Our Services in Technology, Cybersecurity, and Communications

We aim to guide, support, and empower community groups to take advantage of Information and Communications Technology in order to better realize their missions.

Exploring Your Options.

Community groups often find themselves at a difficult crossroads trying to decide between different technologies, or to assess whether making the jump to a new platform is worth the time and energy. We can help groups explore possible solutions to your communications and technology needs and will give you the resources you need to move forward. 

  • Cybersecurity Best Practices Training
    Build your team’s confidence with practical training on phishing awareness, password management, secure file sharing, cloud storage, and everyday digital safety.
  • Hands-on Cybersecurity Accompaniment
    Receive personalized support to improve the safety of your website, databases, cloud platforms, or other digital systems through practical and actionable recommendations.
  • Loi 25 Compliance Support
    While COCo does not provide legal advice, we can help organizations understand practical steps toward stronger privacy practices and support the implementation of measures that contribute to Loi 25 compliance.
  • Comprehensive Cybersecurity Assessment
    For organizations with more complex digital infrastructures, we offer an in-depth review of your cybersecurity practices, identify potential vulnerabilities, and develop an action plan to strengthen your systems over time.
  • Communications and Technology Planning.
    We believe having a plan in place is key to the success of any tech or communications challenges for nonprofits. We are happy to guide you through the process of creating a communications and technology plan for your organization, including evaluating existing communications channels, establishing goals, identifying target audiences, budgeting, setting benchmarks, and more.
  • Web Design.
    We build affordable websites on WordPress for community groups who want to get their message out there. In addition, we are happy to evaluate existing websites, migrate your website, and maintenance and host your website, if we are the ones who built it for you!
    You can find a portfolio of our web design work here.
  • Accessibility.
    We can help your organization assess how accessible your website is for  users with disabilities, and help you identify key areas for improvement.
  • Contact Relationship Management (CRMs).
    We can help organizations choose the right CRM based on their needs and resources. These CRMs can support your organization’s fundraising, volunteer management, events, and participant files.
  • Social Media.
    We’re happy to train organizations in social media use, help your organization develop a social media strategy, or evaluate your existing social media presence.
  • Collaboration and Productivity Tools.
    We love helping nonprofits explore and implement the best collaboration tools for their teams, including project management, shared calendars,  event management, task management applications, time tracking solutions, and more.
  • Cloud computing.
    We have developed an expertise in helping community groups transition to cloud based file storage solutions, such as GSuite.
  • Email and Email Newsletters.
    We like working with nonprofits to improve or implement solutions for Mass email, email newsletters, domain-specific email, email-based forms and surveys, and email tracking and analysis.
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Our Approach 

In the years that we have been supporting nonprofits and community groups with their technology and communications questions, we have identified some key approaches for a successful partnership.

  • Being focused and clear on the desired impact of a new technology or communications solution before beginning a new project
  • Supporting the organization in becoming more autonomous with their own technology (for example, being comfortable and able to update their own website). This means prioritizing training and skill-sharing as part of our accompaniments.  
  • Being people-centred; understanding that technology and communications can be daunting and we need to meet people where they’re at 
  • Understanding that tech systems and human are interwoven, and that in order for our tech work to be successful, we have to have a holistic understanding of your community organization
  • Evaluating and staying attuned to the true needs of the organization, without being seduced by features and platforms

Our Values 

  • Removing Barriers to Access. Working continually to remove barriers to access to technology, both financial and conceptual ones   
  • Bridging social justice and technology. We seek coherence with your belief in social justice and our work in technology and communications. We try to do this by building and maintaining relationships with organizations and social movements, and by integrating anti oppression in our work in technology development.  
  • Committing to transparency and communication around digital security, privacy and data ownership issues.
  • Creating the tech world we want to see by supporting development of people who are marginalized & embedded in social struggles in our work 
  • Staying humble by reminding ourselves that we are not experts. Our strength is accessibility, accompaniment and insider understanding of the reality of the community sector.

Without the help of Spencer and Commun-IT, this CRM transition would have been nearly impossible for Head & Hands, as we lacked the internal capacity to carry out a complex IT project without the help of an experienced coach.

Throughout the project, Commun-IT’s work was informed by our organization’s vision for a new CRM platform. Spencer worked with our team to take stock of Head & Hands’ needs, organizational culture, challenges, and concerns. Our coach worked alongside us to build a CRM platform that was the best possible fit for Head & Hands and that reflected our organization’s values and politics.

Our new CRM system has helped us better realize our mission, by strengthening both our front-line service provision and our fundraising, development, and communications.

– Victoria Pilger, Funding & Partnerships Coordinator, Head & Hands