Community IT Innovators Nonprofit Technology Topics

Community IT Innovators
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Community IT offers free webinars monthly to promote learning within our nonprofit technology community. Our podcast is appropriate for a varied level of technology expertise. Community IT is vendor-agnostic and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Something on your mind you don’t see covered here? Contact us to suggest a topic! http://www.communityit.com

  1. 2d ago

    Nonprofit AI: New Anthropic Philanthropic Fund

    Carolyn Woodard covers what the newest wave of AI money could mean for nonprofits, starting with Anthropic's new Public Benefit Fund. Pending stockholder approval, Anthropic will commit 5% of its shares to a fund that grows with the company's value. It is a wholly owned LLC rather than a 501(c)(3), which means flexibility for Anthropic but no 990s, no payout requirement, and no public grant process. With co-founder pledges and an employee giving match, roughly 20% of the company is committed to the public good. Carolyn puts that money in context: foundation giving cannot replace lost federal funding, and it is unclear whether new AI philanthropy will reach existing nonprofits in time to make up that difference.  She also looks at Wayan Vota's piece on the first $1 billion solo AI nonprofit, and at Lemontree, a small, tech-forward food helpline that has been deliberate about where AI fits its work. She closes with a Harvard study on the AI confidence gap, the NetHope AI Accelerator (applications due November 13), the new Securing America's Infrastructure Foundation aiming to protect rural hospitals and small municipalities, and this week's Community IT cybersecurity webinar. This episode covers: - Why Anthropic chose an LLC over a foundation, and what the fund might support, from gifts to nonprofits to direct distributions. - How one founder using AI agents might connect people to benefits they already qualify for. - What Lemontree and the National Domestic Workers Alliance show about adopting AI with clear guardrails around clients. - Why funders need to pay for AI capacity, not just licenses, when 69% of nonprofits in the Bridgespan and NTEN survey have no dedicated AI funding. - Why the most confident voice in your AI staff meeting may not be the most informed. Resources Mentioned: Investing in the Public Benefit, AnthropicHow AI Giants Will Reshape Philanthropy, AxiosClaude Corps, AnthropicWhat Will the First $1 Billion Solo AI Nonprofit Look Like? Wayan Vota, LinkedInLemontreeScaling Impact with AI, Project EvidentScaling Impact with AI Webinar Video, Project EvidentMen Can’t Stop Faking How Much They Know About AI, WIREDAI Accelerator for Nonprofits, NetHopeSecuring America’s Infrastructure FoundationNonprofit Cybersecurity Playbook Webinar, Community ITStart Here, Nonprofit Cybersecurity Basics, Community ITCorrection: The AI company named AI6Z in the audio is a16z, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. *New every Tuesday.* _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Nonprofit AI: New Anthropic Philanthropic Fund

  2. Oct 16

    10 Nonprofit IT Essentials with Johan Hammerstrom

    Carolyn Woodard explores the operations essentials of nonprofit IT with Johan Hammerstrom, CEO of Community IT.  If you are new to managing technology at your nonprofit, or you oversee an IT vendor without a technical background, it can be hard to know where to start. Before any conversation about transformation or AI, there are basic requirements your organization needs in place just to run, and none of them require technology expertise. Johan walks through ten essentials that keep IT meeting the business needs of your organization, from making sure every staff member has a working device to naming an IT owner who accepts the responsibility.  His larger point is that most IT problems sit downstream from business processes. If you already have processes for hiring staff, signing contracts, approving invoices, and building a budget, IT just needs to ride along.  He also shares a client story about an online booklet that stopped working, with no one left on staff who knew who built it or where it was hosted. This episode covers: The ten operations essentials: 1. a working device for everyone, 2. IT in onboarding, 3. IT in offboarding, 4. defined core tools, 5. a clear way to get help, 6. tracked hardware, software, and licenses, 7. documented admin access and license keys, 8. documented vendors, 9. IT in the annual budget, and 10. a named IT owner.Why settling on core tools (a "tech stack") such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is important, and telling new staff clearly how you use all your IT tools including communication tools like Teams, slack, or Zoom, prevents confusion. How tying IT into signing authority and invoice approval keeps vendors from slipping out of view. A quick look in Quickbooks at which vendors your organization is paying, and for what, is a good place to start.Why regular device replacement belongs in the annual budget, and in grant proposals when a new program will add staff.Why the IT owner needs management experience and authority more than technical skills, why the role should never rotate through volunteers or interns. And why it needs a succession plan.  _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    10 Nonprofit IT Essentials with Johan Hammerstrom

  3. Oct 13

    Nonprofit AI: Workforce Issues

    Carolyn Woodard covers a question on many nonprofit minds right now: is AI coming for our jobs? Headlines are full of tech layoffs, and recent graduates are finding entry-level work harder to land.  For nonprofits the picture is more complicated, both for workforce development organizations training people for jobs that are changing and for the rest of the sector, where funding cuts seem more responsible for reshaping who gets hired than AI. Carolyn starts with recent layoffs at HubSpot, Salesforce, and Microsoft. These are three companies telling three different stories about AI's role, and their restructuring could change the support your nonprofit gets from the tools it pays for.  She then looks at how workforce nonprofits are responding. Per Scholas has shifted its training from coding toward AI skills. Coalitions including the National Skills Coalition, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, and the ACLU are pressing for worker protections, bias testing, and fair access to reskilling. States are stepping in to regulate AI in workforce decision making. This episode covers: Why for-profit companies tend to see AI as a way to do five people's jobs with one agent, while nonprofits more often see AI as help for one person already doing five jobs in an understaffed/under-resourced nonprofit.Why you should watch your support experience and talk to your account rep when a tech vendor restructures customer support.Why administrative and clerical roles, held mostly by women, are among the most exposed to generative AI, in a sector where about 70% of staff are women.What the CEP State of Nonprofits 2026 report shows: 30% of nonprofits have cut staff since January 2025, 73% of CEOs report rising demand, and 57% say foundation grants are harder to get.Why nonprofits and funders still have agency. Leaders choose how to respond to funding shifts, and funders can pay for AI training, pilots, and the workforce development organizations that will need support most.Resources Mentioned: AI for Workers and Learners 2026 Survey, Jobs for the FutureGenerative AI, Occupational Segregation and Gender Equality in the World of Work, ILOState of Nonprofits 2026, Center for Effective PhilanthropyChallenger Report, September 2026, Challenger, Gray & ChristmasPer ScholasArtificial Intelligence, National Skills CoalitionCivil Rights Letter to the House Democratic AI Commission, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human RightsEnsuring Representation and Eliminating Bias in AI, NAACPAI Literacy Training and Employment Notice, U.S. Department of LaborNewsom Signs Slate of AI Workplace Laws, KQEDHow Worried Should We Be About AI Coming for Our Jobs? PBSNew every Tuesday. _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Nonprofit AI: Workforce Issues

  4. Oct 9

    Unauthorized Nonprofit Donation Pages After GoFundMe with Sarah Saadian

    Carolyn Woodard explores the ethics of online fundraising platforms with Sarah Saadian, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Campaigns at the National Council of Nonprofits. Hundreds of platforms now solicit and collect donations in the names of nonprofits, often without asking first, and with AI a new one can appear almost overnight.  The issue came to a head in October 2025, when GoFundMe created fundraising pages for 1.4 million nonprofits without their consent, then removed them after an uproar from the sector. In response, the National Council of Nonprofits worked with state associations of nonprofits to publish four principles for ethical online fundraising platforms. Fifty-two state and regional associations endorsed the principles on day one, and about a dozen platforms have signed on since, starting with Every.org.  Sarah walks through each principle and shares what surprised her most: consent matters to donors as much as it does to nonprofits. She holds that nonprofits deserve the same protections as restaurants and hotels have from delivery and booking platforms, and ends with what nonprofits and donors can do right now.  If you are weighing Giving Tuesday fundraising platforms this year, this conversation covers what to look for: consent, transparent fees, and a partner whose business model matches your values. Sarah and Carolyn discuss:  The four principles: nonprofit consent, transparency, partnership, and accountability. Consent comes first, because nonprofits need control over their name, logo, branding, and message before anyone raises money on their behalf. Why consent protects donors too. When a platform has no relationship with the charity, a gift may be held until more donations come in, sent to a similar nonprofit instead, or never arrive at all, and a donor who has a bad experience is hard to win back. Why opting out is not a workable answer. A local food bank with 15 employees cannot monitor hundreds of websites and fight to get its listing removed from each one, so the burden belongs on platforms to ask first. How other sectors solved this. The National Restaurant Association reached an agreement with meal delivery platforms, and hotels did the same with Expedia and other booking sites, so only businesses that consent are listed.What can happen now. State attorneys general can act under existing consumer protection and charitable solicitation laws, nonprofits can endorse the principles, and donors can go to a nonprofit's own website or ask how it prefers to receive gifts. Resources Mentioned:  Principles for Ethical Online Fundraising Platforms, National Council of NonprofitsEndorse the Principles, National Council of NonprofitsCalifornia Attorney General Cease and Desist Order to Flipcause _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Unauthorized Nonprofit Donation Pages After GoFundMe with Sarah Saadian

  5. Oct 6

    Nonprofit AI: AI for Humanity Report

    Carolyn Woodard covers new state AI rules and Fast Forward's 2026 AI for Humanity Report this week: what the most AI-forward nonprofits worldwide are learning and what the rest of us can borrow. States are setting AI rules while federal policy stalls. California Governor Newsom signed workplace AI laws on September 30: employers cannot rely on AI alone to fire or discipline a worker, cannot use tools that predict a worker's emotional state, must tell workers when AI is behind a layoff, and cannot use AI surveillance in workplace bathrooms.  If your nonprofit has staff in California, these rules apply to you. The firing and discipline limit takes effect July 1, 2027. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, chair of the National Governors Association, is forming a bipartisan governors group on AI. Candidates in both parties now campaign on limiting data centers, a shift that began with neighbors showing up at local meetings. Keep showing up. The AI for Humanity report surveyed 119 AI-powered nonprofits. Caveats: respondents were self-selected and tech forward, about half are in Fast Forward's portfolio, Google.org supported the research, and the report itself says it likely paints a favorable picture. Fast Forward hosts a nonprofit-focused webinar on the report Wednesday, October 7 at 1 p.m. Eastern. This episode covers the top takeaways from the report: - Start with the problem, not the tool. Identify the need first, then ask whether AI fits. The answer may be a process, staffing, or regular IT fix. - Depth, not reach. 92% reported more efficient delivery, but of those that reached more people, only 13% credited AI entirely. - The cost comes after launch. 45% name rising tool costs as their top outside threat, and 72% built on someone else's model. Staff time for monitoring, testing, and training is the cost most budgets miss. - Even in this group, only 48% have a written acceptable use policy and only 29% review it regularly. If yours is more than a year old, put a review on the calendar. - People, not tools. The top enabler was a champion (64%), but a single champion is a single point of failure. Back that person with a committee, a board member, and executive support. Other enablers: experimental culture and curious staff. - Agency, not endorsement: the technology is arriving either way. You and your organization control how it is used and who gets consulted, whether your policy is to embrace AI or not to use it at all. Resources Mentioned: 2026 AI for Humanity Report, Fast ForwardRegister for Fast Forward webinar panel on the reportOn AI, Newsom gives labor most of what it demanded, CalMattersSB 947, CalMatters Digital DemocracyWes Moore forms bipartisan governors group on AI, Associated PressWhy data centers are a top issue in the 2026 midterms, BrookingsAI Acceptable Use Policy Template, Community ITThree Filters for Values-Aligned AI Decision-Making, Community ITNew every Tuesday. _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Nonprofit AI: AI for Humanity Report

  6. Oct 2

    Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits with Johan Hammerstrom pt 2

    In Part 2 of the Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits webinar, Carolyn Woodard and Johan Hammerstrom, CEO of Community IT, get practical about what well-managed IT  looks like, and why the capacity to manage IT matters more than any tool, device, or license you can buy. Johan walks through a simple framework: five capacities every nonprofit's IT  should have, and ten security essentials that non-technical leaders can use as a checklist.  Carolyn then shares why she wrote the upcoming white paper with the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG), reframing nonprofit IT around assets instead of deficits.  Nonprofit staff bring deep knowledge of their mission, IT vendors bring technical expertise, and funders bring capacity-building dollars and a view across their grantees. The missing piece is IT management, and closing that gap takes everyone working together. The Q&A takes on a question many listeners will recognize: what can a one-person team wearing too many hats do to be more proactive when there's no time to think strategically? Johan's answer is to make your vendor carry the proactive work, and to build in simple checkpoints that keep the relationship accountable. Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed. This episode covers: The five IT capacities your nonprofit should be able to do either internally or with vendor support: resolving simple issues on demand, resolving advanced technical issues, proactively managing IT systems, proactively managing IT operations, and planning strategic investmentsTen security essentials across devices, accounts, data, and governance, and why your acceptable use policy should address AI and be a living documentWhy funding technology without funding IT management capacity leads to technical debt, and why expecting mission-driven staff to also be IT experts is an equity issueHow a monthly vendor check-in and an annual assessment timed before budgeting can shift a vendor relationship from reactive to proactive, and why an assessment is an easier ask of fundersWhy AI adoption is exposing underlying IT management gaps that AI can't fix on its ownResources Mentioned: Webinar: Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits – Community ITTemplate: Acceptable Use of AI Tools in the Nonprofit Workplace – Community ITWebinar: Nonprofit Cybersecurity Playbook, Updated for AI (October 21) – Community ITKauffman Foundation – kauffman.orgTAG 2026 Conference – Technology Association of Grantmakers – tagtech.orgStart Here: Nonprofit Cybersecurity Basics - Community IT2026 Cybersecurity Readiness for Nonprofits Playbook - Community IT _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits with Johan Hammerstrom pt 2

  7. Sep 29

    Nonprofit AI: Policy Creation Tips

    Carolyn Woodard covers a question many nonprofits keep putting off: how do you create an AI policy when you are short on time? Whether your organization is embracing AI or has decided not to use it at all, you need a written policy, because AI is already arriving inside the tools you pay for. First, two news items with nonprofit connections. The Gates Foundation has committed $1 billion to AI for health workers, farmers, and teachers, including work to make AI tools function in languages that are poorly represented today. Carolyn looks at why some tribal and small language communities see AI as a way to preserve their languages, while others are rightly skeptical about who owns their data and culture.  Common Sense Media also named former Google trust and safety leader Tom Siegel as executive director of its Youth AI Safety Institute, funded in part by Anthropic and the OpenAI Foundation. Then Carolyn walks through practical steps for building a policy, and explains where Community IT stands: we support nonprofits that choose AI and nonprofits that choose not to, and we want any use to be secure. This episode covers: Why every nonprofit needs an AI policy, even if that policy is that you do not use AI. Microsoft, Google, Zoom, your CRM, and nearly every other tool keeps adding AI, and staff need to know what to do when an update arrives.Tips to build a policy: designate an AI owner, a person or small team with an executive champion and a board connection, and hold listening sessions with staff, leadership, and the board to surface opinions, skill levels, ideas, and mission-specific concerns before you write anything.What a policy outline should cover: principles, examples of what you will and will not use AI for, approved uses and tools, a process for resolving questions and revising the policy, and standards for disclosing AI use.How AI connects to cybersecurity through two risks and one benefit: better scams and deeper fakes coming in, oversharing through free AI tools going out, and AI that can help a small team find security gaps when used carefully.Why training and review matter as much as the document: common scenarios, a light quiz that confirms staff know who to ask, a culture with no dumb questions, and a revisit at least twice a year.Resources Mentioned: SNL Weekend Update, Dario Amodei sketchGates Foundation $1 Billion Equitable AI CommitmentTom Siegel Joins the Youth AI Safety Institute, Common Sense MediaTemplate, Acceptable Use of AI Tools in the Nonprofit Workplace, Community ITMission Aligned AI Adoption Model for Nonprofits, Community ITBlog: Three Filters for Mission-Aligned AI Decision Making, Community ITNew every Tuesday. _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Nonprofit AI: Policy Creation Tips

  8. Sep 25

    Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits with Johan Hammerstrom pt 1

    In the first part of this two-part conversation, Carolyn Woodard and Johan Hammerstrom, CEO of Community IT, take on a question behind a lot of nonprofit IT frustration: who at your organization actually owns IT? Not who fixes it, but who plans, budgets, and makes the case for it.  Drawn from a Community IT webinar, this episode looks at what well-managed IT requires and why building management capacity does more for nonprofit resilience than buying more tools, devices, and licenses. Johan walks through the hallmarks of well-managed IT, tied together by one theme: proactive rather than reactive. Carolyn then draws on her own experience as IT Director at an international NGO with close to 100 staff, where she managed an MSP that handled the technology but could not play a strategic role, and translated between an executive team that wanted new systems but needed to understand the budget and staffing needed to support them.  Her takeaway: owning IT is a management function, and it does not require a technology background. This episode covers: The characteristics of well-managed IT: defined service levels, predictive management and monitoring, IT driven by organizational strategy and policy, automation where appropriate, and meeting business needs.Why defined service levels are about clarity, not complexity. What matters is that expectations are written down and shared, whether your organization is small or large.Why AI is not a shortcut around IT management. Systems that are easy to build still need a long-term plan for managing and maintaining them. If you are not managing IT well now, you will struggle to manage AI.What owning IT looks like in practice: strategic oversight and governance, setting and enforcing policies, managing vendors, and the decision-making authority that middle managers often lack.Why a vendor handling day-to-day support cannot replace an internal owner who understands your budget, strategy, and mission.Resources Mentioned: Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) - https://www.tagtech.org/Nonprofit IT Management Reddit Community - https://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofitITmanagement Listen for part two in your podcast feed. _______________________________ 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.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.

    Growing IT Management Capacity at Nonprofits with Johan Hammerstrom pt 1
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5
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Community IT offers free webinars monthly to promote learning within our nonprofit technology community. Our podcast is appropriate for a varied level of technology expertise. Community IT is vendor-agnostic and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Something on your mind you don’t see covered here? Contact us to suggest a topic! http://www.communityit.com

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