What keeps Charities & Non-Profits IT leaders awake
Restricted budgets + grant-funded IT projects
Most charities IT spend has to come from unrestricted income or specific IT-funded grants. Big upfront capex is hard; per-user OpEx is preferred; matched-funding from suppliers and discount programmes matter.
Donor data is your highest-value asset
CRM data on donors, supporters and beneficiaries is the lifeblood of fundraising — and the most damaging breach scenario. The ICO has fined multiple charities over donor data losses. Donor trust takes years to build and minutes to lose.
Cyber Essentials for grant + insurance access
Many UK trusts and foundations now require Cyber Essentials or Plus before awarding IT-related grants. Insurance brokers also link CE+ to premium discounts that materially affect the budget.
Volunteer + staff identity sprawl
Permanent staff, contract staff, volunteers, trustees, fundraisers, beneficiaries — all need different access. Identity hygiene (joiner / mover / leaver) is harder when half your "users" aren't on payroll.
Engineered for charities & non-profits reality
Microsoft + Google charity grants maximised
Servnet helps charities apply for and fully utilise Microsoft 365 Business Premium charity grants, Google Workspace for Nonprofits, and TechSoup donations to drastically cut software costs.
Cyber Essentials Plus + ISO 27001
Servnet runs gap analysis, deploys missing controls (MFA, EDR, immutable backup), runs the mock external assessment and supports CE+ certification. Most charities achieve CE+ within 8-10 weeks.
Donor CRM + immutable backup
Salesforce NPSP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge / NXT, Donorfy and CharityCRM deployment + integration. Veeam or Microsoft 365 Backup for the CRM that holds your donor data.
Identity governance for volunteers + trustees
Microsoft Entra ID conditional access tuned for staff vs volunteer vs trustee role profiles. Volunteer access auto-revokes at end of engagement. Audit trail for trustee data access.
The frameworks Servnet supports
GDPR + DPA 2018
Donor data, beneficiary data, fundraising consent (PECR for marketing) — Information Commissioner has fined multiple charities for donor data violations.
PECR (electronic marketing)
Charities are NOT exempt from PECR — consent rules for email and SMS fundraising apply.
Fundraising Regulator Code
The Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice covers data handling alongside fundraising ethics.
Cyber Essentials + Plus
Increasingly required by trusts, foundations + IT-related grant funders; also linked to insurance premium discounts.
ISO 27001
Larger charities (£10M+ income) often adopt ISO 27001 for supplier-onboarding evidence.
Charity Commission CC15
Charity Commission CC15 guidance on financial controls includes IT controls as an essential subset.
Customer profiles served
- ✓National charities (£10M+ income)
- ✓Local + regional charities
- ✓Grant-making trusts and foundations
- ✓International development NGOs
- ✓Faith-based organisations
- ✓Membership bodies and professional associations
Charities & Non-Profits IT FAQs
Can you help us maximise our Microsoft + Google charity grants?
Yes — Servnet supports charities through Microsoft 365 Business Premium charity grant applications + Google Workspace for Nonprofits + TechSoup donations, often saving 60-80% of software cost. We tenant the licences, deploy the platform and provide ongoing managed support.
Do you understand the Fundraising Regulator + ICO's charity-specific expectations?
Yes — fundraising data handling has charity-specific scrutiny (the 2016 ICO investigations of multiple national charities established the bar). We provide the technical infrastructure side of compliance; we work alongside your DPO and fundraising lead on the policy side.
Can you support Salesforce NPSP, Blackbaud, Donorfy, Dynamics 365?
Yes — Servnet deploys, integrates and supports Salesforce NPSP, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Donorfy, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator, and CharityCRM. We handle the infrastructure + Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace integration; the CRM vendor stays on their platform.
Are your prices realistic for a charity budget?
Yes — Servnet runs reduced-margin charity pricing on supplied hardware + software + service. We make recommendations on whether grant + TechSoup routes give you a better outcome than direct purchase; we don't inflate our quote to match commercial customers.
Charities & Non-Profits IT briefing — monthly
Vendor releases, charities & non-profits-specific security alerts and compliance updates relevant to UK charities & non-profits IT teams. Once a month, easy unsubscribe.
You can unsubscribe at any time. We never share email addresses with third parties.
Ready to talk to a Charities & Non-Profits IT specialist?
One conversation. No sales script, no obligation, no auto-renewals. We'll scope the technical detail and price honestly.