The Challenge: Inherited Technology Debt and Lack of Strategy
A nonprofit organization dedicated to civil rights opportunities and making a better life for African immigrant families, operating across three locations (New York City, Philadelphia, and the Washington DC area), faced a technology challenge common to nonprofits: an inherited environment that was a result of prior underinvestment, which had put the organization in a state of technology debt.
The organization’s new Deputy Executive Director, who manages operations, HR, and finance, was tasked with stabilizing an overwhelming IT environment. Key pain points, characteristic of technology debt, included:
- Scattered Devices: An estimated 60 computers needed management, but only 35 were loosely tracked. Devices were purchased ad hoc, often using consumer-grade Home editions or bought from consumer retailers, leading to inconsistency and security gaps.
Community IT recommends investing in business/enterprise-grade laptops and standardized software (like Windows Pro) to create proactive, reliable infrastructure that supports the mission.
- Unmanaged Mobility: The organization owned approximately 80 smartphones with no inventory, management, or clarity on which lines were active, resulting in major costs, confusion, and cybersecurity risks.
- Lack of Direction: Without a clear inventory or long-term plan, the nonprofit executives felt overwhelmed and lacked the bandwidth to make strategic decisions, needing help just to figure out where to start. An IT governance for nonprofit plan was needed to create measurable goals and celebrate achievements along the way.
The Solution: Strategic Assessment, Standardization, and Phased Cleanup
Community IT approached the project by first offering strategic guidance, treating the initial meetings as “tech therapy sessions” to identify pain points and hopes for the future.
This diagnostic phase quickly led to the creation of a multi-year technology roadmap focused on standardization and best practices. Important to IT governance for nonprofits is a roadmap to help keep where you are going in mind as decisions are made and progress is celebrated.
The Roadmap focused on two key areas, broken down into manageable, bite-sized pieces:
1. Establishing Unified Device Management
Community IT first focused on bringing all endpoints under central management.
- Standardized Procurement: To stop the influx of scattered, consumer-grade devices, Community IT worked with the client to define standard, business-grade laptop specifications for different user roles. A clear procurement process was established using a dedicated Dell representative, ensuring new devices were correctly configured for Autopilot enrollment, streamlining setup and long-term maintenance, getting a nonprofit discount, and leading to predictable and manageable costs.
- Inventory and Control: Community IT installed management agents on all estimated 60 computers and refreshed the existing Autopilot and Intune platforms, which had previously been paid for but unused due to a lack of IT management bandwidth. Community IT recommends using Autopilot and Intune for streamlined remote device management and significant cost savings in set up and onboarding/offboarding support.
- Lifecycle Planning: A budget and plan were developed for the orderly replacement of aging equipment, prioritizing devices that were six or seven years old or those that were consumer-grade.
Community IT recommends following a 3-5 year replacement cycle to ensure all laptops are functioning optimally and capable of receiving all cybersecurity updates and patches. End-of-life devices cause significant loss in productivity and increased security risks.
2. Resolving the Backlog of Unmanaged Equipment
With a long-term plan in place, Community IT tackled the backlog of existing devices.
- Laptop Cleanup: For about 20 laptops in the New York City office running the Windows Home edition, a Community IT technician performed an on-site visit to upgrade the operating systems to Windows Pro, enroll them in Autopilot/Intune, and upgrade them to Windows 11. Remaining remote laptops needing upgrades were addressed through remote management efforts.
- Mobile Device Management (MDM): A thorough review of the 80 smartphones, conducted with Verizon’s assistance, identified unused lines and allowed the disposal of old phones. For the remaining active devices, Community IT implemented an MDM solution recommended by Verizon. This created a smooth process where new phone purchases from Verizon are automatically enrolled in the MDM, ensuring security and proper application deployment from day one.
The Result: Confidence, Security, and Momentum for Mission Delivery
By focusing on trust-building, clear communication, and implementing a steady, measurable roadmap, Community IT helped the client move from a state of frustration and chaos to confidence in the steps they are taking to move to a secure and standardized technology environment.
The measurable progress—from unmanaged devices to a smooth procurement process—built confidence in the client’s leadership capabilities and established a strong rapport and partnership with Community IT. This momentum now enables the organization to pivot toward tackling more complex, organizational-wide challenges, such as:
- Governance Improvements: Planning to implement a password manager, which requires significant change management support for the entire staff.
- Sustainable Stability: Establishing a consistent secure state where technology is a reliable support for the nonprofit’s programs, rather than a point of anxiety.
Through strategic planning and phased implementation, Community IT ensured the client now has the standardized processes, managed equipment, and IT governance for nonprofits framework needed for long-term stability and mission success.
Ready for a Nonprofit Technology Partner that Works with You?
Community IT understands that tech support goes beyond technology knowledge, and includes the attitudes and experience of your technology partner. That’s why we spend time developing long term relationships with our clients allowing you to seize technology opportunities as they arise.
Community IT’s strategic guidance, proactive approach, and implementation-specific tech teams with great depth and varied technical expertise helped this client realize their technology goals.
Community IT was able to help the client break down overwhelming technology debt into a clear, manageable roadmap. By standardizing device procurement and implementing management tools like Microsoft Autopilot and Intune, we helped them transition from a chaotic, inherited environment to a secure, stable, and strategically planned infrastructure. We are always ready to support our clients to face their real needs and constraints. We use our IT and nonprofit expertise to guide clients as they navigate their changing IT needs, as shown in this Resolving Technology Debt by Implementing IT Governance for a Nonprofit Case Study.
You can be sure we are dedicated to the success of your mission and will help you find the solution that fits you.
As advocates for using technology to work smarter, we’re practicing what we recommend. This article was drafted with the assistance of AI, but the content was reviewed, edited, and finalized by a human editor to ensure accuracy and relevance.
Photo by UK Black Tech on Unsplash