Around the Region, many nonprofits struggle to find room in their budgets for proper IT services. Outdated computers, unsecure internet connections, unstable Wi-Fi, and other issues leave them inconvenienced at best, and vulnerable to cyber threats at worst.
BucherTech, a hometown IT services provider based in Valparaiso, is offering a grant of IT services and equipment worth $2,500 to one nonprofit each year. Tim Bucher, founder & president of BuchertTech, designed the grant as a way to provide the chosen nonprofit with a complete IT overhaul.
“Most nonprofits around the area are not very well endowed with IT services and products,” he said. “We’re going to give you a $2,500 makeover. For some organizations that may well cover what you need at this time. For larger organizations it will be targeted to the biggest need at that time. Whether you need new security systems, a new server rack, email management, or a firewall, we can provide that.”
Bucher always makes it a priority to help the community wherever possible. Three times a year he meets with a group of other managed IT service providers – but there is a challenge.
“Each meeting, we’re supposed to talk about something we’re doing that’s a new idea,” Bucher said. “I came up with the grant before that meeting, to share a new way to help nonprofits and market how important these services are.”
Any nonprofit that can demonstrate a need for IT services is eligible for BucherTech’s grant. If you are still running Windows 7 on your computers, are missing a firewall, have an outdated email system, or a sparse Wi-Fi network, or just old computers, you have a need.
“When you reach out to us, emphasize what you have and what you don’t have,” Bucher said. “For example, if you don’t know what your firewall is then let us know, because that’s a huge need and what you have is inadequate.”
Some nonprofits, Bucher noted, are in an even more critical situation.
“Any nonprofit that doesn’t have an IT budget or doesn’t have an ongoing relationship with an IT provider like us should apply for the grant,” he said. “One of my friends who runs an IT service provider down in Atlanta is helping a client who had been hit with a ransomware attack for $1.5 million. There arejust too many risks out there to not be secure.”
Applying is easy, BucherTech created an online form available here: https://buchertech.com/ and scroll down to the grant form. Simply complete the form, and submit it by the end of August. Buchertech will announce the winning nonprofit in October.
To learn more about BucherTech, visit buchertech.com.