your permissions. As AI tools for discovering files become more advanced and ubiquitous, you are going to want to be sure your permissions and your policies are in good shape. A migration can be just the deadline you need to update your organization-wide attitudes toward knowledge management. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

What topics should we expect to be important next year? In a New Year’s Eve tradition, Carolyn asked Community IT senior staff to weigh in on the most important and/or under-reported tech stories that impact nonprofit technology. While many of these stories are not under-reported, widely reported mainstream tech stories often have particular or unexpected impacts on the nonprofit sector. We’re following many of them this year.It won't surprise anyone that cybersecurity, AI, and workforce issues are at the top of our list. Hear from our experts Steve Longenecker, Saba Gebru, Matthew Eshleman, Nuradeen Aboki, and Carolyn Woodard on the stories they are interested in, and their expectations for nonprofit tech in 2024.  _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Matt Eshleman, Community IT CTO and cybersecurity expert, sat down with Carolyn recently to discuss what he's hearing about and expecting from AI in the upcoming year. In his role as CTO he interacts with all of our clients and also plays a foundational role in adopting new technologies internally at Community IT. Carolyn wanted to know what questions clients have, particularly about the ways AI impacts their cybersecurity risks. Not surprisingly, Matt recommends creating policies that address the way your staff uses AI - if you haven't updated your Acceptable Use policies recently, AI concerns are a good reason to do that. He also recommends taking an inventory of your file sharing permissions before AI surfaces something that wasn't secured to the correct staff level.Matt points out that in January 2023 no one was talking about ChatGPT. The exponential growth in AI tools this year should keep us paying attention; no one knows what we'll be talking about in January 2025. "My hope is that we can really use these AI tools to help build bridges between  towers of knowledge that we couldn't figure out on our own. I think there's lots of really smart and thoughtful people that are doing a lot of good work in this area. It's important to read and understand and process and be open to the conversation about AI. I really hope that AI can be an enabler of technology to help us, to shape our world into what we want it to be and not just a way for corporations to reduce the value of our individual creativity. I'm optimistic about the technology and the benefits that we're going to receive from it." _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

Carolyn Woodard sat down with Senior Consultant Nura Aboki recently and asked “What’s the most pressing question you are seeing from your mid-market clients around nonprofit IT needs?”Nura quickly answered: Policies.  Astonishingly, many larger nonprofits he works with either don’t have basic IT policies for Acceptable Use and Business Continuity, or they have outdated policies that don’t adequately cover our new hybrid environment, cybersecurity needs, or AI.Some of the major blocks to creating or updating these policies are leadership challenges, issues of ownership of IT, and inertia. But inadequate Acceptable Use policies put your entire organization at risk and create a situation where your staff may inadvertently make security mistakes. And were that cybersecurity outcome to be severe, a lack of Business Continuity policy would hinder your organization’s ability to recover.Listen to Nura’s insights into the importance of these foundational documents and policies, and hear his tips on how to address the barriers that are keeping you from updating those policies. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.

In today’s interview, Carolyn talks with Erik Fernandez, who is an IT Business Manager at Community IT and has been with us for nine years. IT Business Managers are a unique aspect of account management at Community IT. They have senior technical expertise but also business and strategic knowledge. ITBMs function as a general strategic IT advisor; a liaison between our clients and our internal department at Community IT. ITBMs advise clients on improvement projects, IT budgeting, licensing software, hardware recommendations, general short- and long-term goals and initiatives and provide a central point to coordinate such initiatives. ITBMs help clients be forward-looking, and act as a vendor-agnostic, trusted advisors with deep knowledge of the nonprofit IT software and platforms available. “…When you’re working with nonprofits, the people part is very important. You need to have soft skills and an attitude of helpfulness and kindness. The human component is very important, I would say … My previous work experience in IT related jobs was in kind of cutthroat environments. While I was prepared for the same here, I found the atmosphere of camaraderie, service, helping and learning at Community IT proved me wrong on that.” - Erik Fernandez, IT Business ManagerJoin us for our series featuring interviews with Community IT employees. In this series, we talk about nonprofit technology career paths, career resources, skills, and certifications. We will also touch on mentoring opportunities as you start out on your career and ways to give back if you are further along. If you are wondering what it is like to work at a place like Community IT, you can learn about it here. _______________________________Start a conversation :) Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/ email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com on LinkedIn Thanks for listening.