Nonprofit IT modernization: a case study covering the phased VoIP consolidation, Mac-to-Windows workstation migration, Microsoft 365 rollout, Wi-Fi deployment, vendor management, and managed security ETTE delivered for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.
Modernizing a national memorial’s IT on a nonprofit budget
The Women in Military Service for America Foundation (WIMSA) raises the private contributions that operate and maintain the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. A staff of about forty, working alongside volunteers, hosts nearly 100 events and 100,000 visitors a year. By early 2017 the Foundation’s systems had gone years without an upgrade, and the aging equipment was interfering with the mission itself. WIMSA chose ETTE over several competing proposals, then hit a wall: the quote to modernize everything at once exceeded what the budget could carry. ETTE re-planned the work in phases, putting the cost-saving projects first so that early savings helped fund what came next. This page retells the engagement as ETTE documented it in 2020; every figure and quote comes from that record.
A modernization sequenced so savings paid for progress
The full upgrade did not fit the budget, so ETTE re-ordered it until it did: savings first, then the projects those savings helped carry.
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Phase to the budgetCost-saving projects moved to the front, and the work spread over months to fit the operating budget
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Consolidate & saveThree phone contracts renegotiated into one VoIP system, freeing nearly $2,000 a month
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Pilot, then roll outRight-sized Windows laptops trialed in a small batch before the fleet migrated, with training throughout
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Open the infrastructureMicrosoft 365, shared drives on hosted virtual infrastructure, and Wi-Fi at headquarters and the Memorial
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Extend the teamVendor management, contract oversight, managed security, and an unlimited helpdesk at a flat rate
A plan phased to the budget, delivered inside the culture
Two things could have sunk this project: money and culture. Money came first. Rather than shrink the scope, ETTE re-sequenced it, starting with the telecom consolidation that returned nearly $2,000 a month to the operating budget and spreading the remaining phases over months so costs never outran contributions. Culture was the longer campaign. WIMSA’s staff was loyal to its Macs and had deep habits of keeping information to themselves, and no laptop rollout or shared drive succeeds by decree. ETTE spent time learning how the organization actually worked before asking anyone to change.
Resistance met with time, not pressure
ETTE priced both Mac and PC replacements for the first-generation Mac minis; the Windows option cost substantially less. Some staff objected hard to the switch. Instead of forcing it, ETTE ran training sessions on the new interfaces and, for the most resistant staffers, sat down in individual meetings with the staffer, WIMSA management, and fellow end users to work through each concern before their machine changed.
A helpdesk that shows up in person
Staff habits of self-reliance meant problems went unreported and lingered. ETTE’s answer was a proactive helpdesk: technicians visited the WIMSA offices and the Memorial, asked staff about their systems, and fixed things on the spot, explaining the work in plain language rather than trade jargon. A remote desk backed this up, letting staff get help confidentially and have systems reset or updated without waiting for a visit.
How the engagement unfolded
What the engagement actually involved
Every item below comes from ETTE’s 2020 account of the engagement, written while the work was still in progress.
WIMSA held contracts with three different phone providers, each billing separately for a system that was aging out. ETTE consolidated the contracts, negotiated better terms on WIMSA’s behalf, and migrated the legacy phones to a Voice-over-IP system. The project went first on purpose: its savings made the rest of the modernization affordable.
The staff worked on first-generation Mac minis and many wanted to stay on Macs. ETTE priced both platforms, specified a Windows laptop sized to the actual work rather than an overpowered one, and piloted a small batch before committing. Training sessions and individual meetings with the most reluctant staffers carried the change the spec sheet could not.
Long traditions of information-keeping meant knowledge lived on individual machines and work got duplicated. ETTE stood up shared drives on hosted Windows Server 2016 virtual infrastructure and implemented Microsoft Office 365, giving the Foundation open connectivity between staff who had never had a common file system.
As trust grew, WIMSA brought ETTE into procurements for its database provider, internet service, cabling company, and printer vendor, and gave ETTE contract oversight of the Memorial’s audio-visual update. Even the volunteer who redesigned the Memorial’s website was routed through ETTE’s ticket system, which added a level of formality to the volunteer’s work and kept every request in one place.
ETTE provided managed firewall and endpoint security alongside its onsite and remote support. When a phishing attack hit WIMSA’s systems, ETTE caught it, identified the point of entry, and sealed the system. Daily dark web scans watch for compromised WIMSA credentials.
ETTE deployed and manages wireless at both WIMSA headquarters and the Memorial, putting Wi-Fi in reach of the thousands of visitors who walk through. High bandwidth and the audio-visual upgrades let presenters at the Memorial stream events live, which strengthened the Memorial’s pricing position for event rentals.
I would not hesitate to say ETTE did a great job for us at WIMSA. Their flexibility, ability to stay within our tight budget without nickel and diming every small adjustment, and willingness to work in support of our tough culture were mission critical to our IT modernization project. In short, ETTE provided and continues to provide outstanding value for the price.
— Marilyn Quagliotti, Major General, US Army (Ret.) · WIMSA modernization administrator and former Vice Director, Defense Information Systems AgencyWhere the engagement left WIMSA
The telecom consolidation saves nearly $2,000 per month, savings that helped fund the phases behind it and that continue for as long as the contracts run.
Organization-wide wireless covers the WIMSA offices and the Memorial, where thousands of visitors can now get online during the roughly 100 events and 100,000 visits the Foundation hosts each year.
With high bandwidth and updated audio-visual systems, presenters at the Memorial can stream live, and the Memorial commands stronger pricing for event rentals because of it.
For the first time the organization has a centralized file system with shared drives and proper backups. The culture is shifting toward openness, and productivity is rising as staff stop duplicating each other’s work.
WIMSA has timely ongoing tech support, security at both the network and endpoint level, and personalized organization-branded email for every staff member.
The scope grew from helpdesk support to database migration management, yet ETTE never raised the monthly rate and never marked up equipment. The whole arrangement costs about two-thirds of what a single system administrator runs in Washington, DC.
Everything the flat rate grew to cover
Since February 2017, ETTE’s work for WIMSA has included all of the following, with no change to the monthly billing rate.
- Migrating the legacy phone system to VoIP
- Migrating from PowerPC Mac minis to Windows 10 laptops
- Implementing Microsoft Office 365
- Implementing server and client infrastructure, including shared drives
- Deploying and managing wireless at WIMSA headquarters and the Memorial
- Hosting virtual infrastructure on Windows Server 2016
- Unlimited proactive in-person and remote helpdesk service
- Vendor management across database, internet, phone, cabling, and printers
- Contract oversight authority for the audio-visual revamp project
- Serving on the tech committee for a major database overhaul
- Managed firewall and endpoint security with onsite and remote support
- Catching a phishing attack, identifying the entry point, and sealing the system
- Daily dark web scans for compromised credentials
If your nonprofit is running on systems no one has touched in years
Modernization for organizations like WIMSA
Most nonprofits in this position assume they face a choice between a modernization they cannot afford and the status quo that is slowly failing them. This engagement shows a third path: sequence the work so the savings come first, let those savings carry the later phases, and treat the staff’s culture as part of the project rather than an obstacle to it. ETTE runs this model for nonprofits through its Managed IT & On-Site Support plans, with cloud, productivity, and backup and cybersecurity built in.
The pattern that worked here, phasing to the budget, piloting before rolling out, and showing up in person until the helpdesk earned the staff’s trust, is how a small organization with tight finances modernizes without a special appeal to its donors.