What You’ll Learn
- The Decision in Plain Terms
- What “Outsourcing IT” Actually Means for Nonprofits
- The True Cost of Hiring IT In-House
- The True Cost of Outsourcing IT
- Side-by-Side Comparison
- When Outsourcing Wins
- When Hiring In-House Makes Sense
- What Most Nonprofits Actually Do
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Your Next Steps
- Sources
The Decision in Plain Terms
When your nonprofit’s IT needs outgrow “figure it out as you go,” you face a real fork: hire someone in-house, or pay a managed IT provider to handle it for you.
This isn’t a theoretical question. It affects your budget, your staff experience, your cybersecurity posture, and your ability to scale programs. This post gives you a framework to make the right call for your organization’s size, complexity, and resources — not a generic answer, but a decision process.
What “Outsourcing IT” Actually Means for Nonprofits
Outsourcing IT means contracting an external provider to handle some or all of your technology support and strategy. For nonprofits, this typically looks like one of three models:
Managed IT Services (MSP): A provider handles helpdesk support, device management, security monitoring, backups, and vendor coordination for a monthly flat fee. This is the most common model for nonprofits with 10–75 staff.
Co-Managed IT: Your internal IT staff handles day-to-day operations while the MSP provides specialized expertise, after-hours coverage, or overflow support. Common in organizations with 50–150 staff that have one internal IT person but need more depth.
Fractional CIO / vCIO: A part-time technology executive handles IT strategy — roadmapping, vendor negotiations, security oversight, board reporting — while operations are handled separately. Often layered on top of managed IT.
For a full breakdown of what outsourced IT costs and what you get, see Outsourced IT Services for Nonprofits: What They Cost and What You Get.
The True Cost of Hiring IT In-House
The fully loaded cost of an in-house IT hire is often higher than nonprofits budget for. Here’s what you’re actually paying:
IT Support Specialist (Level 1–2):
- Base salary: $55,000–$80,000/year (BLS, 2024)
- Benefits (health, dental, retirement): add 25–35% = $14,000–$28,000/year
- Recruitment and onboarding: $5,000–$15,000 one-time
- Training, certifications, and tools: $2,000–$5,000/year
- Total first-year cost: $76,000–$128,000
What you get:
- One person, typically 8–5 coverage
- Expertise in what they know; gaps in what they don’t
- Sick days, vacations, turnover risk
- Coverage gap when they leave — average IT role takes 45+ days to fill (SHRM, 2023)
What you don’t get:
- After-hours coverage without overtime pay
- Specialized expertise in cybersecurity, compliance, or cloud unless you hire for it specifically
- Redundancy — if they’re out, your IT is out
The True Cost of Outsourcing IT
Managed IT pricing for nonprofits typically runs $80–$200 per user per month, depending on scope and provider.
For a 25-person nonprofit:
- Low end ($100/user/month): $2,500/month = $30,000/year
- Mid range ($150/user/month): $3,750/month = $45,000/year
- High end ($200/user/month): $5,000/month = $60,000/year
What you typically get at a mid-range rate:
- Unlimited helpdesk support during business hours
- Remote monitoring and management of all devices
- Endpoint security and patch management
- Backup and disaster recovery monitoring
- Vendor coordination and licensing management
- A vCIO for strategic IT planning
What a nonprofit-focused MSP like Scottship Solutions adds:
- Experience navigating nonprofit-specific tools (Salesforce NPSP, Bloomerang, Apricot, etc.)
- Familiarity with TechSoup licensing and Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans
- Understanding of grant reporting IT requirements and donor data sensitivity
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Hire In-House | Outsource (MSP) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost (25-staff org) | $76,000–$128,000 | $30,000–$60,000 |
| Coverage hours | Business hours (typically) | Business hours + escalation paths |
| Expertise depth | One person’s skill set | Team with specializations |
| Scalability | Hire again to scale | Adjust contract scope |
| Response to emergencies | Depends on person | SLA-backed response times |
| Cybersecurity expertise | Only if hired for it | Included in scope |
| Turnover risk | High — 45+ days to backfill | None |
| Nonprofit tech knowledge | Depends on hire | Varies — ask providers |
When Outsourcing Wins
Outsourcing IT is almost always the right call when:
- Your staff is under 50 people. A single in-house hire can’t provide the breadth of support an MSP does for the same cost.
- You need cybersecurity coverage you don’t currently have. A managed provider includes security monitoring, patching, and response that would take multiple hires to replicate.
- You’ve had recent IT incidents. Managed IT includes proactive monitoring — in-house hires are often reactive.
- You want predictable monthly costs. MSP contracts are fixed; in-house IT comes with unpredictable overtime, training, and replacement costs.
- Your IT needs are inconsistent. If technology demands spike around a fundraiser or audit cycle, you can’t right-size a full-time hire to match that variability.
A 2023 CompTIA survey found that 82% of small organizations using managed IT services reported improved security outcomes compared to self-managed environments.
When Hiring In-House Makes Sense
In-house IT is the better choice when:
- You need daily, on-site physical support. An MSP handles most issues remotely; if your work requires hands-on hardware management at a fixed location every day, an in-house person may be more practical.
- You have classified or highly restricted data that cannot be managed by a third party under your legal or compliance framework.
- You’re large enough to support a full IT department. Once you’re over 100–150 staff, a hybrid model (internal team + MSP for specialization) often makes more sense than pure outsourcing.
- You’ve already hired in-house and need to supplement, not replace. In that case, co-managed IT is the better option.
What Most Nonprofits Actually Do
The majority of nonprofits in the 10–75 employee range use a managed IT provider rather than an in-house hire — and those that do hire internally often keep one generalist IT coordinator while outsourcing specialized functions (security, cloud management, helpdesk overflow) to an MSP.
NTEN’s 2023 survey found that 67% of nonprofits report IT as chronically understaffed. The reasons are consistent: salary competition with the private sector, broad skill requirements, and limited budget. Managed IT doesn’t solve every problem, but it removes the single-point-of-failure risk that comes with one internal person handling everything.
Scottship Solutions works with nonprofits across the 10–75 employee range. For most, a fully managed model with a monthly flat fee is both more cost-effective and more resilient than their first in-house hire. For a deeper comparison of the models, see Nonprofit IT Consulting vs. In-House IT: Pros, Cons & Cost Comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
For nonprofits under 50 staff, outsourcing IT to a managed services provider is almost always less expensive. A fully loaded in-house IT hire (salary, benefits, recruitment, training) costs $76,000–$128,000/year. A managed IT contract for the same organization typically runs $30,000–$60,000/year — with broader coverage, team-based expertise, and no turnover risk.
A managed IT provider handles day-to-day technology support and infrastructure for your organization — typically including helpdesk, device management, security monitoring, backups, vendor coordination, and strategic IT planning (vCIO). The exact scope depends on your contract. Most nonprofit-focused providers also have experience with common nonprofit platforms like Salesforce NPSP, Microsoft 365 Nonprofit, and donor management tools.
The main risks are vendor dependency, response time variability, and less institutional knowledge compared to a dedicated internal hire. Mitigate these by choosing a provider with a documented SLA (service level agreement), nonprofit-specific experience, and transparent escalation paths. A provider who assigns a named account manager or vCIO to your organization reduces the “faceless support ticket” problem significantly.
These are not always either/or. Nonprofits under 50 staff rarely justify a full IT director; a managed IT provider covers the same ground for less. As you grow past 75–100 staff, a hybrid model — one internal IT coordinator plus an MSP for specialized functions — often works best. Scottship Solutions can help you map the right model for your size and budget in a free discovery call.
Ask for references from other nonprofits of similar size, a copy of their standard SLA, and a written scope of services rather than a verbal overview. Request their process for onboarding a new client and how they handle incidents outside business hours. Nonprofit-specific experience matters — a provider unfamiliar with TechSoup licensing or Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans will cost you time.
Your Next Steps
- Calculate your fully loaded in-house cost — salary, benefits (add 30%), recruitment ($10,000–$15,000), and ongoing training. This is your real comparison number.
- Request three managed IT quotes from providers with verifiable nonprofit clients. Ask each for a written scope and a standard SLA document.
- Identify your non-negotiables: Do you need on-site support? After-hours coverage? Compliance expertise? Use these to filter providers.
- Review Outsourced IT Services for Nonprofits for a detailed breakdown of what to expect from a managed IT contract.
- Schedule a call with Scottship Solutions — we work exclusively with nonprofits and small businesses and will give you a straightforward cost comparison for your specific situation.
I’m Will Facques, Senior IT Consultant at Scottship Solutions. I work directly with nonprofits on infrastructure, managed services, and the build-vs-buy decision. The cost ranges in this guide come from real nonprofit engagements — what organizations actually pay when they hire in-house versus what they pay when they outsource to an MSP.
Sources
- Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN) — 2023 Nonprofit Technology Survey
- CompTIA — State of the IT Industry 2023
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) — Time to Fill Benchmarks (2023)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Computer Support Specialists: Occupational Outlook (2024)
- TechSoup — IT Staffing Models for Nonprofits
Written by
Will Facques
Senior IT Consultant at Scottship Solutions
Will works directly with nonprofit and small business clients on infrastructure, managed services, and technology implementations. He translates complex technical requirements into practical solutions that actually get done.
Certifications
PMP (Project Management Professional) • Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt • CompTIA Network+
Industries Served
Human Services, Healthcare & Community Health, Education & Youth Development, Faith-Based, Child Advocacy, Arts & Culture