A week in the life of the Help Desk Team

Ever wonder what it takes to be a help desk analyst, or what our Help Desk Team does in a typical week?

We’re inordinately proud of our Help Desk Team, the first and usually only point of contact for most staff for most clients.

Listen to this presentation on a typical week and learn about the teamwork, expertise, and continual learning that goes into providing excellent IT support service.

“You all do such an amazing job, with such great positive energy, and we always get such great feedback from our clients about the service they receive from the help desk. It’s really, it’s so critical to all of the work that we do.

So I just want to thank each one of you for all your hard work and your diligence.”

Johan Hammerstrom, CEO

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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.

Shauna Dillavou is the co-founder of Brightlin.es, a security firm working with the nonprofit sector to prevent vulnerabilities. She is a seasoned intelligence analyst with decades of experience working for the US government. She formerly was part of a team locating cartel associates by their online traces, and founded Brightlines to reverse-engineer that experience to protect vulnerable staff from online doxxing and threats to their personal safety. Unfortunately in recent years the threats against nonprofit staff have grown, making this service necessary and timely.

We know nonprofits are facing challenges in a challenging time. At Community IT, when we think about and enact cybersecurity for our clients in the nonprofit sector, we generally are focused on protecting the organization, its data, its systems, and its finances, from bad actors. Those hackers are overwhelmingly interested in financial benefits: getting you to wire the money to their bank account instead of your real bank account. While some cyber criminals are interested in gaining insights into your advocacy area or your networks, a majority of cyber crimes against nonprofits are purely financial.

But what happens when your nonprofit is involved in an advocacy area, a country, or an issue that has suddenly become controversial? Media attention turns to your spokespeople, your staff, your board, and your volunteers – anyone who has been associated with your organization’s issue. Particularly online. It isn’t long before that online attention can become threats against your personnel.

“Doxxing” is a term for when an opponent releases personally identifiable information about you – your home address, phone number, your parents, your kids’ personal information. Doxxing is meant to inspire terror and to shut you up. And sometimes the online rancor, coupled with personal information, can lead unhinged individuals to act on these online threats.

In this interview, Carolyn talks with Shauna Dillavou, co-founder of Brightlin.es, a security company that works in the nonprofit sector to prevent personal vulnerabilities for staff who may be in the online media spotlight.

With decades of experience in the intelligence community, Shauna co-founded Brightlines to provide resources to nonprofits, foundations, and others who face threats and escalation against their staff or spokespeople.

In this podcast on anti-doxxing and nonprofit staff safety with Shauna Dillavou, learn the types of personal threats that are becoming more common, and the steps you should take to protect your vulnerable staff.

Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic and our podcasts and webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Podcasts are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community. Brightlines is one of many services that exist to improve the security of your staff, executives, and board members. This interview with Shauna Dillavou explores the parameters of the problem and gives general advice on steps to take if you or your staff are threatened online.

_______________________________
Start a conversation :)

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

Thanks for listening.

In this interview from December 2024, Director of Marketing Carolyn Woodard talks with Ramunda Lark Young about her journey from growing up in Tulsa Oklahoma to working in Washington DC to founding an online Black bookstore during the 2007-2008 recession.

In addition to a website where you can find curated lists of books to fit any interest, Mahogany Books now has 2.25 in-person stores in DC and hosts author events and a podcast.

What did it take for Ramunda to believe in her vision of owning a bookstore where Black Books Matter, and how did she follow that vision to success?

What does Ramunda do to stay grounded and mentally healthy, and what lessons has she learned on this journey about the importance of seeing ourselves celebrated in the communities around us?

We know nonprofits are facing challenges in a challenging time, and we could all use a little inspiration. Join Carolyn and Ramunda for a few minutes to talk about books, entrepreneurship, and community.

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Ramunda Lark Young is Co-Founder and Co-owner of Mahogany Books online and with 2.25 locations in Washington DC, including National Harbor, National Airport, and a new location in Anacostia. Unapologetically Black-owned, family-run and operated, Mahogany Books is a local independent bookstore that believes in social entrepreneurship. They take a leadership role in the African American community by promoting reading, writing, and cultural awareness as tools to improve self-esteem, self-love and ultimately our communities to enrich the lives of motivated individuals.

With over 20 years of combined retail book industry experience, Ramunda has witnessed a variety of market highs and lows which helped develop a bookstore model capitalizing on technology while staying true to the independent community bookstore roots that define the core values of the owners.

_______________________________
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.

Expert Tips on Current Trends:
Webinar 2025 Nonprofit Tech Round Table

• How is your organization using AI? What policies do you need? What should you be worried about?
  Download the Community IT Acceptable Use Policy Template for AI Tools in the Nonprofit Workplace.
• Steve and Matt also share a veritable "grab bag" of new tools, new chips, and other new issues to keep an eye on that will impact the nonprofit sector using IT in 2025.

Join CTO Matthew Eshleman and Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, moderated by Carolyn Woodard from Community IT, in a lively and specific discussion of all things nonprofit tech for 2025 and beyond.

It’s like listening in on your smart friends talking about stuff you need to know about but don’t know who to ask.

Kick off the new year with a new understanding of trends and practices that can help your nonprofit succeed. This is one of our most popular webinars and podcasts year after year for a reason. We don’t believe a lot of lingo or jargon is necessary to understand what you need to know to manage IT.

As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. Part 1 covers our introductions, a discussion of hybrid work in the nonprofit context, and tips on new cybersecurity from our expert. Part 2 covers AI, a "grab bag" of new tech and new issues, and audience Q&A.

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.

Many questions asked at registration or live at the virtual event will be answered in the transcript.

_______________________________
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.

Expert Tips on Current Trends:
Webinar 2025 Nonprofit Tech Round Table

• Is the Hybrid/Remote Workplace here to stay or on the way out? Download the Nonprofit Guide to Remote Work
• What is the new cybersecurity reality and what should you be doing now to better face the next threats?
  Download the updated Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook

Join CTO Matthew Eshleman and Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, moderated by Carolyn Woodard from Community IT, in a lively and specific discussion of all things nonprofit tech for 2025 and beyond.

It’s like listening in on your smart friends talking about stuff you need to know about but don’t know who to ask.

Kick off the new year with a new understanding of trends and practices that can help your nonprofit succeed. This is one of our most popular webinars and podcasts year after year for a reason. We don’t believe a lot of lingo or jargon is necessary to understand what you need to know to manage IT.

As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. Part 1 covers our introductions, a discussion of hybrid work in the nonprofit context, and tips on new cybersecurity from our expert. Part 2 covers AI, a "grab bag" of new tech and new issues, and audience Q&A.

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.

Many questions asked at registration or live at the virtual event will be answered in the transcript.

_______________________________
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.

Set four intentions to make 2025 safer, saner, and more fun for your IT staff and your nonprofit.

Now is the month to set intentions for the year ahead. We know nonprofits are facing challenges in a challenging time. Be intentional about setting expectations for yourself and your organization this year and you will take some of the stress off.

Director of Outreach and podcast host Carolyn Woodard walks through four resolutions you can make to make 2025 easier on yourself.

• Put self-care first – set yourself up for mental and physical health so you can do the things your nonprofit needs you to do
• Put organization care second – up your cybersecurity to meet evolving threats
• Clean up! – do a spring cleaning of your files, data inventory, and subscriptions
• Do something fun – take a tutorial, come together as a team

Keeping these 4 New Year’s Resolutions will make your 2025 safer, saner, less stressed, and more fun. We provide lots of the resources you need on our site – you just need to set your intentions and keep these priorities through the year.

Some key resources:

• De-Stress! Self-Care for Nonprofit IT Staff
• Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook
• SAS145 Auditing Guidelines
• DKIM/DMARC and email deliverability
• Single Sign On (SSO)
• MFA updates
• File Structure and Permissions Best Practices
• Data Governance
• Subscriptions Inventory
• Becoming a Learning Organization
• Using an IT Skills Matrix for team building
• Skills Matrix Best Practices hosted by Build Consulting

Ready to get strategic about your IT?

We think your IT vendor should be able to explain everything without jargon or lingo. If you can’t understand your IT management strategy to your own satisfaction, keep asking your questions until you find an outsourced IT provider who will partner with you for well-managed IT.

If you’re ready to gain peace of mind about your IT support, let’s talk.

_______________________________
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.

If your organization uses Google Workspace you have access to Google Groups. Kind of like a listserv but so much better.

What are Google Groups?

If your nonprofit uses Google Workspace, you can use Google Groups to manage tasks via an email group, with granular controls and monitoring if you need it. Google Groups can improve security for email addresses like “donate@mynonprofit” or “info@mynonprofit” if that email directs to a group and is not its own account that’s credentials could be hacked.

Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker explains the ins and outs of using Google Groups and some issues to consider including Google’s Fedramp certification if you are trying to use Google Groups with federal workers.

Since few MSPs can help nonprofits using Google Workspace, please contact us if you have more questions we can help with. We know that so many nonprofit startups start using Google Workspace because it is easy.

Some Key Takeaways:

• Google Groups works like a listserv, allowing multiple people to view and respond to group emails right from their inbox. No new tools needed like slack or discord. Keeping it simple can help your team or volunteers engage easily.
• Google Groups allows granular permissions and allows a manager to assign certain email threads to specific team members, so you can make sure all donation inquiries get a quick response, for example. Managers can get valuable insight into email thread status and team members can easily collaborate without checking and back-checking to see who is taking which inquiry.
• Google Groups can be useful in keeping volunteer groups organized and engaged. You can assign any email to Google Groups, making a partly external volunteer team more functional and making it easier for busy volunteers to participate, right from their inbox.
• Google Groups has many security features that make it preferable to listservs. And Listerv tools are becoming harder to find and manage. Everyone uses email – if you already use Google Workspace you have a listserv tool already available to you, for free, that has many features and security that listservs just don’t have.
• Google Groups is relatively easy to set up and manage, and Google provides lots of helpful how-to tutorials and advice that are accessible to non-technical managers.
• If you are trying to use Google Groups with federal employees and encountering resistance, be aware that Google has Fedramp certification. This means your federal friends are allowed to use it from a security perspective.

Google Groups is a tool you should consider if you are struggling to manage a team or volunteer group. It is easy to get started and easy to expand as you learn the capabilities.

We know that few MSPs serving nonprofits are experts in Google Workspace. Community IT has developed expertise in Google Workspace support since we serve nonprofits exclusively, and so many nonprofits use this platform.

_______________________________
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.

Welcome 2025! It's going to be a big year for nonprofit IT and as is our tradition, our senior staff weighed in with the biggest stories of 2024, the most overlooked trends, and what they will be keeping an eye on in 2025.

We hear from Senior Engineer David Dawson, Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, IT Business Manager Erik Solce, IT Business Manager Team Lead Norwin Herrera, Chief Technology Officer Matthew Eshleman, Senior Consultant Nuradeen Aboki, CEO Johan Hammerstrom, and Carolyn Woodard, Marketing Director and webinar and podcast host on what we are seeing in our sector.

Please join us January 22 for a Nonprofit IT Round Table webinar with Steve, Matt, and Norwin where we will discuss new trends and risks in more depth and take your questions live. https://communityit.com/webinar-2025-nonprofit-tech-round-table/

Thank you for joining us in 2024 and we look forward to sharing resources and learning together in 2025!

_______________________________
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.