Getting a nonprofit organization to spend more than 1% of their annual budget on IT is like pulling teeth. It’s up to us professionals to help them understand their IT Infrastructure in terms of their mission, perhaps encouraging them to make the right decision.

But what about the nonprofit organizations that are actually poor — that honestly can’t afford to spend 1% of their budget on IT. We can’t just dismiss them.

Providing support for the nonprofit world isn’t a one-size-fits-all model.

Just getting funding doesn’t work either — even if you can find a funder for what is now considered operational expenses. The problem is what to do after you’ve put in the server. It’s not news, but it bears repeating: Technology investment doesn’t end at implementation; it requires ongoing support to be effective.

And here is where the choices get hard. Do you, as the IT professional, recommend and implement a solution that gives an organization functionality that they need, that they demand? We know that the system’s ongoing support is unlikely, that it is certainly not best practice, that it might cause more trouble than it’s worth.

What about organizations that can pay for support, but they can’t afford to pay for the up front implementation costs?You know who you are — local machines acting as file-servers, linking sites with $30 wireless access points, 1.5Mb/s DSL connections for 50 users. These systems break constantly, causing aggravation for everyone, often directed at the IT professional that consented to cobbling it together.

Finding the balance is tough. We can’t afford to turn away nonprofits that don’t fit the mold — they all need our help. But where do you draw the line? Where does “not best practice” become “I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

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