Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3) Nonprofits

Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by jen729w on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @02:49PM (#21273963)

Can you clarify your actual budget? Or is it $0?

For email, I found Migadu [0] this year and love them. It’s ~$50/year, but for that you get unlimited mailboxes. The limit is on how many emails/day you send. This might suit your needs?

How much cloud storage do you need? I’d be using the free tiers at Dropbox/OneDrive/etc., or some sort of P2P solution based off my own server. I use Resilio Sync and it’s great.

Good luck finding solutions to the rest. Sounds like something really worthwhile you’re doing there.

[0]: https://www.migadu.com/en/index.html

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Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by andrew_ on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @02:54PM (#21274025)

Our budget for digital services is $0 at present. All available funds are already allocated.

The free, individual tier for Google Drive is currently being used, but we've run into some management issues with that. Some of our members aren't exactly tech-savvy and have issues with getting off of AOL (for example) or linking an AOL account for Google Drive access. Managing access when the board rotates is also an issue. And allowing everyone to use one login isn't an option - we absolutely have to track who is modifying what.

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Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by joezydeco on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @04:06PM (#21274889)

I'd say you have to up your dues to the point where you can get and keep 501(c)(3) registration. You'll want that for fundraising when you eventually need to fight off these developers that are closing in.

Google Apps for nonprofits is a cinch once you have that registration.

If your residents can't afford any of this, they probably can't afford to hold the developers at bay. Best of luck.

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Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by andrew_ on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @04:49PM (#21275448)

Thank you for the well-wishes. We've been fairly successful thanks to some tenacious members with an excellent knowledge of local ordinances and the willingness to attend council and planning meetings.

We just had our bi-annual meeting last night and the discussion around raising dues was raised. The motion did not pass however, as our most active residents are also the least wealthy. It's an odd dynamic but they are good people.

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Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by woofcat on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @03:41PM (#21274601)

>we absolutely have to

And

>Our budget for digital services is $0

Are conflicting statements. Your best bet from what you've said is to host your own mail server / website in your basement. It fits your budget, but takes more time.

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Re:Ask HN: GSuite / Office365 Alternatives for Non-501(c)(3)... by andrew_ on Wednesday October 16, 2019 @04:46PM (#21275403)

That is just patently incorrect and not remotely helpful.

- I'd sooner host the website on Github, which does allow free org plans for state-recognized nonprofits, and would not require my own server, nor a basement, which we don't typically have here in Florida.

- A rep from Migadu has commented and offered to sponsor us for email and several other services.

- On another commenter's suggestion I've been looking into Zoho and it does provide Docs and collaboration with modification tracking. I'm not done vetting the service, but it would prove your assertion false.

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