Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Rosetta Stone! As always, we’re here to decode the language of IT and give you the tools to make informed decisions.
Today’s topic is a little bit drier than many, but it’s an important topic that gets to the heart of Canadian nonprofit organizations. today we’re looking at email etiquette for board members of charities, non-profits, and associations. While it may seem harmless to use your personal or work email for board-related business, there can be some serious risks to consider. So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s get started.
There’s a lot of reasons why a board member should not be using email from their work or personal lives, but there are three that are important above all others… so we’re going to focus on those.
Email For A Departed Board Member
The first is around continuity and persistence. If a board member leaves the organization, what happens to all the email they have stored on their personal account? Does the organization have access to it? If the transition is not friendly, then it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that the organization will never again see the email that was sent by the departed board member.
Privacy For Board Emails
The second main area is around privacy and conflict of interest. For example, if you’re working on a grant application which is sent from a board members private work email system, that work email system may be seen by the funding agency as directly associated with the charity. By using personal or work emails, The organization may not know who has access to the mailbox. There are so many ways this can go bad, so quickly, and so easily.
Board Email Security And Protection
The third issue that we’ll talk about today is around information security and protection. Emails that are stored in the organization email system will also be subject to cyber security controls and protection measures that are in place for the organization. this can include among other things, measures like a litigation hold or data retention policies. Not to mention things like organizational policies around data backups multi factor authentication, or other measures put in place to make sure that the organization’s email remains secure.
When you consider that there are many options for charities to gain access to corporate-class email systems that carry zero cost for the organization, there are a lot of reasons why Board policies that prohibit personal email are a great idea. And as I said these are only three reasons… realistically There are a lot more reasons out there, but these are the ones that we see as the most important.
Protecting Your Mission with Robust Email Infrastructure
Nonprofits have a unique approach to conducting board business… As a former Board member myself, I understand this We believe in encouraging board members to use official emails as a way of protecting the important work that’s done by organizations all over BC. So, let’s keep the conversation going and make our nonprofit organizations even stronger. Drop us a message at www.HumanITCompany.ca and let’s chat about the best way to secure your emails as a charity.
That’s it for this episode of ‘The Rosetta Stone.’ If you have a tech term you want us to decipher. drop it in the comments below. Like, subscribe, and stay curious with The Human IT Company. Until next time!”