Guiding your charity up the levels of digital maturity

In today’s digital age, charities need to continually adapt to leverage technology for greater impact. The digital maturity of a nonprofit plays a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiencies, expanding reach, giving them a competitive edge and ultimately fulfilling its mission. In this blog, we explore the five key stages of digital maturity for nonprofit…

Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable – Getting IT Resourcing Right – 25 January 2024

Join us on Thursday 25 January 2024 for our next quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, alongside Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. Our roundtables provide a relaxed, safe space to meet your peers working at other large charities, share best practice and learn from other organisations. Our fourth roundtable will focus on getting IT resourcing right – a…

Charity Technology Roundtable – Cyber Security – Summary

Last week we held our third Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, hosted by Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. In this blog, we summarise our discussion on cyber security, including risk management, BYOD, reducing risk of human error and systems gatekeeping. Compliance Frameworks, Risk Management, Reporting​ It is good practice to define the framework(s) or standard(s) that are…

Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable – Cyber Security – 12 October 2023

** Please note we have now reached full capacity for this event. Any further registrations will be placed on a waiting list and you will be contacted if a place becomes available ** Join us on Thursday 12 October 2023 for our third quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, alongside Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. Our roundtables…

Charity Technology Roundtable – Inflation and increasing IT costs – Summary

Last week we hosted the first of our Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtables, with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact and Charity Finance Group. In this blog, we summarise our discussion on managing IT budgets, staff retention, and measuring the value of IT, and provide information about our upcoming events. Recruitment & retention Colleagues were aligned that…

Let’s talk about Internet and Telephony

Big changes are afoot in the world of internet connectivity, and telephony, across the sector. Traditional copper phone lines in the UK are being switched off forever in 2025, meaning your organisation may need to switch its internet connection(s). The COVID-19 pandemic already transformed how businesses use telephones; across the country plastic desk phones gathered…

Defending against phishing

Welcome to the Smartdesc February newsletter. This month we focus on how charities can protect themselves against phishing attacks and offer the following resources: Guides on common charity cyber attacks and measures you can take to prevent them Phishing Simulation Service and Cyber Security e-Learning, tailored to charities Further resources from EasyDMARC and Charity Finance Resources…

Person looking at a computer screen.

Phishing for Finance: Why Cyber Attackers love charity finance teams

Email is not secure  91% of all cyber attacks begin with email.  Despite all the advances in cyber defence, good old-fashioned email still provides an open door for attackers to knock on. Email is your biggest security risk by a long way.  Finance staff frequently use email and they deal with money on a daily…

Report from Smartdesc and Falanx on the cyber risks to charities - Smartdesc

Report from Smartdesc and Falanx on the cyber risks to charities

Charities are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. According to the Cyber Security Breaches Report 2022, 19% of charities reported they had been attacked in 2018. This has now risen to 30% of charities reporting attacks in 2022. But why are charities targeted? And what can they do to mitigate against cyber threats and reputational…