What IT Support Do Charities and Non-Profits Actually Need?

Short answer: charities need the same core IT as any small business — reliable email, secure devices, proper backups, and someone to call when things break. The difference is that charities are handling sensitive donor data, often on shoestring budgets, and increasingly need Cyber Essentials certification to qualify for grants and government funding.

Here is what that actually looks like in practice.

1. Cyber Essentials Is Becoming a Grant Requirement

More funders and government bodies now require Cyber Essentials certification before they will hand over money. The National Lottery Community Fund, various government departments, and an increasing number of trusts and foundations include it in their application criteria. If you are applying for grants above a certain size — particularly anything touching government funding — expect to be asked for proof of certification.

The good news is that Cyber Essentials is achievable for small charities. It covers five basic controls: firewalls, secure device configuration, user access management, malware protection, and keeping software updated. Most charities can get certified within four to six weeks with the right support.

2. Donor Data Protection Is Not Optional

Charities hold personal data — names, addresses, email addresses, donation history, Gift Aid declarations, and sometimes health or financial information about beneficiaries. Under GDPR and the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Practice, you have a legal obligation to protect this data properly.

That means encrypted devices, strong passwords with multi-factor authentication on every account, controlled access so only the people who need donor records can see them, and proper backup so a ransomware attack does not wipe out your supporter database. If your charity uses a CRM like Beacon, Donorfy, or Salesforce Nonprofit, that system needs to be configured securely — not just installed and left with default settings.

3. Non-Profit Licensing Saves Serious Money

Microsoft 365 offers free and heavily discounted licences for registered charities through the Microsoft for Nonprofits programme. Depending on your size and needs, you can get Business Basic (email, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) completely free for up to 300 users, or significant discounts on Business Premium which adds device management, advanced security, and desktop Office apps.

Google offers similar programmes through Google for Nonprofits. The key is making sure you are registered correctly with TechSoup or directly with Microsoft/Google, and that you are actually using the right licence tier. We regularly find charities paying full commercial rates because nobody set up the non-profit licensing when they first signed up.

4. Remote and Hybrid Working for Staff and Volunteers

Charities often have a mix of paid staff, regular volunteers, and occasional helpers — some in the office, some at home, some out in the community. This creates real IT challenges. You need people to access shared files and systems securely from different locations and devices, without opening up security holes.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace handles the collaboration side well. But you also need device management policies — particularly if volunteers are using their own laptops. Conditional Access policies in Microsoft 365 can ensure that only devices meeting your security requirements can access charity data, without requiring you to buy everyone a work laptop.

5. The Budget Reality

Every charity we work with has the same tension: limited funds, but real IT needs that cannot be ignored. The temptation is to rely on a "tech-savvy trustee" or that one volunteer who knows a bit about computers. This works until it does not — and when it fails, the cost of recovery is far higher than proper support would have been.

The practical approach is to prioritise. Get the security basics right first (Cyber Essentials gives you a framework for this), set up non-profit licensing to reduce costs, and make sure your donor data is properly protected and backed up. Everything else — the nice-to-have tools, the website refresh, the fancy intranet — can come later.

What Most Charities Get Wrong

The biggest mistake is treating IT as a cost to minimise rather than infrastructure to maintain. Charities that skip proper email security get their domain spoofed in phishing attacks targeting donors. Charities that do not back up their CRM lose years of supporter relationships when something goes wrong. Charities that ignore Cyber Essentials lose out on funding they were otherwise qualified for.

The second most common mistake is not knowing what non-profit licensing and discounts are available. Between Microsoft, Google, and various charity-specific tech programmes, there are genuine savings to be had — but someone needs to set them up correctly.

We work with charities and non-profits across London, helping them get the IT basics right without overspending. Take a look at our IT support for charities page to see how we approach it, or get in touch for a straightforward conversation about what your charity actually needs.

Related Reading

• IT Support for Charities: What You Actually Need
• IT Budget Planning for Small Business