Sarah had managed IT for the organization for four years. She set up the email system, migrated the donor database, built the shared drive, and kept everything running on nights and weekends because she believed in the mission. When she took a job in Seattle, she left behind everything she knew \u2014 and the organization inherited a situation nobody had planned for.<\/span><\/p>\n The donor records were in a folder on Sarah\u2019s old laptop, still sitting in the supply closet. Three staff accounts from former employees were still active. Nobody knew the admin password for the WiFi router. The organization\u2019s most recent backup was eight months old.<\/span><\/p>\n This is not a story about negligence. Sarah gave everything she had. But volunteer IT is always one departure away from this moment \u2014 and when it happens, it usually happens at the worst possible time.<\/span><\/p>\n The good news: moving to secure, professional cloud infrastructure doesn\u2019t require a large IT budget. It requires the right setup. And for nonprofits, the cost may be close to nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n When donor records, grant documents, financial data, and program materials live across personal drives, individual email accounts, and local machines, your organization is exposed in ways that go beyond inconvenience.<\/span><\/p>\n A staff departure can make critical files temporarily or permanently inaccessible. A personal account breach can expose donor information. A lost or stolen laptop \u2014 with no remote wipe capability \u2014 can compromise years of constituent data. And if you\u2019re subject to a grant audit or legal inquiry, the inability to produce organized, complete records is its own kind of crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n For nonprofits specifically, data security is also a donor trust issue. The people who give to your organization are trusting you with their personal information. A breach doesn\u2019t just create legal and financial exposure \u2014 it can end relationships that took years to build.<\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need a server room. You don\u2019t need an IT department. Secure cloud infrastructure for a nonprofit organization means:<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both deliver all of this. And for nonprofits, both platforms offer deeply discounted \u2014 or in some cases free \u2014 licensing.<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft 365 Nonprofit plans start at no cost for qualifying organizations (up to 300 seats for the basic plan) through Microsoft\u2019s TechSoup partnership. The full Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan \u2014 which includes Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange \u2014 is available at a fraction of standard pricing for registered nonprofits.<\/span><\/p>\n Google Workspace for Nonprofits is available free of charge to eligible organizations through Google for Nonprofits, and includes Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, and the full Workspace suite.<\/span><\/p>\n For most Chicago nonprofits, the choice comes down to what your team already uses and what your grant-funded partners use. Organizations that collaborate heavily with government agencies or corporate funders often find Microsoft 365 easier for document compatibility. Organizations that are building from scratch and want simplicity often prefer Google Workspace.<\/span><\/p>\n Either platform, properly configured, gives your organization enterprise-grade security and collaboration capability at minimal cost.<\/span><\/p>\n Moving from scattered files and personal accounts to a unified cloud platform doesn\u2019t have to be disruptive. The process we use with Chicago nonprofits follows five stages:<\/span><\/p>\n CMIT Chicago works with nonprofit organizations across Chicago to implement, configure, and manage cloud infrastructure that fits both their mission and their budget. We handle the migration, set up the permissions, configure the security policies, and provide ongoing management so your team doesn\u2019t have to think about it.<\/span><\/p>\n We also offer staff training that\u2019s designed for non-technical users \u2014 because a secure platform only works if the people using it understand how.<\/span><\/p>\n If your organization is still running on volunteer IT, personal accounts, or a cloud setup that hasn\u2019t been properly configured, this is a solvable problem. And it\u2019s probably more affordable than you think.<\/span><\/p>\nWhy scattered data is a mission risk, not just an IT problem<\/b><\/h3>\n
What \u2018secure cloud\u2019 actually means for a nonprofit<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: which is right for your nonprofit<\/b><\/h3>\n
The 5-step migration path \u2014 without disrupting your team<\/b><\/h3>\n
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How CMIT Chicago manages this for Chicago nonprofits<\/b><\/h3>\n