One side effect of the coronavirus is that nonprofit organizations have had to rapidly—incredibly rapidly—adjust to remote work, including collaborating online and hosting virtual events. The trend toward remote work had already begun before the pandemic, and it’s likely that many organizations will continue to allow and sometimes encourage remote work in the years to come.
That means organizations and their workers need to have the right tech tools in place to get their work done efficiently and securely. Fortunately, many providers of collaboration software and other cloud-based tools are providing discounts and other offers, so you can try them out and determine which one is best for your organization moving forward.
- Google Meet
Google Meet—the recently rebranded name of Google Hangouts Meet—is an increasingly popular teleconferencing solution, especially for organizations that rely on other Google tools like Google Sheets and Google Calendar. Google recently announced that all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers can use Google Meet for free until Sept. 30, 2020. Google Meet supports business features such as allowing up to 250 participants per call and recording calls. Typically, the cost of those enterprise features is $25 per user per month.
- Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is another popular teleconferencing solution that has been made free for the next six months. It’s built on the Office 365 framework of productivity tools, so it’s especially popular with businesses that run Microsoft applications like Word and Excel. If your organization has an Office 365 license, you already have Microsoft Teams. If you haven’t subscribed to Office 365, you can roll out Teams for free right now and evaluate its features and benefits.
- GoToMeeting
Yet another collaboration solution is GoToMeeting, a service from LogMeln that supports online meetings, desktop sharing, and video conferencing. It’s especially easy to use and normally costs just $12 per organizer per month. Through the next three months, it’s available for free.Everyone involved benefited—the nonprofit, the small businesses, and the participants who got to get out of their homes for some safe fun that helped others.
- Higher Logic
Higher Logic offers software to support your next virtual event, including tools to facilitate discussions before, during, and after the event. The solution also includes pre-built templates to help you engage your virtual audience. The entire program is available free to organizations holding events through Dec. 31, 2020.
- Dropbox
Dropbox is a popular service that provides cloud storage and file synchronization to individuals, businesses, and nonprofits. For the next three months, Dropbox subscriptions are free to nonprofits and NGOs that are focused on fighting COVID-19 or providing relief to those impacted. The service is also free to K-12 teachers who are facilitating distance learning.
Get the support you need
Insero & Co. is a public accounting firm with decades of experience working with businesses and nonprofits of all sizes. Our experts are available to provide consulting and other remote services—whatever you need to help you get through these difficult times.
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About the Author: Kimberly Gangi
