Question to you.

[tinker@infosec.exchange]

Question to you.

What is a good email solution for non-profits/community groups in the United States?

Base Requirements:
- Emails that use our domain name.
- Allows individual email accounts for users (roughly 20 to 50).
- Allows email aliases / groups to where emailing one email delivers to multiple users (eg info@domain.ex goes to three specific people or foodrescue@domain.ex goes to those working on the food rescue side, etc)

Ideal requirements:
- Cheap or free
- Privacy / security oriented
- Managed (I don't like the idea of hosting our own email server for example)

Those ideal requirements have some contradiction in it, of course.

So high level, I've looked into:
- Google
- Microsoft
- Proton Mail

Here is the quick overview for those:

Google:
- https(slash)www.google(dot)com/nonprofits/offerings/workspace/#!#workspace-pricing
- Cost: Free
- Con: They actively scan and read all emails. So we become the product.
- Pro: They are used by many non-profits and are well liked from a usability standpoint

Microsoft:
- https(slash)www.microsoft(dot)com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/nonprofit-plans-and-pricing
- Cost: $5.50 per user
- Con: They actively scan and read all emails
- Pro: They have a more robust app offering.
(I don't think we need this level of IT for our group though)

Proton Mail for Non-Profits:
- https://proton.me/business/plans#plans
- Cost: 20% off Business Costs. If we just went with email, it'd be about $5.60 per user per month
- Pro: They are private and secure and can't read emails
- Con: Much less app support but we really just need email for this

Tutanota does not offer non-profit discounts within the US - So it's a similar offering as Proton Mail for about three dollars more per month.

Startmail is also similar in price point and features as Proton and Tutanota

Mailbox(dot)org may be ideal in this space as it's only $1 per user per month. I have to check and see if we can use a custom domain, etc.

Google is free... which matters. You are the product. Also folks know it - the UI is good. Making a cost benefit analysis here, I have to bring up the "we don't have anything to hide" sort of thing. As an individual, that doesn't fly - right. But as a community group / potential non-profit, we are already transparent. None of our communications contain sensitive information. And we have a lot of folks coming in and out as it is.

So, what would the threat scenario around an org using Google for email be?

Any other ideas?

#privacy #email #solarPunk