Charities rarely get the luxury of clean starts. Things grow organically: a volunteer sets something up in 2014, someone else patches it in 2017, and by 2024 nobody knows where anything lives.
This post is about how I helped a charity move from “mystery hosting” into a modern, predictable setup.
The Problems
- Hosting that nobody could log into
- Confusing email routing with random forwarders
- A very old laptop running Windows 10
- No backups, no admin accounts, no documentation
The Fixes
1. Move email + docs to Microsoft 365
Non-profit discount + familiar tools = easy win.
2. Rebuild the website using Bricks Builder
Clean, fast, maintainable — and perfect for volunteers who aren’t developers.
3. Replace the old laptop with a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 (refurb)
Affordable, reliable, and manageable with Intune via a Business Premium licence.
4. Document everything
Logins, DNS, backups, account ownership — no more mysteries.
The Result
- Lower annual costs
- Faster, more stable website
- Email that works
- A setup that any future volunteer can understand
Digital transformation for charities doesn’t need to be big or dramatic. Most of the value comes from clarity, not complexity.