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Carolyn Woodard explores why statistical analysis and evaluations are never neutral with Heather Krause, mathematical statistician and founder of We All Count.

Heather built her career doing statistical consulting, evaluation, and causal analysis in the global south, work that eventually convinced her that the widespread belief in value neutral quantitative analysis is a myth. In this conversation, she and Carolyn dig into why every statistical task, even something as simple as calculating an average, is really a series of choices, and why those choices are never neutral.

Using a deceptively simple classroom size example, Heather shows how the same data can produce two different, equally correct answers depending on whose experience you are measuring for, and why that matters far beyond the classroom. She and Carolyn also talk about a dairy cooperative project in Bangladesh, the discomfort people feel when the myth of neutrality gets challenged, and why transparency, not dumbed down science, is the real fix.

The conversation wraps with a candid look at how AI fits into all of this: it is not value neutral either, and understanding its hidden choices may be one of the most useful data literacy skills nonprofits can build right now.

Heather and Carolyn discuss:

Why statistics and the application of statistics are not the same thing, and how every calculation, like choosing an average's denominator, embeds a value judgment and takes a perspective.
A classroom size example showing how measuring from a teacher's perspective versus a student's perspective produces two different, defensible answers, and why the choice matters.
A dairy cooperative project in Bangladesh that illustrates how whose worldview gets built into a statistical model shapes what the evidence ends up being used to say.
Why transparency about the assumptions behind a data project, explained in plain language, builds more trustworthy evidence than technical jargon or hedged science.
Why AI models are not value neutral, how they can hide the choices they make, and how nonprofits might use AI to build more transparent, equitable data practices.

Resources Mentioned:

We All Count - Heather Krause - https://weallcount.com/
Bangladesh Women Milking Example and Equity in Evaluations - YouTube - https://youtu.be/8gYtTYc2M0U?si=AryCMmUsNTYq7YoW

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Carolyn Woodard covers why deliberate, thoughtful implementation is actually your nonprofit's competitive advantage, not a liability.

The commercial AI sector is in a "move fast and break things" sprint. Tech companies are pouring billions into AI, racing to scale, pushing toward the edge of the market. Today's AI race feels similar. Nonprofits tend to think differently. You ask hard questions. You think about theory of change, root causes, impacts on your communities, unforeseen consequences, and alignment with your values. You don't adopt trends just because everyone else is.

Concerned about climate impacts of your AI use? Carolyn covers her recent blog post on three filters to use as you make daily decisions about using AI: What are you using the AI to do (text is lighter than producing video), where are you (how stressed is your grid and your water supply in your location), and what are the benefits to consider as you consider the environmental impacts?

Carolyn also walks through a practical framework for any AI adoption decision: Do you need it? Can you contain it? Do you understand what it might do? If you can't confidently answer yes to all three, then waiting isn't falling behind—it's being strategic.

Key Takeaways:

Nonprofit instincts to think deeply about change, impact, and ethics are strategically prescient, not conservative.

When commercial AI implementations encounter consequences, organizations with inclusive adoption processes and clear policies will have a genuine competitive advantage.

AI agents represent a new risk category; don't create an agent just because the tool offers the option. Understand what you're deploying.

Experimentation is valuable for nonprofits, but human oversight and clear policies are essential, especially with agentic systems.

Resources Mentioned:

What Is an AI Agent?

An AI agent is a program designed to operate independently toward a specific goal, rather than simply responding to individual prompts. Unlike a chatbot that waits for you to ask questions, an agent reasons about how to achieve its objective and takes actions on its own—such as reading files, sending emails, or accessing systems. You can program checkpoints where the agent asks for your permission before taking certain actions, but the agent itself decides the steps and sequences needed to reach its goal. This autonomy is what makes agents powerful for automating complex tasks, but it's also why they require careful oversight: because they're goal-directed and adaptive, they may find unexpected paths to achieve their objectives, which can create risks if not properly contained and monitored.

What Is an AI Agent? – Build Consulting – https://buildconsulting.com/resources/podcast-rise-of-the-ai-agents/

Three Filters for Values-Aligned AI Decision-Making – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/blog-values-aligned-ai-decision-making/

Claude Cybersecurity Incidents Disclosure – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evals

Fortune (mainstream): https://fortune.com/2026/07/31/anthropic-claude-escaped-test-hacked-three-companies-openai/ (paywall)

TechCrunch (tech-focused): https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/30/anthropic-says-its-own-ai-models-breached-three-companies-during-security-tests/

Open AI Cybersecurity Incidents Disclosure - OpenAI - https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-model-evaluation-security-incident/

CNN (mainstream reporting): https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/22/tech/openai-hugging-face-ai-cybersecurity

Malwarebytes (technical deep-dive): https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/07/openais-agent-escaped-its-sandbox-during-a-security-test

Women in Climate Tech Cohort – Climate Collective – https://climate-collective.circle.so/cliematecollective

Electricity Maps https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/live/fifteen_minutes

Nonprofit IT Management Community – Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofitITmanagement/

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Carolyn Woodard talks with Joe Robbins, Chief Product Officer at Food Rescue US, about a real-world AI project built from the ground up: a predictive model that flags volunteer pickups at high risk of a last-minute cancellation.

Food Rescue US connects volunteers with food donors and receiving agencies through an app similar to a delivery service, coordinating about 150,000 pickups a year across 27 states. When a volunteer cancels within 24 hours of a pickup, site coordinators scramble to cover it or risk the relationship with the donor.

Joe and his team partnered with a supply chain researcher at Michigan State University to build an algorithm that predicts cancellation risk and flags pickups at high-risk for cancellation. Rather than automating any decisions outright, the AI triggers an alert to the site coordinator, who checks with the volunteer about confirming the pickup or cancelling early. During the pilot and rollout the AI tool flagged thousands of rescues that would have been last minute cancellations.

Joe shares the practical lessons from a project that took a full year to scope, pilot, and improve: why good data capture has to come before any AI project, how a tightly scoped pilot funded through a grant reduced risk, and why keeping a human in the loop kept the tool trustworthy for staff and volunteers alike.

He also offers a framework for nonprofits without an in-house AI researcher or technical staff to get started using AI for more than productivity tools.

Joe and Carolyn discuss:

How a predictive model helps Food Rescue US flag volunteer pickups at high risk of last-minute cancellation, giving site coordinators three to eight days of notice instead of a same-day scramble.
Why the project deliberately keeps a human in the loop: the algorithm surfaces a risk score, but a site coordinator decides whether to act on it.
Why clean, well-understood data capture has to happen before any AI project, and how to audit what data your organization already has.
How building a pilot into a grant proposal made it easier to test small before rolling out more broadly.
A framework for nonprofits without an in-house AI researcher: start with free assistant tools, learn what context AI needs to be useful, then look for a tightly scoped, well-documented problem to solve where you already have the data to use.
What's next for Food Rescue US: using AI to take logistical pressure off site coordinators so they can focus on building community relationships.

Resources Mentioned:

Food Rescue US: https://foodrescue.us
Tech Soup AI Impact Hour interview with Joe: https://engage.techsoup.org/c/upcoming-events/ai-impact-hour-for-nonprofits

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This week Carolyn Woodard covers how to get AI literate, moving from the big-picture policy questions she's been focused on lately back to a practical roundup: how do you and your staff build AI literacy, and do you need a certificate to prove it?

She starts with free and low-cost nonprofit-specific options: PoliSync's four-module Certificate in Applied AI for Social Good, and Tim Lockie's hands-on AI for Anyone course through The Human Stack ($99). She also points to more general platforms like LinkedIn Learning, plus certifications straight from the source: Anthropic's free AI Fluency for Nonprofits course and paid Claude Certified Associate exam, Microsoft's AI Business Professional Certificate for Copilot users, and Google's Gemini certifications (for general knowledge, no previous experience necessary.) For a deeper resource, she recommends Cheryl Contee's book AI for Nonprofits and its companion AI4NP.org knowledge hub.

Carolyn's take: if you like structured learning and taking a class, or need a credential for a job or your own development plan, get one; if you're a self-directed learner already experimenting hands-on, you can decide if you need that credential too.

Either way, AI literacy is what lets you and your organization make informed, values-driven decisions about how, or whether, to use these tools. She closes on a bright note: data center moratoriums are gaining momentum in cities and counties nationwide, proof that community advocacy is having a real effect.

This episode covers:

Free and low-cost AI literacy courses for nonprofit staff.
Certification options straight from Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google for teams already using Claude, Copilot, or Gemini.
How to decide whether you actually need a certificate, based on your learning style and goals.
A recommended book and knowledge hub for going deeper on AI at nonprofits.

Resources Mentioned:

Certificate in Applied AI for Social Good – PoliSync – https://www.polisync.org/ai-certificate
AI for Anyone – The Human Stack – https://thehumanstack.com/academy/aiforanyone
AI for Nonprofits Cohort (currently closed, see AI4NP.org below) – NTEN – https://www.nten.org/learn/nonprofit-tech-readiness/ai-for-nonprofits
Career Essentials in Generative AI – LinkedIn Learning / LinkedIn for Nonprofit https://www.linkedin.com/learning/showcase/artificial-intelligence-22747885
Udemy Nonprofit Plan FAQ – Udemy Business – https://business-support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115016125628-Nonprofit-Plan-FAQ
AI Fluency for Nonprofits – Anthropic Academy – https://anthropic.skilljar.com/ai-fluency-for-nonprofits
Claude Certification Program – Anthropic / Pearson VUE – https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/anthropic.html
AI Business Professional Certificate – Microsoft Learn – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/ai-business-professional/
Google AI Professional Certification - Google - https://grow.google/enroll-certificates/ai-professional-certificate-mid/
Gemini Certifications – Google for Education – https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_us/learning-center/certifications/
AI for Nonprofits (book and knowledge hub) – AI4NP.org – https://www.ai4np.org/about
Data Center Reporting Tracker – Erin Brockovich – https://www.brockovichdatacenter.com

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In Part 2 of the AI Maturity Model for Nonprofits webinar, Carolyn Woodard and Mimi Yeh, Engagement Director at PTKO, and George Danilovics, VP of Technology at AHIP, pick up where Part 1 left off, moving from the framework itself to the harder question of what it takes to make AI adoption become quiet, boring, and everywhere.

Mimi and George walk through what it looks like when AI stops being an initiative and becomes infrastructure, pointing to the moment when people stop announcing they used it, the way no one says "I used Outlook to send this email." The session closes with a candid Q&A on tool volatility, vendor risk, and how to address genuine ethical concerns about AI when your colleagues or community have serious reservations.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed.

This episode covers:

Why you should map each team separately against the five maturity stages rather than assigning your organization a single score, and how that map becomes a diagnostic you can actually act on.
Why AI competency training deserves the same recurring, role-based architecture as security awareness training, not a one-time brown bag.
Action items you can start this week and this quarter to move one team forward one stage at a time.
How to think about vendor risk and tool volatility when planning for long-term AI integration, and why documenting your strategy matters more than committing to any one tool, and lets you move between vendors more easily down the road.
Practical guidance on addressing ethical and social concerns about AI, including when those conversations belong at the board level.

Resources Mentioned:

AI Maturity Model for Nonprofits Webinar – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/webinar-ai-maturity-model-for-nonprofits/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=friday-tech-topics
AI Journey Guide and Supplemental Resources – PTKO – https://ptko.io/ai-toolkit/
Using AI to Build a Data Lake for Nonprofits Webinar (August 19) – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/webinar-ai-in-practice-for-nonprofits/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=friday-tech-topics
Nonprofit IT Management Community – Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofitITmanagement

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Carolyn Woodard covers a growing counter-movement to concentrated AI power and what it means for nonprofits thinking about data sovereignty, open-source models, and their own agency in a moment that can feel overwhelming.

Mozilla's recent State of Open Source AI Report frames this shift as a "Rebel Alliance" against winner-take-all AI development. Mozilla is deploying $1.4 billion to seed an open, trustworthy AI ecosystem, joined by more than 55 organizations. The report makes the case that open-source models are closing the capability gap with closed commercial systems, and that communities, not just corporations, can own and control their AI.

Carolyn also introduces Current AI, a nonprofit backed by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and the French government, which is building what it calls a worldwide web of AI: free, public, and available to anyone the way the early internet was. One example: an offline device running AI in 22 Indian languages, built so communities own their data entirely. A Current AI grantee in Brazil is doing similar work with indigenous Amazon communities.

This episode covers:

Why Mozilla's open-source AI report matters for nonprofits skeptical of locking into commercial platforms with opaque pricing and data practices.
How indigenous and Global South communities are leading on data sovereignty, and what that model could mean for mission-driven organizations here.
The case for staying informed even if you're not ready to act: understanding the landscape is itself a form of agency.
One for-profit alternative worth knowing: Change Agent AI, built by, for, and with the social sector, on its own infrastructure without big tech servers, currently $25 per seat.

Resources Mentioned:

State of Open Source AI Report – Mozilla – https://stateofopensource.ai
Current AI – https://www.currentai.org/
Nonprofit Current AI Is Racing to Build the World Wide Web of AI – TechCrunch – https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/19/nonprofit-current-ai-is-racing-to-build-the-world-wide-web-of-ai-free-for-all/
Conference Spotlight: Data Sovereignty and the Ethics of AI – Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/1200022928/dce5a0cd1e
NCAI Tribal AI Governance Briefing – National Congress of American Indians – https://hubs.la/Q04pD9650
Change Agent AI – https://thechange.ai
Generative AI Is an Engineering Disaster – The Atlantic (paywalled) – https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/generative-ai-engineering-disaster/687901/

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In the first part of this two-part conversation, Carolyn Woodard and Mimi Yeh, Engagement Director at PTKO, and George Danilovics, Vice President of Information Technology at AHIP, walk through an AI maturity model designed to help nonprofits move from pilots and experiments to AI that is genuinely embedded in how the organization works: quiet, boring, and everywhere.

The conversation opens with a striking data point: 80% of nonprofits are already using AI in some form, yet 90% of nonprofit professionals still feel unprepared to fully leverage it.

Mimi and George use a five-stage maturity model that moves from ad hoc, experimental, systematic, strategic, and pioneering - to help organizations find where they are now and what intentional progress looks like. The heart of the discussion is the systematic stage, where AI stops being someone else's project and starts becoming part of the organizational DNA. As George puts it, the destination is a world where AI is as unremarkable as email.

This episode covers:

The five stages of AI maturity and how to identify where your nonprofit currently stands.
Why the experimental stage is necessary but not the destination, and what it takes to move past it.
What the systematic stage looks like in practice: defined goals, shared prompt libraries, documented best practices, and governance that evolves alongside your AI use.
How strategic AI adoption shifts the question from what tool should we use to how should we organize ourselves to get the most value.
Why reaching the pioneering stage is not the goal for most nonprofits, and why that is perfectly fine.

Resources Mentioned

PTKO
AHIP
Mission-Aligned AI Adoption Model – Community IT Innovators
Full Webinar: AI Maturity Model for Nonprofits – Community IT Innovators
Nonprofit IT Management Community – Reddit

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Carolyn Woodard covers a cultural moment that's been building quietly, resistance to AI among workers, young people, and nonprofits, and connects it to a research framework for thinking honestly about AI's real environmental costs and benefits. Both threads come back to the same core question: who benefits from AI, and on what terms?

This episode also introduces a three-lens approach to help nonprofits think through the environmental impact of their own AI use, and suggests why "I'm just against AI" may be a values signal worth listening to rather than a training problem to fix.

This episode covers:

The Summer of Ludd, an 8-day festival in New York City, and what the original Luddite movement was actually about: skilled workers organizing against technology being used to enrich owners at workers' expense.
Why some nonprofit staff, especially younger workers, are pushing back on AI, and why it's worth asking what's behind that resistance before trying to fix it.
Researcher Jennifer Turliuk's net climate impact framework, and her core observation: AI harms are measurable now, but most benefits are still speculative. Including as full a picture of the cons and pros will help organizations make thoughtful AI use decisions.
Three lenses for evaluating your own AI use: what you're asking AI to do, where you are, and how you will benefit from using the AI.
DC Public Library's free in-person "AI & Us" series focusing on "invisible" communities and AI.

Resources Mentioned:

Summer of Ludd — Quartz — https://qz.com/anti-tech-movement-ai-offline-rebellion
Luddite as political insult — NPR — https://www.npr.org/2026/06/19/nx-s1-5853589/luddite-meaning-history-ai
Blood in the Machine — Brian Merchant — https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/ or at your library or local bookstore!
Blood in the Machine Substack — Brian Merchant — https://www.bloodinthemachine.com
AI & Us series — DC Public Library — https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/16823630
Responding to the Climate Impact of Generative AI — MIT Sustainability — https://sustainability.mit.edu/article/responding-climate-impact-generative-ai
Harnessing the Power of AI to Accelerate Climate Solutions — MIT Sloan — https://mitsloan.mit.edu/centers-initiatives/sustainability-initiative/harnessing-power-ai-to-accelerate-climate-solutions
Sustainable AI cohort — Jennifer Turliuk / Maven — 10% off discount with code NONPROFIT. Here is a direct link: https://maven.com/jennifer-turliuk/sustainableai?promoCode=NONPROFIT
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/
Webinar: AI Maturity Model for Nonprofits — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/webinar-ai-maturity-model-for-nonprofits/

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Carolyn Woodard explores voice AI in the social services sector with Chip Kennedy, founder and CEO of CivicReach, a technology company building AI-powered communication tools for nonprofits and government agencies delivering human services. Chip brings a rare dual perspective: years as a technologist and startup founder alongside his role and experience running a nonprofit serving families experiencing homelessness.

When people we serve need information, how can we get it to them? When our nonprofits free up employee time by using technology - in this case Voice AI to answer simple questions in incoming calls - what else can those staff members do with that time? Can emerging technology help staff up government agencies and nonprofits who are chronically understaffed and under resourced, without losing the trust of the communities they care about?

The conversation digs into how voice AI is helping under-resourced social services organizations close the gap between people asking for help and the staff trying to reach them. Chip is candid that voice AI is not the right fit for every organization, and he shares how to evaluate whether it is right for yours.

He also makes a compelling case that AI-driven phone intake is not a job displacement risk in human services – a sector so chronically understaffed that organizations are more likely to redeploy freed-up staff capacity than lose positions.

Carolyn and Chip discuss:

Why human services is one sector where job displacement fears around AI largely don't apply – and what freed-up staff capacity actually looks like in practice.
How to evaluate whether voice AI is a good fit for your organization before committing to a vendor. What are the questions to ask about their business model, their data policy, and their understanding of your nonprofit mission.
The value of running a structured technology pilot, why more nonprofits should be asking vendors for one, and how to ask.
How to build internal champions and skeptics into your pilot team so you get honest feedback at the end.
Three questions every nonprofit should ask any AI vendor: where does your data go, how will our organization have to change, and how do you plan to stay sustainable?

Resources Mentioned:

CivicReach – https://civicreach.ai

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Carolyn Woodard covers the UN's first-ever independent scientific assessment of AI — and what its findings mean for nonprofits navigating questions of data rights, economic disruption, and who actually benefits from AI's rapid rise. This episode connects the global governance conversation to practical tools and timely opportunities your organization can act on right now.

From the Indigenous Data Sovereignty movement to a free geospatial tool built by a nonprofit, to two fellowship programs with deadlines this week, there's a lot here for organizations at every stage of AI engagement.

This episode covers:

Released July 1, the UN's Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI — co-chaired by AI scientist Yoshua Bengio and Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa — warns that AI is advancing faster than governments can keep up, and that the window for effective global governance is open but closing. The US controls 75% of the world's top AI computing power; China holds another 15%.
The Indigenous Data Sovereignty movement holds that data about a community belongs to that community, not to whoever collected it. This principle, developed largely by Indigenous communities, is one of the most fully realized frameworks for data rights globally and directly informs broader movements like the Better Deal for Data (discussed with Jim Fruchterman last Friday). The Indigenous Data Alliance has an open application for its year-long paid Indigenous Data Champions Fellowship, open to Indigenous individuals working with Tribal Nations, Alaska Native communities, Native Hawaiians, or Indigenous Island Territories. Deadline: August 1.
Beacon, from nonprofit DataKind, is a free geospatial platform that you can use to overlay public data on health, housing, food access, demographics - with your own program data, to generate maps and insights. DataKind does not sell your data, doesn't share it without consent, and writes its privacy policy to GDPR standard. As with any platform, consult your privacy officer before uploading sensitive constituent data.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the EU's gold standard for data privacy, and it applies to your organization if anyone in the EU interacts with you, regardless of where you're based. Core principles: collect only what you need, be transparent, get consent, tell everyone in your database if you have a breach, and honor deletion requests. Note: California's CCPA/CPRA is modeled on similar principles, though most nonprofits are exempt from that law. Even if neither applies to you, these are excellent data hygiene standards for any organization that wants to maintain community trust.
UBI (Universal Basic Income) gives individuals direct cash payments with no strings attached. UBC (Universal Basic Capital) gives people an ownership stake in AI companies, so they share in the wealth AI generates. Senator Bernie Sanders recently introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would give the public a 50% ownership stake in major AI firms. Anthropic's June 2026 Economic Policy Framework also proposed sovereign wealth funds and equity-sharing as potential redistribution mechanisms — acknowledging that the companies building these tools see real policy problems ahead.
Two fellowship deadlines this week: the OpenAI People-First AI Fund offers grants to US community nonprofits in legal aid, community arts, and local journalism — no AI experience or OpenAI tools required, deadline July 15. Claude Corps from Anthropic places early-career fellows at nonprofits for one year at $85K; both fellow and host org applications for the October 2026 cohort close July 17. Note: host orgs must currently be Claude for Nonprofits customers to apply.

Resources Mentioned:

Executive Summary – Independent International Scientific Panel on AI – United Nations – https://www.un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en/preliminary-report
Indigenous Data Champions Fellowship – Indigenous Data Alliance – https://indigenousdata.org/indigenous-data-champions
Beacon – DataKind – https://explorebeacon.org
GDPR for Nonprofits – Whole Whale – https://wholewhale.com/tips/gdpr-for-nonprofits/
GDPR Compliance Checklist for Charities – Usercentrics – https://usercentrics.com/knowledge-hub/gdpr-for-charities/
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – California Attorney General – https://www.oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa
Bernie Sanders on the AI Sovereign Wealth Fund – WIRED – https://youtu.be/qJo12OP0xlU?si=QrXlo4bP5MiCdbrt
American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act – Senator Bernie Sanders – https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-introduces-legislation-to-create-7-trillion-ai-sovereign-wealth-fund/
Economic Policy Framework – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/policy-on-the-ai-exponential/epf
The Atlantic: Universal Basic Capital revival – https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/2026/07/universal-basic-capital-ai/687759/ (paywalled; free account access available)
Forbes: Could Americans Build Wealth Through AI? https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/06/06/could-americans-build-wealth-through-ai-why-trump-may-be-considering-equity-sharing-scheme/
People-First AI Fund – OpenAI Foundation – https://openaifoundation.org/news/2026-people-first-ai-fund
Claude Corps – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/claude-corps
Better Deal for Data – Tech Matters – https://bd4d.org
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/

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Carolyn Woodard explores responsible data governance and AI realism with Jim Fruchterman, MacArthur Fellow and founder of Tech Matters, a tech-for-good nonprofit building open source software for the social sector. Jim's work sits at the intersection of two urgent questions every nonprofit is wrestling with right now: what do you owe the people whose data you collect, and how do you make smart decisions about AI without getting swept up in the hype?

Jim introduces the Better Deal for Data, a new data governance movement built around seven plain-language commitments nonprofits can make to the communities they serve. The core idea: you don't own the data of the people you serve, tech vendors may be extracting it right now without your knowledge, and a basic data safeguarding policy should be as standard as a child safeguarding policy. He also explains why you can't build a responsible AI governance policy without first getting clear on your data governance.

Then the conversation shifts to AI strategy, where Jim draws on decades of experience as an early AI entrepreneur to offer a genuinely grounded take. Gen AI fails in nonprofit program delivery about 80% of the time, and that's still a much better track record than blockchain or the metaverse.

Jim and Carolyn discuss:

The seven Better Deal for Data commitments and why the average nonprofit can likely adopt them in two hours
How tech vendors quietly extract and monetize constituent data through survey tools, donor management platforms, and more
Why data governance and AI governance are inseparable, and why feeding confidential client data into a free AI tool violates both
The case for nonprofits pooling anonymized data to build better AI models for social impact, with real-world examples from MomConnect and Community Solutions
Why Jim recommends most nonprofits wait for proven AI products rather than build, and what RAG-based tools are actually delivering results right now
Why being two or three years behind the for-profit AI curve might actually put nonprofits five to ten years ahead of where they were last year

Resources Mentioned:

Better Deal for Data – Tech Matters – https://bd4d.org
Nonprofit AI Treasure Map – Tech Matters – https://techmatters.org/should-i-be-using-ai-for-this/
Technology for Good – Jim Fruchterman – https://fruchterman.org/book/ or at your library or local bookstore! (Free ebook version coming September 2026)
Tech Matters Podcast – Jim Fruchterman – https://open.spotify.com/show/17Gptwy6BnxhpBJiPuSNGe
MomConnect – South African National Department of Health – https://www.health.gov.za/momconnect/
Community Solutions / Built for Zero – https://community.solutions
Tech Matters – https://techmatters.org

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If last week's episode left you wondering what you can actually do about data center development in your community, this week's episode is the flip side. Carolyn Woodard shares a new national workforce initiative just launched last week, then digs into the tools and resources available for nonprofits and community members who want to shape how AI infrastructure gets built - before it arrives, not after.

She also closes with a look at what's happening in Europe and Africa, tying it back to an earlier episode on how where you are in the world determines the environmental footprint of your AI use, and why that makes local action matter globally.

This episode covers:

RAISE US, a new national nonprofit launched June 25 with bipartisan leadership from former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, has secured more than $500 million toward a $1 billion goal. Anchor partners include Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft, and the OpenAI Foundation. If you work in workforce development in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland, or Utah, pay attention now, pilots are beginning.
The Virginia legislature just wrapped its biannual budget, and the data center tax break fight made it in. Legislators kept the existing break but imposed a new tax on large data center companies to offset it with more to come next session. A local example of the policy battle playing out in real time, and ways that citizen involvement makes a difference in statewide policy.
The Erin Brockovich Data Center Reporting Project lets citizens report data center problems - energy, noise, water - but also has a "Communities Making a Difference" map that documents real wins. Community organizing is working.
41 mayors from six continents — representing more than 90 million people — signed the Global Urban Data Centres Pact at London Climate Action Week on June 23. About half the signatories are U.S. cities including Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, and Palo Alto. They're setting common standards on clean energy, water use, and site selection, creating a benchmark for requirements for other cities and communities to use.
Sierra Club's 2026 Data Center Policy Guidance and Good Jobs First's moratorium bill tracker (300+ bills across 30+ states) give you concrete tools to find what's happening in your state and how to plug in.
Europe's record-breaking heat wave is straining data center cooling systems and sparking a movement toward European-owned AI infrastructure. The African Development Bank and UNDP have launched a $10 billion initiative so Africa becomes a producer of AI, not a consumer of tools built elsewhere. As Carolyn puts it: the Industrial Revolution took 30–40 years for communities to push back. We don't have to wait that long this time.

Resources Mentioned:

RAISE US – https://www.raiseus.ai
Erin Brockovich Data Center Reporting Project – https://brockovichdatacenter.com
Erin Brokovich Data Center Reporting Project - Victory Map https://brockovichdatacenter.com/community-and-legislation.html#map
Communities Making a Difference – Brockovich Data Center Project – https://brockovichdatacenter.com/community-impact.html
Global Urban Data Centres Pact – C40 Cities – https://www.c40.org/news/mayors-from-around-the-world-unite-in-call-for-sustainable-urban-data-centres/
Sierra Club 2026 Data Center Policy Guidance – Sierra Club – https://www.sierraclub.org/issues/climate/data-centers
Data Center Moratorium Bill Tracker – Good Jobs First – https://goodjobsfirst.org/data-center-moratorium-bills-are-spreading-in-2026/
Africa AI 10 Billion Initiative – African Development Bank – https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/african-development-bank-undp-and-partners-launch-ai-10-billion-initiative-during-2026-nairobi-ai-forum-91104
Why Community Benefit Agreements Are Necessary for Data Centers – Brookings Institution – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-community-benefit-agreements-are-necessary-for-data-centers/

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In Part 2 of the Securing Google Workspace for Nonprofits webinar podcast, Carolyn Woodard and Steve Longenecker, Director of IT Consulting at Community IT, move from foundational configurations into the question every nonprofit eventually asks: do we need to pay for a higher tier of Google Workspace to get real security?

The short answer is: probably not right away. Steve walks through the third-party tools that should come before a tier upgrade for most nonprofits: formal security awareness training, third-party backups, advanced email protection, and cloud monitoring.

He explains when a paid Google Workspace tier does make sense, particularly for organizations handling financial or healthcare data, legal holds, or complex app integrations.

The conversation closes with a lively Q&A session drawn from attendee questions and poll results, covering oversharing in Google Drive, data loss prevention, password strength visibility in the admin console, and how to give staff secure, convenient ways to do their jobs without creating unsecured workarounds.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed.

This episode covers:

Why third-party tools for security awareness training, backups, and advanced email protection are the right next layer for most nonprofits, before considering a paid Google Workspace tier.
When upgrading to a paid tier does make sense: handling sensitive financial or healthcare data, e-discovery and legal holds via Google Vault, or managing frequent third-party app integrations.
Nonprofits still receive significant discounts on paid Google Workspace tiers - you just won't get them for free.
You can find out which staff members have and haven't set up two-step verification before you enforce it so no one gets locked out unexpectedly.
Making security convenient matters as much as making it mandatory: if IT makes it too hard for people to do their jobs, staff will find workarounds.

Resources Mentioned:

Google for Nonprofits Security Checklist — Google — https://support.google.com/nonprofits/answer/9251886
Google Workspace Security Checklist for Small Organizations — Google — https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/security/security-checklist-for-small-businesses-1-100-users
Google Workspace Security Checklists (all sizes) — Google — https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/security/security-checklists
Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/cybersecurity-readiness-for-nonprofits-playbook/
Nonprofit Data Retention with Ian Gottesman — Community IT Innovators Podcast — https://communityit.com/podcast-nonprofit-data-retention-with-ian-gottesman/
Cybersecurity Resource Hub — NTEN — https://www.nten.org/learn/resource-hubs/cybersecurity
Nonprofit IT Management Community — Reddit — https://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofitITmanagement
Webinar: AI Maturity Model for Nonprofits - Community IT Innovators - https://communityit.com/webinar-ai-maturity-model-for-nonprofits/

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Carolyn Woodard covers two developing stories this week that together raise a bigger question for nonprofits: as AI infrastructure money floods into communities and philanthropic channels, is your organization ready to navigate it?

First, Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would require large AI companies to transfer half their stock to a federally managed public fund, with annual payments going directly to every American. The idea draws on a broader argument gaining traction across the political spectrum: that AI was built on humanity's collective output, and the public deserves a share of what it produces.

The second story hits closer to home — literally. What would you do with a one time gift that was more than your annual operating budget? Would you worry about the strings attached? In Fauquier County, Virginia, a data center developer called Gigaland has announced $10 million in grants for 10 local nonprofits, contingent on receiving a building permit. Some nonprofits have said yes, some have said no, and most are waiting to see what happens. This tactic may be coming to a community near you soon. What can citizen groups do locally when up against data center money?

This episode also zooms out to look at how Meta, Google, and Amazon run ongoing community grant programs in their data center host communities, and how citizen coalitions in places like Lancaster, Pennsylvania have negotiated binding community benefit agreements instead of accepting gift-bribes.

This episode covers:

The Sanders bill and the question of who benefits from AI-built-on-public-data.
How data center developers are using advance grant offers to nonprofits as a goodwill strategy before permits are approved.
The difference between voluntary corporate giving and binding community benefit agreements, and what nonprofits and citizen coalitions can do to push for the latter.
Four questions every nonprofit board should think through before a windfall lands: donor displacement, reputational risk, sustainability, and your ability to advocate freely.
Why having clear organizational values and a gift acceptance policy in place before the money arrives is the most important preparation you can make.

Resources Mentioned:

American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act – Senator Bernie Sanders – https://www.sanders.senate.gov/op-eds/the-public-should-own-half-of-the-big-a-i-companies/
Exclusive: Gigaland Data Center Developers Offering Millions to Fauquier Nonprofits – FauquierNow – https://www.fauquiernow.com/news/business/exclusive-gigaland-data-center-developers-offering-millions-of-dollars-to-fauquier-nonprofits/article_193216f9-e23a-4aca-ae8f-679846bd2ef1.html
The Third Wave of American Philanthropy – Nan Ransohoff – https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/the-third-wave-of-american-philanthropy
Fair AI-Fueled Data Center Development for Communities – Federation of American Scientists / Day One Project – https://fas.org/publication/community-benefit-agreements-data-center-development/
Why Community Benefit Agreements Are Necessary for Data Centers – Brookings Institution – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-community-benefit-agreements-are-necessary-for-data-centers/
Lancaster Data Center Agreement's Benefit to Community Questioned – Lancaster Online – https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-data-center-agreement-s-benefit-to-community-questioned/article_b2654db6-c6e3-4719-8a0e-1f839c1e325e.html
Is Your Nonprofit Ready for a Windfall? – Successful Nonprofits – https://successfulnonprofits.com/nonprofit_windfall/
Nonprofit Windfalls: Managing Transformative Gifts – PNC Insights – https://www.pnc.com/insights/corporate-institutional/manage-nonprofit-enterprises/you-received-a-windfall-now-what.html
Have a Plan Ready for When Big Gifts Surprise You – Chronicle of Philanthropy (paywall) – https://www.philanthropy.com/solutions/have-a-plan-ready-for-when-big-gifts-surprise-you/

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In the first part of this two-part conversation taken from a webinar, Carolyn Woodard and Steve Longenecker, Director of IT Consulting at Community IT Innovators, walk through the security settings, risks, and first steps nonprofits need to know to get the most out of Google Workspace's free nonprofit tier.

Google provides a genuinely secure platform, but security is a partnership. Steve explains that the risks nonprofits face in Google Workspace rarely come from Google's infrastructure and almost always come from the configuration decisions made on the customer side.

Whether your organization has been on Google for years or just signed up, there are settings in the admin console right now that deserve your attention.

Steve and Carolyn cover:

Why Google Workspace is a strong platform for nonprofits and what the free nonprofit tier includes, including where it stops and paid tiers or third-party tools pick up.
2SV (two-step verification) is Google's term for MFA Multi-Factor-Authentication, and enforcing it for every user account is the single most important step you can take.
How phishing, email spoofing, and business email compromise play out specifically in nonprofit environments, and what DNS settings like DMARC and DKIM do to reduce your exposure and protect your organization.
Why shared and generic accounts create MFA blind spots, and how Google Groups can be a cleaner alternative for shared inboxes like info@ or donations@.
The risks of unmanaged personal Google accounts, inactive user accounts, and overly permissive admin privileges, and how to find and address them in the admin console.
Why migrating from My Drive file sharing to Google Shared Drives is a security and governance upgrade, and why it's worth planning carefully before you start.

Resources Mentioned

Google Admin Console – Google – https://admin.google.com
Google for Nonprofits Security Checklist: https://support.google.com/nonprofits/answer/9251886
Google Workspace Security Checklist for Small Organizations: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/security/security-checklist-for-small-businesses-1-100-users
Nonprofit IT Management Reddit Community – Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofitITmanagement
Migrating Within Google to Use Shared Drives – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/migrating-within-google-to-use-shared-drives/
Email Protection and Deliverability (DMARC/DKIM) – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/podcast-email-protection-and-deliverability-with-johan-hammerstrom/
Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/cybersecurity-readiness-for-nonprofits-playbook/

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Carolyn Woodard covers Anthropic's announcement of Claude Corps, a $150 million national fellowship program placing trained AI fellows inside nonprofit organizations, and gives a quick regulatory update on AI liability and state-level regulation.

Claude Corps will train 1,000 early-career fellows on Claude and embed them full-time, in-person at host nonprofits for 12 months. Fellows are employed by CodePath, paid $85,000 plus benefits, and supported by Anthropic and Social Finance, which will handle measurement and evaluation. The first cohort of 100 fellows begins in October 2026, with applications closing July 17th.

Host organization applications are also open, and at least 400 nonprofits will participate over the coming years. Carolyn reflects on what this kind of embedded AI capacity could mean for chronically under-resourced nonprofits, while also noting the program's strategic timing ahead of Anthropic's anticipated IPO.

On the regulatory front, a German regional court issued a preliminary injunction finding Google liable for false claims in its AI Overview search results, treating AI-generated summaries as the company's own speech rather than protected third-party content. Meanwhile, California's No Robo Bosses Act is advancing through the legislature again after being vetoed earlier, with legislation that would require human oversight when AI is used in workplace discipline and termination decisions. And a federal rule requiring energy and water efficiency assessments for data centers expires in September with no replacement in sight.

This episode covers:

What Claude Corps is, who can apply as a fellow or host, and what genuine AI capacity-building at a nonprofit could look like in practice.
Why Anthropic's investment in the nonprofit sector is both a real opportunity and a strategic brand play, and why that tension doesn't cancel either side out.
The German court ruling that could make AI companies liable for hallucinated search results, and what it means for the "just verify everything" standard nonprofits already practice.
California's renewed push to regulate AI in the workplace, and the expiring federal rule on data center efficiency.

Resources Mentioned:

Claude Corps announcement – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-corps
Claude Corps fellow application – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/claude-corps/fellow
Claude Corps host organization application – Anthropic – https://www.anthropic.com/claude-corps/host
German court ruling on Google AI Overviews – The Decoder – https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/
No Robo Bosses Act of 2026 (SB 947) – California State Senate – https://sd05.senate.ca.gov/news/ca-senate-approves-no-robo-bosses-act-2026-ensure-human-oversight-ai-workplace
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template – Community IT Innovators – https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/
This resource didn't get in the episode but should have! Will talk about it next week: https://fas.org/publication/community-benefit-agreements-data-center-development/

New every Tuesday.

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Carolyn Woodard explores how cybersecurity insurance has evolved for nonprofits with Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard, Senior Vice President at Lockton Companies, who advises nonprofit clients on risk, insurance, and mitigation strategies to protect their boards, missions, and people.

When Carolyn and Jenna first presented a webinar together on cyber liability insurance, it was a new product that many nonprofits had never considered. Today it is nearly always required, and the risks it covers have transformed. The conversation traces that evolution, from the forgotten laptop and rogue employee scenarios of the early days to the ransomware attacks, sophisticated social engineering fraud, and emerging privacy laws driving claims now.

Jenna also shares what insurers are doing about AI, from underwriter questions about guardrails to new endorsements affirming coverage, and why early AI-related litigation should put every nonprofit on notice about keeping a human in the loop.

Jenna and Carolyn discuss:

How cyber claims have shifted toward ransomware and social engineering fraud, where attackers monitor an organization's email and intercept major transactions like grants, investments, or building purchases.
What affirmative AI coverage means, and why underwriters are starting to ask how your organization uses AI and what policies protect PII and confidential data.
Why copyright and media liability claims are rising for nonprofits, including AI-altered images and unlicensed music at events and on podcasts.
How dependence on third-party platforms like payroll systems, cloud providers, and learning platforms creates aggregation risk, and why insurers now ask about your major vendors.
Why increased partisan attention on nonprofits can turn employee statements, scholarship criteria, or governance issues into insurance claims.
Where to start if you are new to an organization or unsure of your coverage: lean on your existing advisors, build a risk tracker, and align your board on top risks.

Resources Mentioned:

Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard Linkedin
Lockton Companies
Cyber Risk Discussion Guide - Lockton
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template – Community IT Innovators
Cybersecurity Insurance for Nonprofits webinar – Community IT Innovators

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The rules for how nonprofits can use AI are being written right now, and there's a real issue over who gets to write them. In this midweek check-in, Carolyn Woodard walks through the federal-versus-state fight over AI regulation, why none of this requires you to be a lawyer to follow along, and how to stay informed about state AI rules-making where nonprofits should be at the table.

She also notes new environmental research showing the water use per prompt really depends on where the data center is sited and the state of the grid in that location - another reason that local advocacy is a real way to have agency in this moment. She closes by advocating for a values-grounded AI policy that is still your best foundation no matter which way the rules shift.

This episode covers:

In December 2025 an executive order "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence" set out to replace a 50-state "patchwork" with one federal approach.
The nuance that matters for your compliance: an executive order doesn't automatically erase existing state laws, and the March 2026 framework urging Congress to act is non-binding — so the rules already on the books in your state still apply for now.
How Colorado and California are splitting: Colorado scaled back its comprehensive AI law (hiring, housing, lending, healthcare) and pushed the effective date to January 1, 2027, while California's frontier-safety law applies only to large developers — and Governor Newsom vetoed the worker-focused "No Robo Bosses Act" after industry pushback.
New UC Riverside research (Prof. Shaolei Ren) showing the water cost of an identical AI query depends enormously on where the data center sits — a more than 20x swing — reframing the "is my individual prompt harmful?" question toward the bigger siting-and-grid picture as Fortune 500 companies integrate AI into everything they do.
Who actually shaped these laws: well-resourced industry groups on one side and consumer-advocacy and civil-rights nonprofits on the other. There is a clear role for nonprofit leadership in the AI regulation debate.

Resources Mentioned:

Artificial Intelligence Legislation Database — National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
U.S. State AI Governance Legislation Tracker — IAPP (nonprofit)
Find & Contact Elected Officials — USA.gov
Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence (Executive Order, Dec. 11, 2025) — The White House
Colorado Governor Signs SB 189, Significantly Amending the State's AI Law — Holland & Knight
California's SB 53: The First Frontier AI Law, Explained — Future of Privacy Forum
AI Programs Consume Large Volumes of Scarce Water — UC Riverside News (Prof. Shaolei Ren)
Making AI Less "Thirsty" (peer-reviewed) — Communications of the ACM
AI's Energy Footprint Investigation — MIT Technology Review
Template: Acceptable Use of AI Tools in the Nonprofit Workplace — Community IT Innovators
Not mentioned in the podcast but apropos. The Fight Over AI is Really a Fight Over Who Governs - op ed from McGovern Foundation in Time

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In Part 2 of the Nonprofit AI Governance Tips webinar, Carolyn Woodard and Nuradeen Aboki, Senior Consultant who has been helping nonprofits explore and adopt AI tools, cover the practical steps your organization can take to move from AI experimentation to intentional governance.

The conversation picks up with a closer look at what belongs in a nonprofit AI policy, who needs to be at the decision-making table, and how to make governance stick in day-to-day operations rather than just on paper. Nura shares a case study of a content-heavy nonprofit that built AI guardrails around their editorial process and came out ahead, and the two close with a question-and-answer session covering metrics, ethics, and the environmental impact of AI.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed.

This episode covers:

A good AI policy addresses acceptable use, data handling, compliance requirements, vendor vetting, human review, and staff training expectations — and it needs to evolve as the tools and your organization do.
Cross-functional governance works best when leadership, board oversight, IT, legal, HR, and end users all have a seat at the table. Research drawing on a national survey of 180 nonprofits found that organizations where staff and board co-developed AI principles launched 12 times more pilots and scaled AI more effectively.
One nonprofit built AI governance around their editorial workflow: updated style guides, required human review of every AI-assisted draft, and targeted prompting training. The result was faster writing without sacrificing voice or accuracy.
When things go wrong, the first step is a calm assessment: figure out who is using what, what went wrong, and whether the root cause was a training gap, policy vacuum, or misconfigured setting.
Making governance real means publishing your policy internally, raising AI use in staff meetings regularly, and creating spaces where people at every comfort level can ask questions and share concerns without judgment.

Resources Mentioned:

AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/
Dell Insights Report on Nonprofit AI Adoption — board.dev — https://board.dev/dell-insights-report-2/
Community IT AI Resource Library — communityit.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/
Community IT Governance Resource Library — communityit.com/governance/
TAG AI Framework — Tech and Service Organizations — https://tagtech.org/page/AI
AI Literacy and the Future of Work — U.S. Department of Labor — https://dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/ten-07-25
No AI Use Policy? What to Do — Candid — https://candid.org/blogs/no-ai-use-policy-what-to-do/
We Did the Math on AI's Energy Footprint — MIT Technology Review — https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/
Securing Google Workspace for Nonprofits Webinar — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/webinar-securing-google-workspace-for-nonprofits/

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Carolyn Woodard covers a landmark moment in the global conversation about AI governance: the release of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, and what it means for nonprofits and philanthropy navigating an AI landscape increasingly shaped by concentrated power.

The encyclical, released May 25, 2026 and addressed to people of every faith and none, draws a deliberate parallel to the 1891 Rerum Novarum, which addressed the rights of workers during the Industrial Revolution. It argues that technology built and governed by a small elite cannot serve the common good, and calls for AI to be "disarmed" from the logic of competition and monopoly. Nonprofit tech thought leaders responded quickly, with voices like Cassie Gruenstein of AI x Impact, TechSoup CEO Marnie Webb, and former TAG Executive Director Chantal Forster each bringing distinct lenses: worker dignity and organizational culture, the economics of AI pricing and shared sector solutions, and the case for philanthropy to invest not just in AI adoption but in the civic institutions that shape it.

This episode also covers a cross-faith coalition context and closes with an action item: Longview Philanthropy has an open RFP funding work on AI power concentration, with a July 2 deadline.

Why the encyclical's arguments on power concentration, worker dignity, and environmental impact speak directly to nonprofit values, regardless of religious affiliation.
What three nonprofit tech thought leaders are drawing from the document for their own practice and recommendations.
The cross-faith convergence building around shared demands for accountability, transparency, and human dignity in AI development.
A concrete funding opportunity for organizations working on AI governance and power concentration.

Resources Mentioned:

Magnifica Humanitas, full text – The Vatican
Pope Calls for Robust Regulation of AI – PBS NewsHour
Cassie Gruenstein on Magnifica Humanitas – LinkedIn
Marnie Webb on Magnifica Humanitas – LinkedIn
Chantal Forster: 10 Favorite Passages – LinkedIn
How Magnifica Humanitas Offers a Template for the AI Moment – MIT Technology Review
AI Must Remain Under Human Control – Christian Daily International
Faith-AI Covenant – Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities
AI Power Concentration RFP – Longview Philanthropy

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In the first part of this two-part conversation, Carolyn Woodard and Nura Aboki, Senior Consultant at Community IT Innovators, dig into what it actually looks like to implement AI at a nonprofit - not in theory, but on the ground. With 80% of nonprofits using AI without any governance policies in place, unmanaged adoption is already happening. This episode helps nonprofit leaders understand where to start.

Nura draws on real client experiences to walk through two case studies: a nonprofit that had to pause its AI rollout to answer a fundamental "why are we doing this?" and an environmental organization that wrestled with whether using AI conflicted with its mission. Both examples illustrate why values alignment and change management have to come before any tool selection.

Carolyn and Nura cover:

Why starting with a clear "why" before selecting any tool is the single most important step in AI adoption.
What AI literacy means for nonprofit staff and where to find free and low-cost training options.
A step-by-step framework for intentional AI implementation: communication, piloting, due diligence, and layered training.
The risks nonprofits need to plan for, including shadow AI, vendor churn, data privacy, and the legal reality that humans are accountable for AI errors.
Why appointing an internal AI champion matters even at - especially at - small organizations.

Resources Mentioned

AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators
AI Literacy and the Workforce — U.S. Department of Labor
Digital Skills Center — TechSoup
AI for Nonprofits Certificate — NTEN
The Human Stack
AI Program Area — NetHope
Mission-Aligned AI Adoption Model — Community IT Innovators
No AI Use Policy? What to Do — Candid

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Carolyn Woodard covers the real-world costs of AI infrastructure, a coming wave of AI-generated philanthropic wealth, and how to think about AI fundraising tools this week.

The headlines about AI tend to focus on what it can do. This episode looks at what it costs — in water, electricity, and rate increases that are already hitting low-income households — and at the enormous wealth being created on the other side of that ledger.

Carolyn also responds to a listener question about AI tools in fundraising, drawing a comparison to the early days of social media for nonprofits and why the same change management instincts should apply.

This episode covers:

Data centers in Georgia and Arizona have drawn water without authorization, and projections suggest Texas data centers alone could draw down Lake Mead by 16 feet annually by 2030. MIT researchers found that AI-specific energy use could equal 22% of all US household electricity consumption by 2028, and that utility deals with major tech companies are already shifting infrastructure costs to ratepayers.
Nan Ransohoff's widely discussed Substack piece argues that AI wealth creation could generate $37 to $100 billion annually in new philanthropic capital. Forbes counts 45 new AI billionaires in 2026 with combined wealth of $2.9 trillion. Tech-fluent nonprofits are likely to be better positioned to build relationships with this new wave of funders.
AI fundraising tools are at a moment similar to early social media: some organizations will jump in, some will wait, and neither is automatically right. The change management skills your organization has built through past fundraising shifts can apply here. Just because the tools are new, don't think you don't have the leadership to manage the change.
Board.dev connects nonprofits with tech-savvy board candidates and offers 28 AI governance questions your board can use right now.

Resources Mentioned:

Fortune, "America's Data Centers Are Thirsty. Rural Towns Are Paying the Price" — https://fortune.com/2026/05/13/data-center-georgia-arizona-water-wars/
MIT Technology Review, "We Did the Math on AI's Energy Footprint" — https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/
Nan Ransohoff, "The Third Wave of American Philanthropy" — https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/the-third-wave-of-american-philanthropy
Forbes, "Meet the 45 AI Newcomers to Forbes 2026 Billionaires List" — https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2026/03/10/meet-the-45-ai-newcomers-to-forbes-2026-billionaires-list/
Board.dev — https://board.dev

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Carolyn Woodard explores the gap between AI ambition and organizational readiness with Mimi Yeh, Engagement Director at PTKO, a strategy and change management consulting firm that works exclusively with nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. Mimi focuses on the people side of technology adoption — and when it comes to AI, she sees a consistent pattern: leadership is excited, staff are uncertain, and the gap between those two realities is where AI initiatives stall.

The conversation reframes AI adoption not as a tools problem but as an alignment and change management challenge. Mimi and Carolyn discuss how nonprofits can build the internal structure — governance, policy, shared understanding — that makes AI adoption sustainable rather than chaotic, and what funders can do to support that work more effectively.

Mimi and Carolyn discuss:

Why the biggest obstacle to AI adoption in nonprofits is not the technology itself, but the gap between leadership ambition and staff readiness — and how governance can close it.
How to use your organization's existing skepticism about AI (around climate impact, job displacement, or data risk) as a productive starting point for building policy rather than a reason to stall.
Why acceptable use guidelines for AI should not look very different from governance frameworks nonprofits already use for other tools and technologies.
How funders can shift from pressuring nonprofits to adopt AI quickly to supporting the capacity building and literacy that makes adoption meaningful and lasting.
What it actually takes to build an AI tool for internal nonprofit use — and why the human input, voice, and values behind that tool matter as much as the data fed into it.

Resources Mentioned:

PTKO — ptko.io/who-we-are/
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators — communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/
AI Resource Library — Community IT Innovators — communityit.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/

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Carolyn Woodard covers two recent AI product updates and a thought-provoking question about what it means to use AI tools more personally: a new Claude for Small Business plugin that connects AI to the tools your nonprofit already uses, a ChatGPT model update that changes the default experience for anyone on your staff using the free tier, and an article from nonprofit AI trainer Tim Lockie that may challenge how you think about sharing context with AI.

Anthropic launched Claude for Small Business as a plugin inside Claude Cowork, their agentic work environment. The plugin connects Claude directly to tools like QuickBooks, PayPal, HubSpot, Canva, DocuSign, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365 through pre-built workflows for tasks like payroll, month-end close, and invoicing. Every action requires human approval before it executes. Nonprofits with a paid Claude plan already have access but need to make the connections in Cowork. The Claude for Nonprofits discount brings the Teams plan to $8 per user per month for qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations. A free AI Fluency for Small Business course is also included.

OpenAI updated ChatGPT's default model to GPT-5.5 Instant in early May, rolling it out to all users including the free tier. The big change: the model now draws on past conversations, uploaded files, and connected accounts like Gmail to personalize responses. If your staff are using the free version of ChatGPT, their default experience just changed, and that matters for what your organization's data governance policy says about which tools and tiers are appropriate.

Carolyn closes with Tim Lockie's recent piece "Humans Are The Loop," about building a private Claude project he uses as a personal thinking partner. He fed it his neuropsych evaluation, DISC profile, and StrengthsFinder results, and uses it to surface the patterns he is most likely to miss under pressure. This approach is in genuine tension with the data caution that guides most of our AI governance guidance, and Carolyn is still sitting with it. Worth a few minutes of your own reflection.

Resources Mentioned:

Claude for Small Business announcement — Anthropic — https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-for-small-business
Claude for Nonprofits pricing — Anthropic — https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12893767-getting-started-with-claude-for-nonprofits
GPT-5.5 Instant announcement — OpenAI — https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-5-instant/
Humans Are The Loop — Tim Lockie / The Human Stack — https://thehumanstack.com/timlockie/humans_are_the_loop
AI for Anyone course — The Human Stack — https://thehumanstack.com/academy/aiforanyone
Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against Open AI — WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/musk-v-altman-jury-verdict/

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Carolyn Woodard explores the technology behind nonprofit fundraising events with Justin Goodhew, CEO and co-founder of Trellis. Galas and in-person events have come roaring back since COVID, and they have changed — guests expect and enjoy more experiential, mission-centered evenings.

But the pressure on staff has not let up. As AI begins to reshape data entry and reconciliation, the nonprofits that thrive will be the ones who have already built the right technology foundations under their events.

Justin brings years of experience helping nonprofits run galas that integrate cleanly into their existing systems — and he has seen firsthand what separates a smooth, energizing event from one that leaves staff burnt out. The conversation covers how to think about technology adoption the right way, how to make smarter asks on the big night, and how to use post-event data to deepen donor relationships before the window closes.

Justin and Carolyn discuss:

Why events have become more experiential since COVID, and how nonprofits can use that shift to bring donors closer to their mission.
The three Ps of event technology adoption: procedure, people, and product — and why most organizations get the order wrong.
How seamless integration between your event platform and your CRM or ERP protects staff from burnout and keeps donor data actionable.
How the right data quickly allows you to identify your highest-value attendees and make the right asks at the right moment. And how data helps you plan the right type and right-sized event for your highest value donors.
Why moving reconciliation and data planning to the front end of your event planning cycle - the three months in advance of your date - changes everything about the days that immediately follow your gala.

Resources Mentioned:

Trellis — https://www.trellis.org

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Carolyn Woodard covers three topics this week: what the Canvas ransomware hack reveals about vendor risk for nonprofits, why roughly 80% of nonprofits still have no AI use policy and what you can do about it today, and why the new book AI for Nonprofits belongs on your leadership team's reading list even as AI tools continue to evolve rapidly.

The Canvas story is at its core a governance story. When 30 million users depend on a single platform, a breach affects everyone who trusts that vendor. Nonprofits can't out-analyze the cybersecurity of major vendors, but you can make sure you have cybersecurity insurance that covers third-party breaches, a communications plan ready before a crisis hits, and solid data backups separated from your main systems.

The bigger takeaway for AI governance: most nonprofits are already using AI tools without any organizational guardrails in place. You don't need a full formal policy to get started. A one-page declaration of principles, a commitment to paid enterprise tools over free versions, and a habit of documenting what's working can give your organization a meaningful foundation.

And finally, AI for Nonprofits by Cheryl Contee and Darian Rodriguez Heyman is worth your leadership team's time, especially for its strategic framework and breadth of expert voices weighing in on AI uses across fundraising, communications, and program evaluation.

Resources Mentioned:

Instructure pays ransom to Canvas hackers — Inside Higher Ed — https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/administrative-tech/2026/05/11/instructure-pays-ransom-canvas-hackers
What If My Organization Has No AI Use Policy — Candid — https://candid.org/blogs/no-ai-use-policy-what-to-do/
How to Create a Nonprofit Incident Response Plan — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/how-to-create-a-nonprofit-incident-response-plan/
How to Use AI Tools Safely at Nonprofits — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/webinar-how-to-use-ai-tools-safely-at-nonprofits/
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/
AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause — Cheryl Contee and Darian Rodriguez Heyman — https://www.amazon.com/AI-Nonprofits-Putting-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1394298412 or at your library or local bookstore!

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Carolyn Woodard explores what it really means for a nonprofit to adopt AI responsibly and effectively with Cheryl Contee, co-founder of BrightWorks AI and Change Agent AI and co-author of the Amazon bestseller AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause. Cheryl is a pioneering technology entrepreneur recognized by Fast Company, Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and The Root 100, and has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, and the BBC.

The conversation reframes AI not as a threat to nonprofit jobs but as a way to multiply capacity in organizations that are already stretched thin. Cheryl and Carolyn dig into practical strategies for getting started, what makes a good AI workflow, and why the most successful nonprofit teams approach AI as an ongoing learning journey rather than a one-time implementation.

This episode covers:

Why the question for nonprofits is no longer whether to use AI — it is already embedded in your email, CRM, and productivity tools — but how to use it responsibly and creatively in service of your mission.
How to identify the right starting point: pick one workflow you dislike, test one or two tools against it, and share what you learn with your team.
Why humans must stay in the loop, especially for high-stakes decisions, sensitive interactions, and anything requiring lived experience, nuance, or accountability.
Leadership habits build an AI-ready culture, including normalizing experimentation, creating a prompt library, and documenting what works.
Common pitfalls to avoid: chasing every new tool, skipping staff training, ignoring ethical considerations, and expecting immediate transformation.

Resources Mentioned:

AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause — Cheryl Contee and Darian Rodriguez Heyman — https://www.amazon.com/AI-Nonprofits-Putting-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1394298412/
BrightWorks AI — https://brightworksai.com
Change Agent AI — https://thechange.ai
Skej AI scheduling assistant — https://skej.com
There's an AI for That — https://theresanAIforthat.com
NTEN — https://nten.org
TechSoup — https://techsoup.org

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Carolyn Woodard covers three topics shaping the nonprofit AI conversation right now: the real environmental costs of AI infrastructure, whether the AI market is actually a bubble, and a new survey that gives nonprofits a direct voice in shaping what comes next. This episode helps you move from anxious or skeptical observer to informed, active participant.

This episode covers:

AI data centers consume enormous energy and water, but the environmental picture is more nuanced than early viral statistics suggested. Cooling accounts for roughly 40% of data center energy use, and about 80% of water consumption comes from electricity generation, making this a grid problem as much as a local one.
The AI market is consolidating faster than previous technology cycles. For nonprofits that have been waiting for the dust to settle, the more useful question now is: what is the cost of continuing to wait?
82% of nonprofits are already using AI for internal operations, per Fast Forward's 2025 report, but nonprofits using free, off-the-shelf tools are less likely to have policies or risk controls in place.
The Fast Forward 2026 AI for Humanity survey interest form is open now. If you are the person at your organization who knows the most about how AI is being used, your participation shapes how funders and policymakers understand what nonprofits actually need.
Practical next steps suggestions: develop a policy, identify low-stakes pilots, check in on AI regularly at all-staff meetings, and ask your vendors about their clean energy and water commitments.

Resources Mentioned:

Fast Forward 2025 AI for Humanity Report
Fast Forward 2026 Survey interest form (open now)
Data Centers and Water Consumption — EESI
Data Center Water Use Explainer — MOST Policy Initiative
About That AI Bubble — The Atlantic (May 2026)

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Your nonprofit may be sitting on a data liability it doesn't know it has.

Carolyn talks with Ian Gottesman, CEO of NGO ISAC, about data retention and why the question of what your organization keeps - and for how long - is more urgent than ever. Ian has been studying this topic for 30 years, and he makes the risks concrete: e-discovery requests, contractual disputes, subpoenas, and the exposure that comes from mixing personal and organizational data on staff devices. Most of the time, the threat isn't a headline-making congressional hearing - it's a vendor dispute or a board member's outside legal trouble that pulls your email and files into a lawsuit you didn't see coming.

Ian walks through how to build a data retention policy, who in your organization needs to lead it, and why now. With AI tools beginning to ingest your file servers and inboxes, now is exactly the right moment to get serious about data hygiene.

This episode covers:

• The most common data retention risk for nonprofits isn't congressional testimony — it's a contractual dispute, a board member's outside legal matter, or a vendor conflict that pulls your organization into e-discovery.

• Your backup retention schedule must align with your data retention policy. Backups that outlast your retention window are still discoverable — and that trunk of old backup tapes will find its way into a lawyer's hands.

• Start your retention policy implementation with the most transitory data first: instant messaging and Slack, then email, then files. Automate deletion as much as possible, and make saving intentional and manual.

• The hardest part of implementation isn't the policy, it's change management. People love their old emails. Enlist a senior leader (CEO, general counsel, COO) to champion the rollout, not just IT.

• Clean data makes AI tools work better. If your file server is full of outdated drafts and duplicate documents, your AI tools are ingesting noise. A retention policy is the foundation of good data governance — and good AI outcomes.

Resources Mentioned:

• NGO ISAC

• NTEN Course: Data Minimization and Retention — Ian Gottesman

• Sample Not-for-Profit Document and Data Retention Policy — AICPA & CIMA

• Document Retention Policies for Nonprofits — National Council of Nonprofits

• Nonprofit Legal Defense Network (We the Action)

Additional resource: Podcast: Prep Your File Permissions for AI Tools — Community IT Innovators

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This week, Carolyn Woodard covers two resources: a practical new browser feature for Google Workspace shops and a nonprofit watchdog organization working to make the AI industry more accountable. Whether you're trying to get more out of your existing tools or looking for credible resources to bring to a board conversation about AI risk, this episode has something useful.

This episode covers:

Google quietly rolled out a feature called Skills inside Chrome — it lets you save a prompt once and run it on any web page with a click, without retyping. Pre-built Skills are also available for common tasks like summarizing long documents or comparing information across open tabs, no prompt-writing required.
Skills is a reading and analysis assistant, not an agent — it won't take actions like making purchases or browsing on your behalf. It reads what's already in front of you in the browser and helps you process it faster.
If your nonprofit is in the Google ecosystem and staff are hesitant to write prompts from scratch, Skills' pre-built library is a low-barrier starting point. Useful use cases include reviewing foundation grant pages and comparing information across multiple sites.
The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a San Francisco-based research and advocacy nonprofit whose mission is to reduce societal-scale risks from AI. Their website (safe.ai) isn't a vendor — it's an independent watchdog with accessible explainers, free courses, and fellowship programs.
CAIS offers a free AI Safety, Ethics and Society course that's relevant for nonprofits building AI literacy on a budget, plus a fellowship for people doing advocacy work around AI governance, bias, or data center impacts.
When staff or board members are skeptical about AI — or when you need a credible outside voice for your AI strategy conversations — CAIS is a more trustworthy resource than asking the AI companies themselves what's safe.

Resources Mentioned:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-google-chrome-ai-powered-skills/
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/chrome/skills-in-chrome/
https://safe.ai
https://safe.ai/ai-risk
https://aisafetybook.com/virtual-course
https://www.reddit.com/r/NonprofitITManagement/

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In Part 2 of the 2026 Nonprofit Cybersecurity Incident Report, Community IT CTO Matthew Eshleman walks through the real attack examples his team saw hitting nonprofits in 2025: scareware pop-ups, fake invoices, DMCA impersonation notices, HR job scams, and calendar phishing. He also unpacks eight years of incident data and what the numbers actually mean — including a 70% spike in malware activity and a surprising drop in phishing reports that turns out to say more about tools than threat actors.

The conversation closes with a practical look at what nonprofits should prioritize in 2026, from phish-resistant MFA to AI governance — because the gap between what your org has authorized and what your staff are already doing is quietly becoming one of your biggest risks.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed.

This episode covers:

A 60% drop in reported phishing messages sounds like good news — but it reflects a tool switch, not a safer threat landscape, and underscores the value of regularly reevaluating your tools and using best of breed protections.
Malware and endpoint virus activity surged 70% year over year, with AI enabling less sophisticated actors to launch more targeted attacks.
Real attack examples from 2025: fake invoices with convincing ACH details, DMCA legal threats, HR job scams using your organization's identity, and calendar invites engineered to create urgency.
New staff, HR contacts, and finance and operations roles are the highest-value targets for social engineering — and your training program should reflect that.
Ungoverned AI is a growing data risk. Staff are already using free AI tools, and the downstream exposure is only beginning to show up.
A strong cybersecurity foundation in 2026 means IT acceptable use policies, formal security awareness training, phish-resistant MFA, cloud identity monitoring, and consistent patching.

Resources Mentioned:

Nonprofit AI Governance Tips Webinar — May 27 with Senior Consultant Nuradeen Aboki
Nonprofit Cybersecurity Playbook — Community IT Innovators
Nonprofit IT Management Community — Reddit
How to Use AI Tools Safely at Nonprofits — Community IT Webinar
Talk to Matt About Your Cybersecurity Questions — Community IT

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Carolyn Woodard covers two major AI announcements breaking today — a landmark philanthropic gift building the country's first "AI-native" hospital, and a massive infrastructure deal between Amazon and Anthropic — and zooms out to ask what all this big-money investment means for nonprofits on the ground. The answer: now more than ever, building your own AI literacy is the most strategic investment your organization can make.

This episode also features a resources roundup with five options for nonprofit staff and foundation professionals who are ready to learn — whether you have 60 minutes or six months.

This episode covers:

Michael and Susan Dell's $750 million gift to UT Austin funding the country's first "AI-native" hospital is a signal for nonprofits about where philanthropic capital is heading.
What Amazon's expanded investment in Anthropic means for AI infrastructure — and why the unsustainable pace of data center growth may actually push major tech companies toward renewable energy and less resource-intensive locations, a shift that matters for the communities currently bearing the costs of that build-out.
Why the most important AI investment your nonprofit can make right now isn't a tool — it's literacy, and why doing it together as an organization matters more than one person figuring it out alone.
Five concrete learning opportunities for nonprofit staff at every level.
Your city or region may already have free AI literacy programs designed for local nonprofits — it's worth a quick search.
"Do I need to pick one AI tool and stick with it?" — why the more important question is whether your organization has a policy about what you're sharing and with whom.

Resources Mentioned:

UT Dell Medical Center announcement — University of Texas at Austin — https://www.kut.org/health/2026-04-21/ut-austin-dell-medical-center-hospital-michael-susan-dell-foundation-donation
Amazon/Anthropic expanded partnership — Anthropic — https://www.anthropic.com/news/anthropic-amazon-compute
The Human Stack — Tim Lockie's "AI for Anyone" course — https://thehumanstack.com/academy/aiforanyone
AI for Nonprofits Sprint — Fund for the City of New York — https://www.fcny.org/aisprint/
AI for Foundations Professional Certificate — TAG + NTEN — https://www.nten.org/learn/professional-certificates/ai-for-foundations
Microsoft Changemaker Fellowship — https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/resources
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template — Community IT Innovators — https://communityit.com/template-acceptable-use-of-ai-tools-in-the-nonprofit-workplace/

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In the first part of this annual check-in, Carolyn Woodard and Matthew Eshleman dive into the findings from the eighth annual Nonprofit Cybersecurity Incident Report. Analyzing data from thousands of client endpoints throughout 2025, they discuss how the landscape has shifted—specifically how AI is being used by threat actors to lower the barrier for sophisticated attacks. This episode provides a high-level look at the trends that defined the past year and the foundational layers every nonprofit needs to protect its mission in 2026.

The conversation covers the rise of financially motivated scams, the increasing frequency of partisan digital attacks, and why data is transitionally moving from an organizational asset to a potential liability. Matthew explains:

How AI tools are accelerating attack vectors through automated scripts and convincing phishing.
Why your organization’s cybersecurity foundation must be built on policy and frequent, vibrant staff training rather than just annual videos.
The evolution of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and the shift toward phish-resistant methods like Passkeys or physical keys like FIDO keys.
Why data retention policies are becoming a necessity to mitigate legal risks and data leakage.
The importance of governing how staff interact with free AI tools to prevent institutional data from entering the public domain.

Resources Mentioned

Nonprofit IT Management Reddit Community
Cybersecurity Playbook for Nonprofits
NGO ISAC
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training

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Carolyn Woodard opens with highlights from Good Tech Summit, a three-day Washington D.C. conference bringing together practitioners, funders, and tech leaders focused on responsible AI use in the social sector. She shares standout quotes on AI governance, accountability, and what the sector needs to do differently.

This episode also covers the Claude Cowork tool nonprofits should know about, a privacy change in a new Google Labs tool that affects your data, and the Claude Mythos Preview non-release that has bank executives and governments in emergency meetings.

This episode covers:

Key takeaways from Good Tech Summit, including "We need to stop random acts of AI" and why your AI policy should be grounded in values — not updated every time a new tool drops.
How Claude Cowork compares to Google Workspace Studio and Microsoft Copilot Cowork — and whether nonprofits are better served by AI built into their existing tech stack or a mission-aligned third-party tool.
What Google Opal is, why you may have seen a notice that it sits outside Workspace's enterprise privacy protections, and what nonprofit staff should know about using it.
Why Anthropic built its most powerful AI model ever and then refused to release it publicly and what that points out about our current power imbalance between tech companies and consumers.
"Technology is not a net good or net bad. We don't know yet whether AI will be a net benefit or net harm — but we need to be engaged, literate, and demanding."
Why building AI fluency together as a sector matters; sending staff off to figure it out alone keeps us isolated.

Resources Mentioned:

Good Tech Summit — watch for next year's annual event at goodtechtogether.org
Claude for Nonprofits — Anthropic
Claude Cowork Overview — Anthropic
Google Opal (Google Labs experiment)
Claude Mythos Preview — Anthropic
Claude Mythos Preview — Forbes
Claude Mythos Preview — WIRED
2026 Nonprofit Cybersecurity Incident Report Webinar

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Carolyn Woodard explores the intersection of project management and artificial intelligence AI with Alex Tuck, founder of Tuck Consulting Group. As nonprofits face increasing pressure to do more with less, Alex shares how project managers are uniquely positioned to lead AI implementation and why human-in-the-loop systems are essential for maintaining accuracy and ethics.

The conversation dives into the practicalities of AI adoption, from the potential automation of administrative tasks to the specific challenges faced by healthcare nonprofits. Alex provides a clear framework for ethical AI use, focusing on well-being, transparency, and data security. You will also learn actionable tips for mastering the art of prompting and how to know when to iterate on an AI project versus when to walk away.

Alex and Carolyn discuss:

Why project managers are the natural leaders for AI initiatives in the nonprofit sector.
Four key pillars for an ethical AI framework: Human Well-being, Human in the Loop, Transparency, and Data Security.
Practical strategies for better prompting, including the use of context, constraints, and prompt libraries.
How to determine when to pivot or quit an AI project early to save organizational resources.

Resources Mentioned:

Tuck Consulting Group
Anthropic Report on AI and Employment
PMI CPMAI Framework

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The conversation this week highlights new "AI assistant" features from Microsoft and Google that aim to handle administrative burdens, allowing nonprofit teams to focus on mission-critical work. Host Carolyn Woodard also delves into a Havard Business Review article with qualitative interviews on AI and leadership challenges, and highlights a specialized training initiative for environmental organizations. This episode covers:

How Microsoft Copilot Cowork acts as an executive assistant by managing calendars, drafting meeting briefs, and researching donors.
The capabilities of Google Workspace Studio to also act as an executive assistant creating meeting prep and summarizing unread emails.
Key findings from a recent Harvard Business Review study finding 93% of leaders identify human factors as the primary barrier to AI adoption.
"Several leaders observed that anxiety was particularly pronounced among experienced professionals whose authority had been built on deep expertise."
"The risk is treating AI as a narrow tech project. In reality, it’s a cultural shift and we need to embed it into how we think, manage, and lead, not just into workflows."
The launch of a new AI literacy program specifically designed for climate and nature professionals from Climate Collective and CIVIC.

Resources Mentioned:

Microsoft Copilot Cowork Announcement
Google Workspace Studio Overview
HBR: Senior Leaders Are Struggling with AI Adoption
Climate Collective AI Literacy Program
Community IT Subreddit

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Hugo Castro, author of the Accidental Techie newsletter on Linkedin, and Gozi Egbuonu, accidental and now intentional tech leader, lead you through a discussion on the transformation from firefighter to strategic advisor.

In pt 1 they discuss the role of the "accidental techie" in nonprofit organizations and explore three bridges to transform your career: Skills, Relationships, and Projects. In pt 2 they finish up the fourth bridge: Communications, and take questions from the webinar audience.

If you never applied to a tech job, but somehow you are the person everyone turns to for tech help and assistance at your nonprofit, you may be the accidental techie of your office. Learn how to transform your valuable experience as a problem-solver into a professional career as a nonprofit tech leader from two people who have lived it.

Hugo and Gozi share what separates reactive problem-solvers from strategic technology leaders, and give you practical frameworks for repositioning yourself professionally. You’ll discover how to communicate your value differently, build the right relationships, and choose projects that showcase your strategic thinking.

Learning outcomes

Build a transformation roadmap using four pillars: skills, relationships, projects, communication
Identify your position on the accidental-to-intentional spectrum and key mindset shifts needed
Reframe how you communicate your work to position yourselves as strategic advisors, not tech fixers-for-free.

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A major new initiative from Microsoft aims to provide the training and resources needed to adopt AI tools at nonprofits. In this episode, Carolyn Woodard breaks down the recently announced Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers program. This initiative is a structured effort to build AI capacity through professional certifications, hands-on training, and global fellowships designed specifically for the nonprofit sector.

Carolyn discusses how the sector has shifted from skepticism to active adoption and explores how AI can expand human agency rather than replace it. She describes the four key areas where Microsoft believes AI can make a measurable difference and the case studies they share for each area: enriching staff time, delivering impactful programs, engaging donors, and transforming operations.

Whether you are looking to automate manual data entry or scale your mission through local language tools, this episode provides a roadmap for staying at the forefront of responsible AI use.

The conversation covers:

The new LinkedIn AI for Nonprofits professional certificate and on-demand capacity-building training.
Details on the Changemaker Fellowship for organizations with actionable AI projects ready for investment.
How AI helps nonprofit staff move away from busywork and toward creative, mission-driven thinking.
Links to real-world case studies of organizations using AI to save 6 to 8 hours a day on administrative tasks.
Strategies for using AI to scale programs and build stronger, data-informed donor relationships.
The importance of professional training and leadership in adopting responsible AI frameworks.

Resources Mentioned:

Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers Announcement
Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers resources
Community IT Innovators Website
Nonprofit IT Management Reddit Community

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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
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Hugo Castro, author of the Accidental Techie newsletter on Linkedin, and Gozi Egbuonu, accidental and now intentional tech leader, lead you through a discussion on the transformation from firefighter to strategic advisor.

In pt 1 they discuss the role of the "accidental techie" in nonprofit organizations and explore three bridges to transform your career: Skills, Relationships, and Projects. In pt 2 they finish up the fourth bridge: Communications, and take questions from the webinar audience.

If you never applied to a tech job, but somehow you are the person everyone turns to for tech help and assistance at your nonprofit, you may be the accidental techie of your office. Learn how to transform your valuable experience as a problem-solver into a professional career as a nonprofit tech leader from two people who have lived it.

Hugo and Gozi share what separates reactive problem-solvers from strategic technology leaders, and give you practical frameworks for repositioning yourself professionally. You’ll discover how to communicate your value differently, build the right relationships, and choose projects that showcase your strategic thinking.

Learning outcomes

Build a transformation roadmap using four pillars: skills, relationships, projects, communication
Identify your position on the accidental-to-intentional spectrum and key mindset shifts needed
Reframe how you communicate your work to position yourselves as strategic advisors, not tech fixers-for-free.

_______________________________
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
on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagement
on the Community IT website

Thanks for listening.

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In this Nonprofit AI Podcast midweek check-in, Carolyn tackles the anxiety around AI and the changing labor market. While it can feel like AI is everywhere, a recent report from Anthropic shows we are nowhere near 100% adoption—but the roles most likely to be impacted are the white-collar, management, and knowledge-work positions often held by older, highly educated women in the nonprofit sector.

The conversation covers the gap between using AI tools and actually having a policy for them, and why wishful thinking isn't a substitute for a training budget. Carolyn discusses:

Who is actually exposed to AI: Why seasoned nonprofit leaders and managers in roles like fundraising and strategic planning need to pay attention and stay engaged in the way their job descriptions are shifting to incorporate AI literacy.
The Governance Gap: Only 19% of organizations have formal AI policies—maybe even lower in the nonprofit sector. But organizations without AI governance run considerable risks. The time to start is now.
Why AI literacy is the new job requirement in nonprofit work: Moving beyond entry level tricks like drafting emails to using AI as a strategic partner for mission-driven work has huge possibilities. The nonprofit sector is uniquely positioned to use AI in innovative and impactful ways.
High-quality training that won't break the budget: A rundown of free and low-cost certificate programs specifically designed for nonprofits.
Evidence-based use cases: Look at how peer organizations are using AI for mission delivery, not just office productivity with Project Evident's library of nonprofit AI use cases.

As AI literacy becomes a baseline skill, Carolyn encourages nonprofit boards and executive teams to prioritize learning—ensuring staff have the time, tools, and training to navigate this shift safely.

Resources Mentioned:

Anthropic Report: Labor Market Impacts of AI
Infotech Research: AI Trends 2026
Infotech Research: Data Priorities 2026
NPTechForGood: AI Certificate for Marketing & Fundraising
NetHope & Kaya: Fundamentals of AI for Nonprofits (Free)
Data.org: AI Skills for Nonprofits
Anthropic Academy: AI Fluency for Nonprofits (Free)
Project Evident: Equitable AI Adoption Case Studies

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Carolyn sits down with Steve Longenecker, Director of IT Consulting at Community IT Innovators, to tackle a question that's suddenly urgent for many nonprofits: now that AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini can search your entire file system, are your permissions actually set up correctly?

The conversation covers the practical steps nonprofits can take to assess and clean up their SharePoint and Google Workspace permissions before — or after — turning on AI. Steve and Carolyn discuss:

Why AI tools like Copilot only surface files users are already permitted to see — and why that's not as reassuring as it sounds.
The "security through obscurity" problem: how files that were harmlessly buried for years can suddenly become visible to anyone.
How Microsoft tracks "anyone at my organization" share links — and why you should change your default sharing settings now.
What Restricted SharePoint Search is, and how it can help you safely roll out Copilot site by site.
Practical first steps for nonprofits with messy, organic SharePoint environments.

As Steve puts it, old SharePoint architecture represents technical debt that's going to have to get paid down eventually — and AI may be making that day come sooner.

Resources Mentioned:

Microsoft Restricted SharePoint Search — overview for organizations rolling out Copilot: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-restricted-sharepoint-search-to-help-you-get-started-with-copilot-fo/4071060
SharePoint permissions governance — a conceptual overview for site owners and leadership: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/overview-site-governance-permission-and-sharing-for-site-owners-95e83c3d-e1b0-4aae-9d08-e94dcaa4942e
Community IT's Microsoft Tools Resource Library for Nonprofits: https://communityit.com/microsoft-tools-for-nonprofits/

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How can nonprofits move past the efficiency plateau to find real strategic value in AI? In this midweek check-in, Carolyn Woodard discusses statistics from the 2026 Nonprofit AI Adoption Report from Virtuous and Fundraising AI, which reveals that while 92% of nonprofits are using AI, only 7% see a major strategic impact on their mission.

The episode also explores the concept of AI hygiene and why cleaning up your digital files for humans is the first step. Carolyn also discussed Google NotebookLM, a "walled off" library that you can create from your own resources, restricting your AI tool to just your own documents and data.

Carolyn also highlights the community-led governance model of AI Ready RVA and reminds nonprofit leaders that they do not need a computer science degree to lead an AI-ready organization. Instead, they need a clear mission, clean data, and commitment.

Key Resources Included

2026 Nonprofit AI Adoption Report (Virtuous/Fundraising AI).
92% of nonprofits surveyed are individually using AI tools for productivity and efficiency vs 7% that report they are using AI as a teammate for transformation.
Data hygiene: cleaning your data and keeping it clean.
AI hygiene: Preparing your data and data architecture so that AI tools can return the best outputs quickly, without multiple prompts and investigation into accuracy.
NotebookLM. A tool within Google Gemini that can create a "walled off" library that AI will search within. Using vetted resources can help the AI be more trustworthy and return better outputs.
AI Ready RVA - a cohort model for local resources and networking to help manage the learning and funding for pilot programs and events.

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Are you struggling to articulate what your nonprofit actually needs from an IT provider? In this episode, host Carolyn Woodard and Community IT CEO Johan Hammerstrom discuss the rise of the generic, AI-generated Request for Proposal (RFP). While it is tempting to use AI to handle the heavy lifting of technical writing, doing so often results in a document that lacks the heart of your organization’s mission.

Johan explains why a successful RFP is less about technical jargon and more about your unique business needs. When you rely on a generic template, you end up with a generic partner. This conversation offers a roadmap for moving beyond checklists to find a support model that actually fits your culture and budget.

Johan and Carolyn explore the essential process of defining your requirements, including:

The AI Pitfall: Why using AI to write an RFP without deep organizational context leads technical jargon. If you can't understand exactly what your rfp is asking for, neither will the vendors.
The Thinking Process: A look at why the act of writing—rather than just the final document—is a vital exercise in disciplined thinking and clarity for your leadership team.
Staff Feedback: How to gather input from your team to identify where legacy systems or siloed tools are creating daily friction and missed opportunities.
Finding a Partner: Practical advice on how to draw out the unique requirements of your nonprofit to ensure your next IT provider is a true partner, not just a vendor.

A key part of this search is recognizing why many nonprofits feel dissatisfied with their current support. Johan identifies three specific pitfalls that occur when working with a regular, for-profit focused Managed Service Provider (MSP):

The Culture Gap: Most MSPs are geared toward a bottom-line, efficiency-first mindset that can feel brusque, abrasive or dissonant when it comes up against a people-centered nonprofit culture.
Misaligned Logic: Standard providers often recommend solutions based on revenue generation, failing to understand the resource-constrained and programmatic realities of the nonprofit sector when making IT investments or dealing with legacy IT.
The Priority Problem: In a large, general-market firm, smaller nonprofit accounts are often deprioritized in favor of more lucrative corporate clients, leading to inconsistent support, junior-level staffing, and frustration.

If you feel your current provider doesn’t quite get you, or if you are preparing to search for new support, this episode will help you ask the right questions of your AI tools, your staff, and your potential partners.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Link: How to Vet an MSP for Your Nonprofit

Link: How do I Know if an MSP is Right for my Organization?

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In this Nonprofit AI Podcast midweek check-in, Carolyn explores what it means to have agency in the age of AI. With so much pressure to adopt new tools, it can feel like nonprofits have no choice — but Carolyn makes the case that you and your organization have more power than you think, both in the tools you choose and the advocacy you pursue.

The conversation covers the environmental and community impacts of AI infrastructure, and what nonprofits can actually do about it. Carolyn discusses:

Why individual AI use matter less than local and collective advocacy around data center regulation.
Advocacy looks different in different locations where data centers are going in at a furious pace. Water issues? Electricity costs? Sites? Your advocacy should be local too.
The community impacts of data center siting are complex — Carolyn gave just one example of institutional racism and the displacement over time of historic Black landowners in Northern Virginia.
Creative policy models from Europe that nonprofits can advocate for in their own communities.
You can align your AI tool choices with your organization's values — and why that matters.
An update on Anthropic's lawsuit against the Department of Defense over its supply chain risk designation.

As AI infrastructure expands so quickly, Carolyn encourages nonprofits to stay engaged — using AI intentionally while advocating for the communities and values they serve.

Resources Mentioned:

Webinar: AI Reluctance for Nonprofits, Josh Peskay and Kim Snyder, Meet the Moment: https://www.roundtabletechnology.com/news-and-events/webinar-library/thank-you/ai-resistance-for-nonprofits
TechSoup AI Training: https://techsoup.course.tc/catalog/exploring-ai-with-microsoft-tools
Anthropic vs the Pentagon to date: https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/anthropic-sues-defense-department-over-supply-chain-risk-designation/
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-5742548/anthropic-pentagon-lawsuit-amodai-hegseth

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If you have wondered about the real difference between using a free tool like ChatGPT and an enterprise-level solution like Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini, this episode will provide much-needed clarity. While the potential for efficiency is high, many nonprofit leaders are rightfully concerned about data security and how to ensure they are using these models safely.

In part one from their recent webinar, Community IT Outreach Director Carolyn Woodard is joined by Chief Technology Officer Matt Eshleman to demystify the current AI tool landscape, particularly for data security.

In part two, Matt and Carolyn go over ways to tell you are logged in to your official account or not, the importance of continuous and iterative staff education, and how (and why) to get started creating AI policies to share with staff.

They were only able to answer a few questions from registration and the audience during this webinar; you can find more questions answered on our reddit community page: https://www.reddit.com/r/NonprofitITManagement/ or in the transcript on our website here: https://communityit.com/webinar-how-to-use-ai-tools-safely-at-nonprofits/

Whether you are already using AI daily or are just beginning to explore its possibilities, this discussion offers a professional and grounded look at how to navigate these tools securely.

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In this Nonprofit AI Podcast, Carolyn explores the complex intersection of nonprofit values and AI vendor ethics. Following a high-profile public dispute between the Pentagon and major AI providers, we look at what these corporate decisions mean for organizations that prioritize mission-aligned technology.

The conversation covers the practical side of AI safety, moving beyond the headlines to answer urgent questions from our recent webinar. Carolyn discusses:

The ethical ripple effects of the Anthropic and OpenAI rivalry regarding government contracts.
Why enterprise-level licenses are the primary recommendation for protecting sensitive nonprofit data.
How to navigate privacy when using AI for board meeting transcriptions and note-taking.
Practical steps to turn off model training in freemium tools like ChatGPT and Gemini.
The existential question: Is adopting AI truly inevitable for the nonprofit sector?

As AI continues to disrupt education, health, and environmental sectors, Carolyn discusses the importance of intentionality—whether your organization chooses to opt in or opt out.

Resources Mentioned:

Community IT Subreddit Webinar Q&A: https://www.reddit.com/r/NonprofitITManagement/comments/1rekaqk/qa_how_to_use_ai_tools_safely_at_nonprofits/
LinkedIn Guide: Turning off AI model training from Kim Snyder, AI for Nonprofits Trainer at Tech Soup and Meet the Moment
Upcoming: Part two of our AI safety webinar series with Matt Eshelman. Full video here: https://communityit.com/webinar-how-to-use-ai-tools-safely-at-nonprofits/

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If you have wondered about the real difference between using a free tool like ChatGPT and an enterprise-level solution like Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini, this episode will provide much-needed clarity. While the potential for efficiency is high, many nonprofit leaders are rightfully concerned about data security and how to ensure they are using these models safely.

In part one from their recent webinar, Community IT Outreach Director Carolyn Woodard is joined by Chief Technology Officer Matt Eshleman to demystify the current AI tool landscape, particularly for data security.

In part two, Matt and Carolyn go over ways to tell you are logged in to your official account or not, the importance of continuous and iterative staff education, and how (and why) to get started creating AI policies to share with staff.

This episode one covers:

The distinction between freemium AI models and enterprise-protected tools.
The AI continuum, ranging from assistive technology to workflow assistants to autonomous agents.
A breakdown of pricing tiers and what nonprofits can expect in terms of data privacy and functionality.
Practical advice on why terms and conditions matter when protecting your organizational data.

Whether you are already using AI daily or are just beginning to explore its possibilities, this discussion offers a professional and grounded look at how to navigate these tools securely.

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Resources shared in this episode:

Gallop Poll January 2026 on AI use: https://apnews.com/article/ai-workplace-gemini-chatgpt-poll-4934bc61d039508db32bc49f85d63d99

Build Consulting 5 Category AI Implementation Framework by Kyle Haines: https://buildconsulting.com/blog/a-strategic-framework-for-nonprofit-ai-investment/

1: Return on Investment - what are you trying to do, and is an AI tool the best way to do it?

Technical and Data Feasibility - are you ready? Is your data ready?
Mitigating AI Risks - legal, ethical, reputational...
Anticipating Costs - AI tools are not free
Change Impacts - making sure intentional change management is in place.

How AI is changing search, Yoast wrap up from 2025: https://yoast.com/seo-in-2025-wrap-up/

AI Literacy Measures and Suggestions from US Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEN/2025/TEN%2007-25/TEN%2007-25%20%28complete%20document%29.pdf

AI Literacy Measures:

Understand AI Concepts
Explore AI Uses
Direct AI Effectively
Evaluate AI Outputs
Use AI Responsibly

Delivery Principles for AI Literacy Growth

Enable Experiential Learning
Embed Learning in Context
Build Complementary Human Skills
Address Prerequisites to AI Literacy
Create Pathways for AI Learning
Prepare Enabling Roles
Design for Agility

Webinar: How to Use AI Tools Safely at Your Nonprofit with Matthew Eshleman. https://communityit.com/webinar-how-to-use-ai-tools-safely-at-nonprofits/

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In this episode host Carolyn Woodard is joined by Norwin Herrera, IT Business Manager and Team Lead at Community IT. Together, they walk through a real-world case study of a public charter school that implemented a Single Sign-On (SSO) platform called Clever that can solve cybersecurity and accessibility challenges for adult or child students.

Strategic IT Leadership for Nonprofits

Unlike a traditional account manager, an IT Business Manager (ITBM) acts as a strategic partner, helping nonprofit leadership understand the technology landscape and make informed decisions that align with their mission. The ITBM role is unique to Community IT and is an example of a commitment to partnering with clients over the long term.

In this case, the goal was to find a SSO solution that could handle a complex mix of Chromebooks and Windows devices while remaining user-friendly for both adult students and faculty.

The Power of Single Sign-On

SSO acts as one door for all of your doors. By using Clever as an identity manager, the organization was able to:

Enhance Cybersecurity: Centralizing access allows for immediate offboarding. If a student or staff member leaves, closing one account automatically secures access to all others, prevents fraud, and saves money.
Automate User Provisioning: Through zero intervention integration with the Student Information System (SIS), accounts are created or deactivated automatically based on enrollment status.
Improve User Experience: Students no longer need to remember multiple different passwords for Google, Microsoft, Zoom, and Slack for example. One password provides access to all the apps they have access to as a student using a school device.
Reduce Administrative Costs: Norwin breaks down the ROI of SSO, comparing a small per-user fee against the hundreds of hours of manual labor required to manage accounts individually.

Change Management and Successful Implementation

A successful IT project is about more than just software; it is about people. Norwin explains why this project resulted in zero tickets and no complaints: it started with leadership buy-in and a commitment to clear communication.

Whether you are an executive at a school or a volunteer board member at a community nonprofit, this episode offers practical insights into how integrated cybersecurity and strategic IT planning can save your organization time and money.

Listen in to learn how your organization can move toward a more secure and efficient digital future by subscribing to the Community IT Innovators Technology Topics podcast.

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Nonprofit AI: Vetting Your Tools and Understanding AI Agents

In this midweek AI check-in, Carolyn Woodard explores how nonprofit leaders can make informed, safe decisions in an increasingly crowded technology landscape. The episode begins with a review of a new AI Tools Safety Guide specifically designed for the nonprofit sector. This resource evaluates popular tools based on the criteria that matter most to mission-driven organizations: data privacy, security, and ethical responsibility.

Carolyn also demystifies the concept of AI Agents. By breaking down the hierarchy of AI—from simple bots and assistants to more autonomous agents—she explains how these specialized tools can eventually handle the busy work of repetitive tasks, such as cross-referencing spreadsheets or organizing files.

Whether you are just starting to draft your organization's AI usage policy or you are looking for ways to streamline your internal workflows, this episode provides practical guardrails for navigating AI adoption at nonprofits.

Featured Resources

Tool: AI Tools Safety Guide for Nonprofits Visit Meet the MomentA searchable directory of AI tools evaluated for trust and safety by reputable nonprofit technology experts. It’s an ideal starting point for organizations with strict data handling needs and limited research time.
Template: AI Acceptable Use Policy Download from Community IT IT is better to establish clear principles now than to wait for time to make a perfect policy. This template helps you communicate expectations to your staff and board regarding the use of generative AI.
Community Discussion: Nonprofit IT Management Join the Reddit CommunityHave a specific question about an AI tool or a repetitive task you'd like to automate? Connect with Carolyn and other nonprofit professionals on our dedicated subreddit to share insights and ask questions.

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Building Stronger Teams: Purposeful Connection in a Remote World

How do you maintain a cohesive, supportive team when the office is now spread across dozens of different locations? In this episode, Carolyn Woodard sits down with Saba Gebru, Vice President of Support Services at Community IT, to discuss the intentional work required to foster teamwork in a remote and hybrid environment.

Saba shares how Community IT transitioned through the pandemic and emerged with a deeper understanding of why social connection isn't just extra—it’s essential for better service delivery.

When technicians feel supported and connected to one another, our clients benefit from the collective knowledge of the entire firm, not just a single individual. We also discuss how to keep team building from feeling mandatory by aligning activities with mission-driven values, such as local volunteerism and servant leadership.

Featured Resources

Community IT Values: Our Story | Read More Learn more about the core values that guide our team—including balance and transparency—and how these principles help us better serve the nonprofit community.
Guide: Managing Remote Teams for Nonprofits | View Article For managers looking to refine their remote operations, this guide offers practical tips on the tools and cultural shifts necessary to keep a distributed workforce engaged and secure.
Case Study: 100% Remote Work Implementation with Microsoft Cloud | Read the Case Study Transitioning to a fully remote model requires more than just a change in mindset; it requires a robust technical foundation. This case study follows a large nonprofit as they navigated a rapid shift to 100% remote work. By leveraging Microsoft Cloud tools the organization was able to deploy hardware and support staff across the country without ever needing to meet in person, proving that with the right roadmap, technology can bridge the gap between physical distance and mission-critical collaboration.

Next Step for Your Organization

Building a strong team culture is an ongoing process, especially in the remote era. If you haven't recently checked in with your staff about what they need to feel connected, consider making it a priority in your next departmental meeting. Start the conversation by asking for feedback on what types of optional social or volunteer activities might resonate with their values.

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Nonprofit AI Check-in: Reclaiming Human Rights and Protecting Local Communities

In this midweek check-in, Carolyn Woodard steps back from the technical "how-to" of AI to look at the "why" behind the ethical concerns many nonprofit leaders are feeling. This episode focuses on two significant areas where AI intersects with our core mission of serving others: the protection of basic human rights and the physical impact of the infrastructure that makes AI possible.

First, we explore insights from human rights lawyer Malika Saada Saar on how we can reclaim AI to serve dignity and democracy rather than ceding it to companies that make a profit by exploiting sensitive and marginalized groups.

Second, we look at the reality of the data centers powering these tools—specifically the environmental and economic pressures they place on local residents. Carolyn shares resources on creating Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) with data centers as a path forward for local communities.

Whether it's protecting a survivor’s right to privacy or ensuring a local community has a say in how a data center is built, these are the human issues that will define how we use technology in the years to come.

Featured Resources

Webinar: Slow Violence, Fast Tech | Watch on YouTube In this 30-minute session from All Tech Is Human, human rights lawyer Malika Saada Saar discusses the "slow violence" of AI and how nonprofits can advocate for technology designed with consent and safety in mind, particularly for women, children, and marginalized communities.
Report: Why Community Benefit Agreements are Necessary for Data Centers | Read at Brookings As data centers expand rapidly across the U.S., this Brookings Institution paper explains how "Community Benefit Agreements" (CBAs) can help local leaders and residents negotiate for transparency, environmental protections, and shared economic benefits.
Community IT Resource: AI Ethics and Policy Webinar | View the Framework If you are ready to start moving from learning to doing, this webinar provides a practical framework for nonprofits to begin drafting their own AI use policies and start conversations around ethics.

Next Step for Your Organization

Does your nonprofit have an AI ethics policy yet? If not, now is the perfect time to start the conversation with your leadership and board. You don't need to be a technical expert to advocate for your organization's values. We encourage you to use these resources to continue your education and ensure that your use of AI remains mission-aligned.

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In this special anniversary episode, we celebrate a major milestone: 25 years of Community IT. Founded on February 1, 2001, by David Deal as a mission-focused spin-out from Reliacom, Community IT has spent a quarter-century navigating the ever-changing tides of technology for nonprofits exclusively. CEO Johan Hammerstrom, who was one of the early employees to move from Reliacom to the new company, joins us to reflect on our journey from the early days of wiring offices for the internet to our modern role as a national provider of remote IT services and cybersecurity.

We discuss how our bedrock foundation of servant-leadership has allowed us to remain a stable, trusted partner for the nonprofit community through dot-com busts, financial crises, and global shifts in how we work.

Beyond the history of servers and software, this conversation focuses on the vibrant people who make our mission possible. Johan shares why it is useless to predict exactly where IT will be in five years, and why Community IT instead invests in the creative, dedicated staff who can guide nonprofits through whatever the future holds.

Whether you have been a partner since our founding or are just joining our community, tune in to hear how our commitment to technology expertise ensures that nonprofits can stay focused on their missions, no matter how the digital landscape evolves.

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To follow on from our recent discussions regarding the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in the nonprofit sector, this episode explores the critical technical and privacy distinctions between public and enterprise AI tools.

The CISA Incident and the AI Privacy Gap

Last week, news outlets including Politico reported that the interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Madhu Gottumukkala, mistakenly uploaded sensitive government contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT. This triggered automated security warnings designed to prevent the unintentional disclosure of government material.

This incident highlights that anyone can mistakenly upload sensitive data to a public tool. Even the head of CISA.

Key Differences Between Public and Enterprise AI:

Data Privacy: Enterprise versions (like Microsoft Copilot for 365 or Gemini for Workspace) keep your prompts and data within your organizational "cloud boundary." Your information is not used to train the underlying public models.
AI Search and Permissions: With Enterprise AI, the tool can surface any document a user has permission to see. This makes cleaning up your SharePoint or Google Drive permissions essential to avoid sensitive files being inadvertently surfaced via AI search. Pay attention to files that have been shared with "anyone with this link" because Copilot and Gemini will view that as granting permission to anyone searching. Finally, spend time on staff training on how to save and share files so that permissions will need less clean up going forward.
Commercial Protections: Enterprise licenses include copyright indemnity that are absent in public versions.
Security: Enterprise licenses give IT management and administrative controls which are essential to securing your nonprofit's valuable data.

Resources:

Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT from Politico by John Sakellariadis, published Jan 27, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/cisa-madhu-gottumukkala-chatgpt-00749361

"The interim head of the country’s cyber defense agency uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT last summer, ... The material included CISA contracting documents marked 'for official use only,' a government designation for information that is considered sensitive and not for public release."

Microsoft Copilot vs. ChatGPT: Data Protection Explained from Community IT.

"If you are using Copilot with a 365 subscription, your prompts and data are not used to train the underlying large language model. It keeps your data within your enterprise cloud boundary... This protection only applies when you are signed in to an eligible work or school account."

Upcoming Webinar: Verifying Your AI Security

Join Community IT CTO Matt Eshleman on February 25th to learn how to distinguish between public and enterprise accounts. Register here: How to Use AI Tools Safely at Nonprofits

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Panel Discussion with Matt Eshleman, Steve Longenecker, Jennifer Huftalen, and Carolyn Woodard

Our experts answered your questions about where nonprofit tech is going next.

In part 1, Community IT senior staff discuss nonprofits and AI, and updated cybersecurity trends to be aware of. In part 2, they discuss updates to Microsoft and Google Workspace, and take audience Q&A.

AI, Cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Microsoft Office, Gemini v Copilot or ChatGPT or another generative AI tool, AI agents, AI FOMO, data data data, safety and security of your staff, budgeting for and maintaining basic IT, not to mention fancy IT … anything else you want to know about?

We don’t have a crystal ball but we do know our way around nonprofit IT.
We’ll look back at the trends of 2025 and what we got right last January, and we’ll look ahead to make predictions for 2026.

The nonprofit tech roundtable is always one of our most popular webinars every year. 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.

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To follow on from last week's episode of the ethical issues around AI use and companies generally that nonprofits and the philanthropy sector need to discuss and evaluate through the lens of organization values and mission, here are some resources for moving forward with that discussion of ethics as you put your policy in place and refine it.

How Nonprofits Can Resist the AI Efficiency Trap from Nonprofit Quarterly by James A Lomastro, published Oct 28, 2025. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-nonprofits-can-resist-the-ai-efficiency-trap/

"Today, when nonprofits implement AI without protecting workers’ judgment and autonomy, they facilitate a similar transfer of power. The tacit understanding of experienced staff—knowing which families need outreach, when silence signals distrust, and which community leaders bridge cultural gaps—is extracted into databases and algorithms....The “AI efficiency trap” plays out in familiar ways: Time savings often lead not to relief, but to higher expectations. Workers may feel more productive yet overwhelmed, as efficiency gains are absorbed into rising demands instead of reducing workloads. In nonprofits, if AI is used solely to expedite routine tasks, it can exacerbate burnout and diminish time for relationship building or advocacy—the work that drives lasting change...

Steps leaders can take are:

Invest in bias-aware AI governance

Position experienced staff as strategy guides

Develop new productivity measurements."

Other resources referenced in this episode:

Ethics, AI Tools, and Policies Webinar from Community IT: https://communityit.com/webinar-nonprofit-ai-framework/
AI With Purpose: How Foundations and Nonprofits Are Thinking About and Using Artificial Intelligence from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (with lots of other resources on their site for the sector) https://cep.org/report-backpacks/ai-with-purpose-how-foundations-and-nonprofits-are-thinking-about-and-using-artificial-intelligence/
Humanity AI consortium project from 10 Foundations https://humanityai.ai/ Humanity AI is uniting philanthropy in a broad coalition to build a more human(e) future in which AI is shaped by and for people.
Tech to the Rescue matchmaking ideal AI projects from the social impact sector with ecosystem partners for funding and expertise. https://techtotherescue.org/
Board.dev matchmaking tech-savvy individuals looking to serve on nonprofit boards with the nonprofits that need their expertise. https://board.dev/
Responsible AI Adoption for Nonprofits: a Holistic Support Model webinar Jan 28, 2026 with Tech to the Rescue and Board.dev. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DSDEIrLFQxSApI8zQIUhyA#/registration

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Panel Discussion with Matt Eshleman, Steve Longenecker, Jennifer Huftalen, and Carolyn Woodard

Our experts answered your questions about where nonprofit tech is going next.

In part 1, Community IT senior staff discuss nonprofits and AI, and updated cybersecurity trends to be aware of. In part 2, they discuss updates to Microsoft and Google Workspace, and take audience Q&A.

AI, Cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Microsoft Office, Gemini v Copilot or ChatGPT or another generative AI tool, AI agents, AI FOMO, data data data, safety and security of your staff, budgeting for and maintaining basic IT, not to mention fancy IT … anything else you want to know about?

We don’t have a crystal ball but we do know our way around nonprofit IT.
We’ll look back at the trends of 2025 and what we got right last January, and we’ll look ahead to make predictions for 2026.

The nonprofit tech roundtable is always one of our most popular webinars every year. 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.

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As AI tools become more integrated into our nonprofits' daily workflows, it can feel as though the technology is moving faster than our ability to evaluate it. However, for mission-driven organizations, technology adoption isn't just a matter of efficiency—it’s a reflection of our values.

This episode steps back from the technical aspects of AI tools for nonprofits and explores the significant ethical questions that every nonprofit leader and board member should consider when shaping their AI policies.

Carolyn explores the complex human issues that often get lost in the marketing noise, from the environmental and community costs of massive data centers to the inherent biases found in Large Language Models. She also discusses the potential risks to mental health and the concerns surrounding the concentration of power within a few global tech giants.

Our goal isn’t to steer you toward a specific choice, but to provide a framework for understanding how these tools may intersect—or conflict—with your commitment to equity, sustainability, and community trust.

This conversation is designed to be a starting point for your internal discussions. We cover four major areas of concern: power imbalances, bias and exploitation, environmental impact, and the psychological effects of AI-human interactions. By acknowledging these challenges openly, nonprofit professionals can make more informed, intentional decisions about if, when, and how to use these tools in a way that truly serves their mission and the people they support.

Resources:

https://www.wired.com/ai-issue/

Imbalance of Power:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenwolfepereira/2026/01/20/davos-wont-save-us-from-ai-the-boardroom-might-be-our-last-hope/

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-nonprofits-can-resist-the-ai-efficiency-trap/

https://medium.com/@Craig_W/the-corporate-playbook-when-good-ai-goes-bad-by-design-aedf9621b07b

Bias and Exploitation:

https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-bias

Racism, Surveillance and AI panel, Howard University, October 2025

Environmental and Community Impact:

https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117

https://naacp.org/campaigns/stop-dirty-data-centers

Mental Health Impacts:

https://jedfoundation.org/american-psychological-association-on-generative-ai/

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/preliminary-report-on-dangers-of-ai-chatbots

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Director of Client Services Jennifer Huftalen answers questions about the IT Business Manager role at Community IT. How is an IT Business Manager different from a vCIO or an account manager? Learn more from this conversation.

The takeaways:

The IT Business Manager is a unique role in the sector and at MSPs serving nonprofits. A combination of technology expertise and a business background make Community IT’s IT Business Managers ideally suited to help our clients undertake strategic planning and management of their IT.
Similar to a vCIO, like an account manager but so much more, the IT Business Managers work with the primary contact to manage and understand the costs and strategies of IT investment in addition to supporting the help desk team provide day-to-day support.
The IT Business Manager comes in at onboarding and helps analyze the initial assessment. IT Business Managers at Community IT can spot trends, identify duplicate tools, extra licenses, help the client create an accurate inventory of devices and licenses, and basically work in manageable stages to move the nonprofits’ IT to a “steady state” of well-managed IT.
Community IT considers our clients our partners in managing IT. Nonprofits know what their ideal IT would look like. We find that a part time vCIO who parachutes in monthly or quarterly can’t develop the deep understanding of that client’s needs and pain points and help them invest wisely and manage change. The IT Business Manager at Community IT monitors trends in help desk tickets and identifies ways technology can make the nonprofit more efficient and secure. And the IT Business Manager documents everything, so you can ask any questions and understand how your processes work and what IT you are using.
The IT Business Manager has a long term relationship with your organization and can develop 3-5 year planning in conjunction with your executive team that can be used for grant applications and funding support. For just one example, check out our case study on how an adult charter school in DC was able to implement a 4 year plan in 3 months to move all their students to remote learning in 2020.
Using Community IT and having access to an IT Business Manager solves the nonprofit problem of trying to hire for this leadership position and find people with a technical AND business background and be able to retain these unique people. And the IT Business Manager at Community IT has the entire team as a resource and their experience at other clients, so you get the benefit of that network of information and expertise.

Navigating the complexities of IT management doesn’t have to be a solo journey for nonprofit leaders. By bridging the gap between high-level strategy and daily operations, the IT Business Manager ensures your technology is an asset rather than a cost. At Community IT, we believe the strongest solutions come from this kind of deep, human-centered partnership. To learn more about how our unique approach to IT management supports long-term mission success, we invite you to listen to our podcast episode or reach out to start a conversation today.

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Whether you are an AI novice wondering how to catch up quickly, or an AI early adopter always looking for a new tool you can use at your nonprofit, we hope you will join us every Tuesday for another quick update on what is going on in the world of Nonprofits and AI.

Takeaways and resources from Ep 2:

Microsoft

TechSoup https://www.techsoup.org/: A membership driven nonprofit IT resource, particularly for discounted licenses, with a large knowledgebase on many IT tools nonprofits use. AI resources for Microsoft tools, including training: https://techsoup.course.tc/catalog/exploring-ai-with-microsoft-tools

Google

Generative AI training and help: extensive resources on using Gemini, including nonprofit-specific use cases and examples.

The Human Stack

Built around up-skilling your existing nonprofit staff to better manage IT, offers affordable workshops and classes, including a 60 minute course for getting better at AI. https://thehumanstack.com/

Perplexity and Charity Navigator

Perplexity is an AI tool that announced a partnership with Charity Navigator to use the Charity Navigator database to improve outputs when asking about nonprofits. https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/research-nonprofits-with-charity-navigator-on-perplexity

As with all AI tools, follow your nonprofit's guidelines and policies when logging into non-enterprise accounts - enterprise licenses are more secure and offer more privacy, so use them when you can!

Claude and Candid

Claude is Anthropic's AI tool, and has partnered with Candid to improve outputs when researching nonprofits, grants, foundations, etc. To learn more: https://candid.org/blogs/claude-for-nonprofits-candid-mcp-connector-access-nonprofit-data-ai-assistant/

Q&A

Want to ask a question about nonprofit AI and get an answer on a future episode? Got a use case you want to share? A cautionary AI tale you want to warn other nonprofits about? Let's grow this community! Get in touch with Carolyn here, on our website, or on reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/NonprofitITManagement/

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Learn how to manage valuable data every day at your nonprofit.

Director of Data and Systems at the Greater Washington Community Foundation in Washington DC, Jenn Walen, discusses her role in managing data policies and training and supporting nonprofit staff in keeping data clean and organized.

Jenn stresses that you need a single source of truth, standards for data entry, and policies. Spending the time to decrease the time spent pulling reports and seeing the whole picture is extremely valuable in this moment. Jenn shares advice and experiences in getting your nonprofit’s data where you want it to be.

Everybody wants to look good. Good data helps everyone at your organization look good – to your board, your executives, your donors, your constituents. And good data saves everyone time.

Additionally, nonprofits looking for one thing they can do to protect themselves in this political environment should look to their data governance and standards. This project doesn’t have to involve highly paid consultants or new expensive tools. It just takes prioritization, time, and good change management.

Recommendations:

Be consistent. Create standards and uphold them. No exceptions.

If you need data governance documentation, templates and assistance are available online. You don’t have to start from scratch, ask your colleagues.

Kindness along the way is important. This is not easy. Data clean up is a pain. Everyone lending a hand can help create solidarity and a culture of accuracy. Support your colleagues!

People learn in multiple ways and with multiple styles. Provide training and support to meet them where they are.

Get support from leadership to emphasize data clean up priorities.

It is so satisfying when the data is in good shape. The rewards for doing the hard work are great.

Is there an AI tool that can do this for you?

AI tools are helpful. Start with education and training on the tools you plan to use. The tools you can use will depend on your database. Get the training from your vendor on the AI that is being incorporated into your tool. Work with a data consultant to understand implementing AI to understand the implications, the security, and matching the tool to your needs and use policies.

Every output from AI needs to have a human review. Don’t expect to give AI your data and have it sort and clean it for you with minimum input from humans.

Be careful. Respect confidentiality and follow your organization’s data governance policies. Think about how you would want an organization to handle your own data.

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Community IT is starting a new series today: Nonprofit AI. Midweek we will share 10-15 minutes of updates about AI and nonprofits - including current news stories, tips, definitions, use cases, frameworks, and resources.

Whether you are an AI novice wondering how to catch up quickly, or an AI early adopter always looking for a new tool you can use at your nonprofit, we hope you will join us every Tuesday for another quick update on what is going on in the world of Nonprofits and AI.

Takeaways and resources from Ep 1:

How AI Works: The Fast-Paced Library

Think of a Large Language Model (LLM) like a super-fast librarian who has read almost everything ever written. When you ask a question, the AI doesn't "look up" a file; it predicts the next word in a sequence. It processes your request into small "packets" of data (tokens) that are sent to massive datacenters. There, billions of mathematical calculations happen in milliseconds to return a response that sounds human.

Embedded AI vs. Prompting AI

You are already using AI, even if you haven't opened a chatbot.

Embedded AI: This is "hidden" technology inside tools you use daily, like Google Search algorithms, GPS route optimization, or even your email’s spam filter.
Prompting AI: This is "Generative AI" like ChatGPT or Gemini, where you actively start a conversation (a "prompt") to create something new, like a draft email or a report summary.
Use Enterprise Logins

You should use the Enterprise versions of tools like Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini (logging in with your work account) rather than the free, public versions. This should keep your data "walled off." This ensures your donor information or internal notes aren't used to train the public model or seen by anyone outside your organization.

Policies are Your Starting Point

While many nonprofits are still catching up on formal IT governance or employee handbooks, AI represents a unique moment to start documenting your "rules of the road." You don't need a 50-page document, but you do need clear guidelines for your team on what data can be shared with AI, who is responsible for fact-checking AI outputs, and how your organization discloses AI use.

It is Okay Not to Know Everything

Your role as a leader is to focus on strategy and ethics, not the underlying code. It is perfectly professional to say, "I'm still evaluating how this tool fits our mission," or "I need more information on the privacy implications before we proceed."

Resources:

What is Generative AI? – IBM

AI for Nonprofits: What You Need to Know – In the Microsoft/TechSoup Digital Skills Center

AI Is Already in Your Nonprofit – Community IT Innovators

AI Suitability Kit for Nonprofits - NetHope

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Nonprofits – The Nonprofit Alliance

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Community IT CEO Johan Hammerstrom walks through how to think about your nonprofit IT budget at any time, but particularly if you anticipate facing steeper challenges and may have to scale back. What are the three “buckets” of your IT needs, and how can you best manage your costs while keeping efficiency and functionality? What is a nonprofit IT budgeting strategy that will work for you in 2026?

More extensive resource on nonprofit IT budgeting:

Discovering the Value of Your Nonprofit IT Budget webinar with Johan Hammerstrom.

Takeaways:

In decades of assisting hundreds of nonprofit clients with putting an IT budget together – often coaching how to create and talk about the budget with stakeholders, executives, and board members – Community IT CEO Johan Hammerstrom has come to think of your nonprofit IT budget in three “buckets.” Every nonprofit has a different budget process, so take that into account when connecting your IT needs and priorities to your own process.

Remember that your IT budget is not a technology task. It is a technology + business needs task. You need to incorporate the big picture. And don’t forget that IT is just another strategic asset that you manage like your lease, your programs, your payroll.

Don’t make assumptions about what is “too expensive.” If you want to recommend something in your IT budget, make the case for it

Necessity/Non-Negotiable

Licenses and subscriptions are non-negotiable. Luckily, licenses are usually predictable, fixed costs per seat.

Infrastructure needs to be current.

Cybersecurity is non-negotiable. Make sure your protections are following best practices. Use your financial auditing process and insurance checklists to update and upgrade your cybersecurity.

Can Postpone (and Plan For)

Laptop replacements.

Redesigning your website.

Older server replacement/moving to the cloud for all functions.

Everything that can be postponed should come down to a business decision.

Discretionary (Can Postpone Indefinitely)

Updating systems like a CRM or other software. Where there is no critical immediate impact of not updating, the organization can make a long term plan to do the updates relative to other, more critical and immediate needs, knowing that times and needs may change, costs may come down, AI may change the software/system landscape entirely.

When facing difficulty with funding, you will need to prioritize immediate needs and long-term needs.

Having a relationship with your funder where you can talk about your planning and decision making can help. Having a nonprofit IT Roadmap is a big help.

Community IT knows 2025 was very challenging to our nonprofit sector. With all of the budget challenges our friends and colleagues are negotiating, we hope we can help nonprofit IT be the least difficult to manage.

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Senior staff at Community IT share what happened in nonprofit IT in 2025: AI and non-AI. What tips and advice have you missed?

Top Nonprofit IT Stories of 2025

As is our tradition, we asked some of our senior staff to talk about the most important nonprofit IT stories of 2025. This year, Carolyn gave them two categories – something in AI – or something that might not have gotten as much attention because it wasn’t something in AI.

AI continues to be a really big story. It has been described as the water we are all swimming in, whether we like it or not. It’s going to be impacting all of us, and transforming every sector that nonprofits care about, in the coming years. Education, environment, government, health, privacy and advocacy, immigration, the economy – its easier to ask what issue will not be transformed in 2026 by AI because the answer is none.

And in addition to transforming the communities nonprofits care about, perhaps more immediately AI will be transforming the day-to-day work nonprofit staff do, in new and quickly evolving ways. Community IT will continue to be a trusted partner as you make AI decisions and learn AI tools for productivity and added value.

In addition to reflecting on AI or giving advice on AI tools, many of our staff members gave practical tips on changes to look for in 2026, from budgeting for increasing costs of laptops because of increasing costs of RAM storage (caused by AI needs!) to the increased security of Microsoft 365 login protections, to data protection considerations and updates to look out for, including Microsoft Archive.

Data security and the value of data to nonprofits will continue to be of high importance in 2026, as will the evolution of cybersecurity.

Finally, we know 2025 was very challenging to our nonprofit sector. With all of the changes our friends and colleagues are negotiating, we hope we can help nonprofit IT be the least difficult to manage.

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Are you the tech helper in your family? In your office?

Community IT intern Jack Woodard on lessons learned over years of helping less-tech-savvy people learn the technology they need to do what they need and want to do.

Takeaways on How to Be a Tech Helper

Be patient

People who are having trouble with tech get very frustrated, and they also get very down on themselves for not being able to understand it. They aren’t setting out to be annoying or hard to deal with, but they can get very defensive or just have a lot of trouble following what you are asking them to do, especially if they have difficulty seeing or hearing.
People having trouble with tech have a lot of anxiety around doing the wrong thing – especially with all the scams out there. But they also want to be participating – they don’t want to miss out. So taking all that into account when you interact with any staff member or family member is good practice to help meet them where they are.

Be a teacher, not a doer

If the less-tech-savvy person in your life is struggling to use tech, doing it for them will reinforce that they are not capable. Instead, do a lot of listening. Identify the real problem (it may not be what they think is the issue.) Then walk the person through how to do it by asking them to do it while you stand by ready to help.
Describe what they need to click on. Don’t use a lot of jargon.
Have the person take notes, especially if they don’t use this particular app or do this particular thing every day. The next time they need to do it, they can refer back to their written instructions.
If they are upset by updates that change things, consider teaching them to use keyboard shortcuts where available, because these change less frequently.
Help them get organized and put the apps and tools they use most frequently where they can find them quickly at a glance. Organizing is deeply personal – so don’t impose your way of doing things on them. As a tech helper, follow their lead!
Walk through each step with them. Most people will continue to do something “the way they learned how” indefinitely. Use that to your advantage if you want them to do it a new way. Make sure they have learned the steps and they will probably be able to repeat them time after time.
Don’t forget accessibility features. Many people who struggle with tech may be hard of hearing or have difficulty seeing. Modern tech has lots of features to help, like strong contrast, screen readers, and hearing aids that can be connected to other devices directly.
Microsoft Accessibility Knowledgebase
Google Workspace Accessibility for Users (can also find the Accessibility Guide for Administrators)
Mac Guide to Accessibility

Community IT seeks to provide trusted advice and guidelines for nonprofit tech helpers around the holidays and throughout the year. If you have questions on staying safe with technology, especially in the age of AI, it is better to ask someone than struggle alone.

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What scams are circulating and how can you protect yourself and your organization?

Nonprofit Cybersecurity expert and Community IT CTO Matt Eshleman runs through common scams and new tactics that we are seeing at nonprofits and simple steps you and your staff can take at this time of year to be better protected.

Takeaways on Nonprofit Cybersecurity for the Holidays

Common scams

“Your package couldn’t be delivered” … this email tries to get you to click on a link or respond in some way, using social engineering/helpfulness/urgency to trick you into helping a colleague or sorting out a problem with a package.
“The Executive Director needs to purchase holiday gift cards for staff” … a variation on the “gift card” scam oriented towards the end of the year, holiday parties, gifts for donors or volunteers.
Pop-up “your computer has been compromised, call this number” scam … often the pop-up can’t be closed (you should shut down and log back in, and alert someone on your actual IT help desk team.)

New Scams

Spam bombs… followed by a helpful call from “the IT help desk” ... this scam will inundate your inbox with hundreds to thousands of spam email an hour. This scam tries to get the victim anxious at the spam attack and relieved when “the help desk” notices an increase in spam and reaches out to help.
AI deep fake voice and video scams… growing in presence as the tools to create deepfakes become more available and affordable.

Protections Against Holiday Scams

Stay suspicious, particularly at the end of the day before a holiday break and the week before that break.
Be particularly suspicious of in-bound calls and new contact information at any time of year, but particularly around the holidays. Do not give your log in credentials or other information to someone who called or texted you, claiming to be from IT or your bank.
Review your incident response plan, particularly your phone tree, before the holidays. Make sure you know who to call to report a suspicion or problem, and make sure that your point of contact has a substitute for when they are out of the office for the holidays. Who is “on call”?
Have strong cybersecurity already in place. Strong passwords, MFA requirements, physical MFA keys for staff who are particularly targeted like your Executive Director and CFO, staff training on the importance of cybersecurity to protect your organization – maybe even a quick training on holiday scams to watch out for … taking proactive steps will give you peace of mind during your holidays.
Do not be tricked into using a work-around. Always use your established procedures.
Do report something, using your incident response plan. If you did click on something suspicious at 5pm on a Friday, use your response plan to report it immediately to the person on call for your cybersecurity.

Community IT seeks to provide trusted advice and guidelines for nonprofit cybersecurity safety around the holidays. If you have questions on cybersecurity assessments, staff training, incident response plans, or other cybersecurity topics, reach out and schedule a conversation or assessment with Matt.

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Johan Hammerstrom hosts the podcast this week, interviewing Carolyn Woodard on her nonprofit IT management capacity growing pet project.

100% of nonprofits struggle with IT management capacity – whether it’s optimizing limited budgets, selecting the right tools, or building sustainable tech staffing models. Or just knowing where to turn for trustworthy, professional advice. We need structured connection to share best practices and elevate what works in IT management at nonprofits. We hope this community of practice will gather best practices and that it will snowball, attracting more participants with more experiences and ideas to share.

By publicizing proven approaches, we can develop the scalable best practices the broader nonprofit sector needs. By sharing widely within the philanthropy sector, we can reach more nonprofits and stakeholders with the opportunity to manage IT effectively.

Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) is a membership organization of foundations, funders, and vendors, that shares knowledge and experiences with technology in philanthropy.
Carolyn Woodard has been working in collaboration with Jean Westrick and Gozi Egbuonu at TAG to create a community of practice around better defining the challenges around IT support for nonprofits and grantees, and to gather and better disseminate best practices.
When nonprofits have functioning and strategic IT they are 4 times more likely to be effective at achieving their missions. How, as a community, can the stakeholders come together in partnership to grow IT management capacity, IT funding, and IT strategic planning as a leadership component of any effective nonprofit?
Together, TAG and Community IT curated a series of three events around this topic: a panel discussion with experts from providers, foundations, and TAG laying the groundwork of the issue; a mini-convening meet-up of interested stakeholders at the TAG Conference in 2025; and the release of a white paper in early 2026 outlining the nonprofit IT management landscape, existing resources, and areas for building out best practices.
To join this community of practice and stay updated on events and publications, get in touch with Carolyn, through our contact us page or on Linkedin.

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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
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on the Community IT website

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Why a 2025 technology equity guide for nonprofits?

Part 1 covers introductions and a deep discussion on the issues of equity in the technology your nonprofit staff use and how they use it. Part 2 delves into questions of funding tech at nonprofits and touches on creating technology tools and applications that can disrupt inequity in our communities, finishing with Q&A.

Nonprofit technology is marked by inequities within our organizations and our sector. You can see this in staffing and processes, and the way technology tools are implemented. Learn to use the free NTEN Equity Guide for Nonprofit Technology as an active and regular part of your strategy discussions and policy review processes and as a resource for evaluation.

Join Tristan Penn to learn how nonprofit staff can use technology strategically in racially equitable ways to meet our missions and community needs.

Worried about inherent bias and inequity built in to the technology your nonprofit uses?
Wondering how to implement strategies and frameworks to make sure your technology use aligns with your organizational values?

Navigating technology can be challenging for nonprofits, especially with the inequities in our sector. How can you use technology as strategically and equitably as possible to advance your mission?

This session will explore how to use the NTEN Equity Guide as a key part of your strategy and policy reviews. You’ll learn how to implement technology in racially equitable ways to better meet community needs. Get a head start on building a more equitable tech future for your organization.

Presenter:

Tristan Penn is the Equity and Accountability Director at NTEN, where he works to promote, coordinate, and evaluate best practices that support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Liberation. His work focuses on equitable development and capacity building within the nonprofit sector. He manages a staff, community, and board-specific DEI Taskforce, creating long-term work plans and goals for equity initiatives both within NTEN and across the broader community.

In his role, Tristan supports and coaches conference speakers and course faculty on creating equitable presentations and manages an annual community survey to gather demographic data and assess customer satisfaction and goal alignment. He is also responsible for designing and implementing audit processes to evaluate the staff, board, and volunteer policies outlined in NTEN’s Equity Commitment, and for developing appropriate methodologies to measure the impact of NTEN’s equity efforts.

_______________________________
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
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Thanks for listening.

View Details

Why a 2025 technology equity guide for nonprofits?

Part 1 covers introductions and a deep discussion on the issues of equity in the technology your nonprofit staff use and how they use it. Part 2 delves into questions of funding tech at nonprofits and touches on creating technology tools and applications that can disrupt inequity in our communities, finishing with Q&A.

Nonprofit technology is marked by inequities within our organizations and our sector. You can see this in staffing and processes, and the way technology tools are implemented. Learn to use the free NTEN Equity Guide for Nonprofit Technology as an active and regular part of your strategy discussions and policy review processes and as a resource for evaluation.

Join Tristan Penn to learn how nonprofit staff can use technology strategically in racially equitable ways to meet our missions and community needs.

Worried about inherent bias and inequity built in to the technology your nonprofit uses?
Wondering how to implement strategies and frameworks to make sure your technology use aligns with your organizational values?

Navigating technology can be challenging for nonprofits, especially with the inequities in our sector. How can you use technology as strategically and equitably as possible to advance your mission?

This session will explore how to use the NTEN Equity Guide as a key part of your strategy and policy reviews. You’ll learn how to implement technology in racially equitable ways to better meet community needs. Get a head start on building a more equitable tech future for your organization.

Presenter:

Tristan Penn is the Equity and Accountability Director at NTEN, where he works to promote, coordinate, and evaluate best practices that support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Liberation. His work focuses on equitable development and capacity building within the nonprofit sector. He manages a staff, community, and board-specific DEI Taskforce, creating long-term work plans and goals for equity initiatives both within NTEN and across the broader community.

In his role, Tristan supports and coaches conference speakers and course faculty on creating equitable presentations and manages an annual community survey to gather demographic data and assess customer satisfaction and goal alignment. He is also responsible for designing and implementing audit processes to evaluate the staff, board, and volunteer policies outlined in NTEN’s Equity Commitment, and for developing appropriate methodologies to measure the impact of NTEN’s equity efforts.

_______________________________
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
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Technology Association of Grantmakers held their 2025 Conference in Atlanta. Jenny Huftalen and Carolyn Woodard attended and share the takeaways and trends in philanthropy for tech.

The takeaways:

Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) convenes members bi-annually to share knowledge and experiences on technology used at foundations and funders.
Four trends stood out from this year’s conference: AI, Data, Cybersecurity, and our own health.
Almost every session and keynote spoke to the prevalence of AI in our lives, in philanthropy, and in the nonprofit space. If you are feeling FOMO or feeling that you don’t know enough about AI, rest assured no one really knows what they are doing either. We also heard several fascinating use cases where nonprofits in partnership with funders are using AI in thoughtful and impactful ways.
Data and database cleaning and organizing was also a trending topic. Several presentations stressed the need to work on your data processes and governance before throwing an AI product at your data and expecting it to clean it up for you. Again, thoughtful attention to the human side of data is necessary to make the AI work well.
Several speakers stressed the need to weave cybersecurity throughout your operations and realize that IT and cybersecurity touch every staff member at your organization. Starting with anti-virus software not being built-in to your purchase, IT has constantly packaged cybersecurity as something additional and separate. But that is an inadequate viewpoint. Weave cybersecurity into everything and keep yourself and your organization better protected.
Finally, our health. IT in philanthropy is all about people. People need to be healthy, which can require a pause to reflect even in chaotic and stressful times. Several speakers and attendees talked about the need, as ever, to re-focus on the essentials: the communities we partner with, the deep knowledge we have about the assets we hold and the challenges we face, and that we do this work because we have hope for a better future.

It’s clear that the intersection of technology and philanthropy is evolving rapidly. These trends can feel like a lot to navigate, but remember that the strongest solutions always come from a thoughtful, human-centered approach. Community IT is here to help your nonprofit or foundation thoughtfully weave technology into your operations so you can focus on your mission.

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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
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What Do Nonprofits Need to Know About Penetration Testing?

Nonprofit Cybersecurity expert and Community IT CTO Matt Eshleman explains what penetration testing is, why some nonprofits may need it, and why other nonprofits may not, or may not need it until after a basic assessment and vulnerability scanning.

Do you have someone urging you to get expensive pen testing, and you aren’t sure if you really need it, or if it is just checking a box on an insurance form? This podcast should give you more information on what the pen test tests, and how to match your investment in cybersecurity to your nonprofits’ risks and needs.

Takeaways on Pen Testing for Nonprofit Cybersecurity

What is penetration testing?

When nonprofits hosted a server on premises, penetration testing was a step that could be taken to look for vulnerabilities such as open ports on the local network.
Pen testing, as the name implies, involves finding vulnerabilities and exploiting those openings to show how far into your system a hacker could get. Usually a pen testing company will provide a long and very technical report about the client’s cybersecurity configurations.
Now that most nonprofits are working in the cloud, there is less to test in a pen test. Vulnerability scanning and a basic assessment can usually create a more valuable list of vulnerabilities and remediation suggestions, for a more affordable price. An assessment will provide a more comprehensive and holistic report on the cybersecurity practices at your nonprofit.
If you have been told you “need” to have a pen test, make sure you understand why and the ROI return on investment the pen test is expected to provide.
Pen testing has definite value, but that value is very specific to certain types of organizations; with on-site servers, and with certain technical needs and risks.
The most likely source of compromise and fraud at most small- to mid-sized nonprofits is going to be malicious phishing email leading to wire fraud or compromised credentials. If you have a limited budget to put toward cybersecurity practices, it makes sense to invest in staff training to decrease the risks of clicking on a bad link, and “basic” cybersecurity to protect account credentials and user ID.
In general, Community IT would recommend starting a cybersecurity improvement journey with a basic assessment, adding vulnerability scanning, and only after addressing any vulnerabilities discovered at that level, determining whether a pen test is a valuable tool to learn more about your system security and resilience.

Community IT hopes that we can provide trusted advice and guidelines for nonprofit safety and security. Your cybersecurity risks and needs will be individual to your nonprofit. If you have questions on pen testing, vulnerability scanning, and basic assessments, reach out and schedule a conversation or assessment with Matt.

_______________________________
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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
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October is ESOP Employee Owner Month

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, is a legal structure used in the U.S. to create an employee-owned company. Essentially, an ESOP is a type of retirement plan that invests primarily in company stock, holding the assets in a trust for the staff.

Community IT is 100% employee-owned. This structure means our staff participates in the company’s success. Not all ESOPs are 100% employee-owned. Our CEO Johan Hammerstrom walks through the decisions and concerns of our founder, David Deal, that the mission of the company always remain focused on serving nonprofits with well-managed IT. The best way to preserve that mission when he sold the company in 2012 was to sell it entirely to the staff.

Being an ESOP is fundamentally important to Community IT because it ensures we maintain the stability and focus required to serve the nonprofit sector best. This structure guarantees we control our own destiny, allowing us to prioritize long-term, excellent service to nonprofit organizations over external pressures like seeking to be acquired or maximizing short-term profits for outside owners.

Further, it enhances our culture by aligning the incentives of our passionate employees with our mission, empowering independent decision-making and ensuring that clients benefit from a dedicated, resourceful, and stable team that is invested in the organization’s lasting success.

Join CEO Johan Hammerstrom as he explains what October being ESOP employee owner month means to Community IT, our clients, and our dedication to providing excellent outsourced IT services.

Interested in the ESOP structure advantages and how to become an ESOP? Contact Johan directly, he is always happy to talk about our ESOP.

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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
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A Panel Discussion with Matthew Eshleman and Ian Gottesman.

In part 1, Ian and Matthew discuss an approach to cybersecurity for nonprofits, taking the first steps, and 3 steps you can take to prevent at least 80% of attacks. In pt 2, they talk about making cybersecurity training more engaging, and lessons learned this year. They finish by taking audience questions.

Our nonprofit cybersecurity experts discuss the current state of risks, and the best counter-measures nonprofits should have in their toolboxes.

Learn what are cybersecurity essentials for nonprofits, and how your nonprofit organization can meet the moment.
Keep your staff, your networks, and your data secure in an insecure world.

Worried about nonprofit cybersecurity?

You aren’t alone. The nonprofit sector is seeing new attacks and politicization of work that was never political before. Most attacks we are seeing in our networks are still financial, not political – but that doesn’t make being a victim of these attacks better. AI is changing cybersecurity needs rapidly.

If you aren’t sure what you need to know, or who to ask, learn from our expert panel in this webinar where we will discuss cybersecurity essentials for nonprofits in accessible language, and lay out a plan for any nonprofit to put the basics of cybersecurity in place.

Secure your devices.

Secure your accounts.

Secure your data.

In this new webinar, expert panelists discuss cybersecurity essentials and take Q&A.

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.

View Details

A Panel Discussion with Matthew Eshleman and Ian Gottesman.

In part 1, Ian and Matthew discuss an approach to cybersecurity for nonprofits, taking the first steps, and 3 steps you can take to prevent at least 80% of attacks. In pt 2, they talk about making cybersecurity training more engaging, and lessons learned this year. They finish by taking audience questions.

Our nonprofit cybersecurity experts discuss the current state of risks, and the best counter-measures nonprofits should have in their toolboxes.

Learn what are cybersecurity essentials for nonprofits, and how your nonprofit organization can meet the moment.
Keep your staff, your networks, and your data secure in an insecure world.

Worried about nonprofit cybersecurity?

You aren’t alone. The nonprofit sector is seeing new attacks and politicization of work that was never political before. Most attacks we are seeing in our networks are still financial, not political – but that doesn’t make being a victim of these attacks better. AI is changing cybersecurity needs rapidly.

If you aren’t sure what you need to know, or who to ask, learn from our expert panel in this webinar where we will discuss cybersecurity essentials for nonprofits in accessible language, and lay out a plan for any nonprofit to put the basics of cybersecurity in place.

Secure your devices.

Secure your accounts.

Secure your data.

In this new webinar, expert panelists discuss cybersecurity essentials and take Q&A.

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.

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Today Carolyn talks with Johanny Torrico about her recent promotion to an executive position that the Community IT Board created for her: President and Chief Operations Officer.

This conversation provided an opportunity to delve into Johanny’s strategic vision for the company’s future. We explored how the new position was created to recognize her role guiding the company through a period of significant growth and innovation in the past few years, ensuring that we continue to provide the highest level of service and support to the nonprofit community.

We also touched on the challenges and successes of our expansion at Community IT, doubling both staff and clients served in the years following the pandemic. From scaling our services to meet increasing demand to fostering a cohesive culture as our team grows, Johanny shared valuable insights into the dedication and strategic planning that was required to navigate this dynamic landscape.

Our President and COO shared personal reflections on her extensive career in IT and operations, highlighting pivotal moments of challenge and the principles that have led to her success. This led to insights on what it takes to recognize and nurture talent within an organization, offering practical advice for HR professionals, managers, and job seekers alike.

We also explored the unique benefits of being a 100% employee-owned company. This model is a cornerstone of our internal culture, fostering a deep sense of ownership and commitment among our staff. Ultimately, this shared purpose and dedication not only helps us attract and retain top talent but also directly translates into the exceptional service and long-term partnerships we provide to our nonprofit clients.

Johanny has a lot to say on the benefits of a culture that encourages staff to be happy and capable, and the focus at Community IT on customer service – the face to face interactions of people with people.

“As an employee owned company, we all have a stake in the success of our company. For sure, that is something that has contributed to the culture that we have. A culture of work-life balance. A culture of team building, of learning together. I think that part of staff development, that part of working together for the better good, supporting nonprofit organizations, is definitely what makes Community IT unique in the sector.”– Johanny Torrico, COO

Speaker:

Johanny Torrico brings over thirty years of experience managing teams and operations to her role as President and Chief Operating Officer at Community IT, where she leads the largest internal team providing services to clients. A calm and organized leader, Johanny is responsible for the service and technical operations for all the teams at Community IT. She also leads staff development and internal business processes, with a focus on staff retention and career mentoring.

As Chief Operating Officer Johanny played a critical role in leading the dramatic expansion of our service operations. She established new teams, expanded company management and led the successful adoption of a wide range of new technologies. Johanny has a special ability to promote standardization of our services in ways that add value for our clients. Johanny brings decades of experience, professional maturity and tremendous skillsets as a business leader.

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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
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Nonprofit Cybersecurity expert and Community IT CTO Matt Eshleman offered his take on these trends. Listen for expert advice on avoiding new computer viruses and making sure your organization is protected from Attacker-in-the-Middle attacks on MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), particularly for important accounts like your Executive Director and CFO.

Fighting Viruses

Virus attacks have been increasing. These computer viruses are no longer just malware that “infects” your network through an email link or website.
Bad actors know we are suspicious of links in our email and that these days most malicious emails are stopped from reaching our inboxes. As a work around, they have started sending a document with instructions to open the document with a “secure code” – actually a malicious code. In this way, they trick the victim into running the attack against themselves.
To resist this attack, always think – if the document you need to open is legitimate, and the person emailing it to you is genuine, they can send you a pdf. You should be very suspicious of any attachment that requires another set of steps to open, particularly executing code on your computer.
Other ways you may pick up a computer virus: downloading something malicious online. Be careful to double check you are on a legitimate site before downloading anything. Better yet, use the App Store where possible.
We are also seeing an increase in malicious pop-ups. If a window opens on your computer saying you have a virus, it can be scary. Always contact your own IT provider. Do not follow the directions the pop up is giving you to get “support,” or you will be calling the scammer.

Using Phish-Resistant MFA

Community IT continues to recommend that all users use a Multi-Factor Authentication method on all accounts.
Because MFA is so effective, it is not surprising that attackers are trying to work around it. In the past few years Attacker-in-the-Middle attacks have been on the rise. In this attack, the bad guys trick a user into “logging in” in a way that exposes their secure token for the attacker to steal. The attacker can then login as the user from a different device and gain access to anything the user has access to.
Phish-Resistant MFA, like using a passkey or Microsoft Hello, will only allow the MFA to be authenticated from the device where you are. You can also use a physical key like Ubikey or FIDO, which must be present to allow the login.
Community IT is recommending at a minimum that all accounts with access to sensitive data such as Executive Director, CFO, maybe Board members, the executive team, should use Phish-Resistant MFA to best protect the organization. Of course, any access to your network is a risk, so where possible, investing in Phish-Resistant MFA for all staff is a good investment.
Training on Phish-Resistant MFA can lessen the friction or feeling that an extra step is required. Most Phish-Resistant MFA is quick to use and easy to learn. Peace of mind is worth it.

Community IT hopes that building this culture of care at your organization makes it easier for you to update your staff on new threats and scams through your regular training program.

_______________________________
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Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
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Change Management Lessons with Debbie Cameron

Build Consulting Partner Debbie Cameron and change management expert in a webinar on when you can rescue a nonprofit technology project using change management techniques.

In part 1, Debbie describes the philosophy of change management and how these techniques work in helping the people at your organization understand and adapt to big changes. In part 2, she discusses how to rescue a failed project and some techniques to turn a project around. She also gives a mini-case study and takes audience questions.

It is never too late to go back and re-assess where change management best practices can help.
Learn how to use change management principles to get more out of your nonprofit technology investments and rescue a tech project that hasn’t succeeded – yet.

Do you have a technology tool that is not living up to expectations?

In an ideal world, change management would help inform three main phases of technology project implementation: planning, during, and after go-live. Build Consulting curated a three-part video series with Debbie Cameron, change management expert at Build Consulting, walking through the Build philosophy and providing best practices and examples at each stage of nonprofit tech project management.

But what if you weren’t present for the entire project? What if you are facing a project that isn’t going well – that you inherited – a technology tool that your organization is paying for but everyone hates – a tool your organization is stuck with … is there still a role for good change management? Is it too late to use change management best practices to rescue these projects?

In this new webinar, Debbie shares techniques and tools to help analyze where change management can support implementation after technology change.

_______________________________
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
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