--- title: Using an IT Help Desk to Benefit Your Nonprofit description: What are the benefits of using an IT help desk and how can it make your nonprofit function most efficiently? 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So, they turn to outside contractors to provide assistance in the form of an “IT help desk.” It’s a worthwhile investment. IT help desks can provide many benefits – handling the basics and stretching into roles that provide more strategic value over a long-term period. Here are a few ways an IT help desk can be a lifesaver for a nonprofit. It can: **Provide peace of mind** Most nonprofits will want to arrange for 24/7 support, ensuring that questions and problems can be dealt any time – day, night or weekend. That can make a huge difference for any organization, in many ways. If you’re having trouble opening a computer document late at night when a grant filing is due, having access to an on-call specialist it might save an opportunity worth thousands of dollars. Having a contracted specialist also avoids the need to have a nonprofit executive interrupt a weekend trip to tend to an IT problem. **Morph into a service desk** The best help desks are all-purpose problem-solving resources. They handle the basic IT processes – user account control, password resets, patch updates, security access approvals and all the random questions about why a file isn’t formatting properly. They can also act like service desks – empowering skilled technicians to do preventative measures. If an issue is affecting one user, it might affect another, and another. Rather than just be the first line of defense, help desks can play offense, getting ahead of problems. **Train staffers on basic security measures** Like for-profit enterprises, nonprofits are vulnerable to security hacks. Everybody is. The question is, do nonprofits have someone who can teach employees what behaviors to avoid to protect the organization against being breached? Maybe, maybe not. Firms that provide help desk support have that knowledge and they can be a resource for employees. They can educate staff about creating safe passwords, spiking spam emails or snuffing out phishing attempts. **Help with vendor issues** So, who deals with outside vendors? If it’s the coffee delivery person, nonprofits probably have a system for buying, stocking and quality testing the product. But if the supplier touches your IT systems in some way, it makes sense to involve the help desk people in the issue. If the broadband is having issues, the help desk can coordinate with Comcast. If the servers need fixing or software needs to be installed a certain way, the help desk can pitch in. **Keep current with technology shifts** It’s hard enough understanding all the issues required to handle IT support today. With so many variables involving platforms, standards, connections and vendor specs, patched-together internal IT departments will have a difficult time keeping up. It’s just going to get more complicated in the future. Having an IT help desk involved, with staffers getting regular training on any and all changes in the technology landscape, can future proof your IT infrastructure. **Partner with the nonprofit on a flexible pay model** Finances, of course, are an ongoing challenge for nonprofits. Most of these entities are trying to stretch dollars as far as they can, and the funds they do bring in often ebb and flow based on the timing of fundraising activities. While hiring internal IT staff saddles nonprofits with fixed expenses, contracting with an IT help desk can be done on a more flexible basis. Help desk providers can structure plans based on their needs and their funding mechanisms, ensuring that the arrangement works well for both sides. If you are wondering if an IT help desk would be a good fit for your organization, we’d like to [speak with you](https://techboston.com/about-tnb/contact-us/). Tech Networks of Boston has been providing help desk services to over 100 nonprofit organizations in the Boston area, and we would like to see if we can help ease your IT worries!   Share Post - - - - - [mailto:?body=https://blog.techboston.com/using-helpdesk-benefit-nonprofit](mailto:?body=https://blog.techboston.com/using-helpdesk-benefit-nonprofit) [Previous](https://blog.techboston.com/wisps-important-set) [![](https://blog.techboston.com/hubfs/IMG_0776.jpg) Why WISPs Are Important – and How to Set Them Up](https://blog.techboston.com/wisps-important-set) [Next](https://blog.techboston.com/work-collaboratively-msp) [![](https://blog.techboston.com/hubfs/msp-management.png) How to work collaboratively with a MSP](https://blog.techboston.com/work-collaboratively-msp) #### RELATED POSTS Tech Tips [![Training Your Staff on New Tools](https://blog.techboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/training%20your%20staff.png?width=387&name=training%20your%20staff.png)](https://blog.techboston.com/training-your-staff-on-new-tools) #### Training Your Staff on New Tools July 28, 2022 at 10:26 AM by Veronica Moreno-Nestojko … Tech Tips , IT security [![The Benefits of 24/7 Monitoring and Reporting](https://blog.techboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/24_7%20monitoring.png?width=387&name=24_7%20monitoring.png)](https://blog.techboston.com/the-benefits-of-24/7-monitoring-and-reporting) #### The Benefits of 24/7 Monitoring and Reporting February 18, 2021 at 04:23 PM by Veronica Moreno-Nestojko … Tech Tips , Uncategorized #### 4 ways your small business can embrace innovation June 12, 2019 at 11:20 AM by Ashley Fontes … Tech Tips , Security awareness [![How Your Nonprofit Can Manage Data Breaches and Minimize Risk](https://blog.techboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CyberSecurity.png?width=387&name=CyberSecurity.png)](https://blog.techboston.com/how-your-nonprofit-can-manage-data-breaches-and-minimize-risk) #### How Your Nonprofit Can Manage Data Breaches and Minimize Risk May 17, 2019 at 06:37 PM by Veronica Moreno-Nestojko … ### Leave a Reply [![updatedblogad](https://blog.techboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/updatedblogad.png?width=312&name=updatedblogad.png)](https://techboston.com/about-tnb/contact-us/)                    ### Contact Us 1 Wadleigh Place South Boston, MA 02127 Phone: 617.269.0299 Fax: 888.527.9333 ### GET UPDATES ### Resources [Server Failure and Recovery](https://techboston.com/resources/server-failure/) [Plan a Successful Email Migration to the Cloud](https://techboston.com/resources/email-migration/) [How to Align Your Staff on Technology Use and Policies](https://techboston.com/resources/technology-policies/) [Data Loss and Recovery: A Guide](https://techboston.com/resources/data-loss-recovery/) [Assess Your IT Needs: Is an MSP Right For You?](https://techboston.com/resources/assess-it/) [IT Audits and Assessments: What Are They Good For?](https://techboston.com/resources/it-audits-assessments/) [The Right Time to Change Your MSP](https://techboston.com/resources/change-msp/) [Privacy Policy](https://techboston.com/privacy-policy/) © 2021 Tech Networks of Boston