Two years ago, BBBS of Central Carolinas completed a technology plan with the support of Wells Fargo volunteers. We recently caught up with Donna Dunlap and Dorothy Cathey to understand how this tech plan positively impacted their nonprofit.
Read about the original community impact project here.
BBBS decided to maintain their existing PC strategy instead of using Wells Fargo’s recommendation in the technology plan.
The nonprofit continues to provide laptops to all of their staff, primarily using HP and Dell laptops. After analyzing the recommendation from Wells Fargo, they realized they needed to keep their own PC strategy, due to the demands of their internal workflows.
One of the major pain points for BBBS at the outset of this technology plan was their out-of-date processes and technology.
Wells Fargo volunteers recommended a solid IT company to manage and implement their three-year technology plan established through the original community impact project (CIP). With Apparo and Wells Fargos’ help the nonprofit engaged DivergentIT (owned by Matthew Galimi, winner of this year’s Volunteer Impact and Appreciation Award) as their managed service provider (MSP). With DivergentIT’s help, they have established a hardware refresh plan and developed a long-term technology budget. Dorothy shared that DivergentIT has significantly boosted employee morale by streamlining processes and focusing on bringing technology up to date. Dorothy now works with Matthew of DivergentIT to manage the nonprofit’s technology, and BBBS is much more knowledgeable and proactive about their future technology planning and budgeting.
The partnership with DivergentIT has improved operational efficiency and responsiveness, despite being slightly more expensive than originally anticipated.
Dorothy now spends minimal time on tech troubleshooting, as DivergentIT handles most of those issues. This allows her to focus on strategic technology planning and engage regularly with DivergentIT to explore other improvements they may want to invest in. DivergentIT also provides staff training as needed, with Matthew delivering sessions on specific support topics including cybersecurity.
As mentioned above, DivergentIT leads training on various topics including cybersecurity. The MSP also manages the nonprofit’s cybersecurity, including phishing alert implementation. Donna shared that a young lady is helping them with AI-driven cybersecurity, providing guidelines and best practices to help them stay abreast of the rapidly changing AI environment. A third-party partner is collaborating with DivergentIT to develop an AI-driven cybersecurity playbook and best practices so BBBS can safely incorporate AI in their workflow. The website is still managed in-house, with a third party assisting with updates as needed. Dorothy shared that the current process is running smoothly.
One of the biggest pain points during the initial project for the nonprofit was their outdated service.
Now, two years after project completion, BBBS has fully transitioned to the cloud, eliminating those servers. Although the transition took time, the team is satisfied with the outcome. Data backups are now automated, occurring three times daily. In 2023, BBBS transitioned from third-party offsite backups to onsite backups managed by Dorothy, providing better control and ease.
Big Brothers Big Sisters shared their gratefulness for the technology plan.
“We are so grateful our network is now in such a great place, and we are fully integrated into the cloud and off the server. Having a wonderful IT company, DivergentIT with Matthew at the helm to lead the way has made the way we operate and incorporate technology much more strategic. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of Apparo and the Wells Fargo volunteers. Thank you,” Dorothy Cathey shared.
