Non-profits have unique needs from their technologies, not merely due to the general tightness of funding, but due to the goals and methods of many non-profits. Unlike most businesses, non-profits have a set of core goals which are intrinsic and fundamental to the existence of the organization. While a business may go from selling widgets to selling real estate, a non-profit's mission rarely changes. Proprietary office software today has a definite slant towards assisting business in making more money. While this is not in and of itself a problem, it does become a hurdle for some non-profits to overcome, since their primary goal is not to just make money. Obviously, most non-profits have a budget, and require technology to help them manage it. It can become a problem when the non-profit wishes to use that same office technology to help further its own goals directly, and finds that in order to do this, it must buy the "Enterprise," "Professional" or "Platinum" versions in order to take advantage of what were believed to be built-in features.
I have unique technology implementation experience in a wide variety of working environments, from large biotechs and large non-profits to small businesses and small non-profits. I have committed to having a strong non-profit presence in my career, and I find it very enjoyable to be, in many ways, a vehicle for a sharing of problem solving techniques between for-profits and non-profits.
The use of F/OSS (Free and Open Source Software) often dovetails nicely with the goals of many progressive and charitable organizations, including the ideals of sharing, community and freedom. Aligning an organization with F/OSS alternatives can pay off in more ways than just the obvious bottom line. It is a natural fit for many organizations.
I bring to non-profits a track record of well-thought out alignments of technology to organizational goals. I keep very current on present and future technology developments. I can help an organization that wants to stop running into arbitrary, profit-oriented limits imposed by Microsoft's tiered product licensing structures and pricing models. I can help you to realize high-availability, flexibility, security and robust feature sets that previously were out of reach many smaller non-profits that are now available to your organization.