How Bit-Wizards' Managed IT Helps Fresh Start Make Magic

Founded in 1986, Fresh Start for Children and Families is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families transition from homelessness to long-term self-sufficiency. Families come from living in their cars, staying in shelters, or even escaping domestic violence situations. Fresh Start operates two housing programs, one transitional and one step-up, that transform lives overnight and set them on a three-year track to independence.

“We can support up to 20 families at a time, with the first step being our transitional housing that’s ready when they move in,” says Donna Tashik, Fresh Start’s executive director. “From the first night, parents can bathe their children, make sure they’re fed, put them to bed, and feel safe.”

In addition to housing, the Fresh Start team helps parents develop their finances and find opportunities to advance their careers. Repeat Street, the nonprofit’s thrift store, serves as the primary source of funding to make these efforts possible. Every aspect of Fresh Start’s programs and efforts depends on technology, from the staff receiving program applications to clients working on their journey to financial stability.

“In making the transition from crisis to contributor, our clients need the internet to complete virtual educational programs, conduct job searches, or tutor their children,” says Brittany Curry, Fresh Start’s life skills program manager. “IT deeply impacts our residents, staff, and Repeat Street operations, so even an hour of being offline takes away from those in need in our community.”

Every aspect of Fresh Start depends on technology, from the staff receiving program applications to clients working on their journey to financial stability. With technology playing such a pivotal role, Fresh Start began working with Bit-Wizards in 2015 for project-based work. Ten years later, Fresh Start is a long-running Managed IT Services (MITS) client that has left its tech worries and budget concerns in the past.

The Challenge

No matter what they specialize in, nonprofits often share the same struggle with funding their efforts. Fresh Start is no exception and has an extremely tight budget, so technology and other expenses must be as predictable as possible. Combined with the limited time in each day, Donna says IT issues quickly affected the nonprofit’s finances and ability to support its clients.

“We’ve got to find our own money and do all kinds of things while taking care of souls and trying to build them up into better situations,” she explains. “We don’t have the time to figure out IT problems when we have so many important things to do for the families we support, and we can’t help them if everything isn’t working how it’s supposed to.”

With technology fueling staff processes, resident programs, and Repeat Street operations, Fresh Start depends on a wide variety of IT resources to keep the nonprofit running. Donna and her staff were limited in their knowledge of how certain things worked, so navigating hardware upgrades and vendor partnerships took even more time and money away from the families they supported.

“We’ve gone through several phases of trying to navigate the technology aspects of switching phone services, updating modems in our apartments, or even looking into fiber internet,” Donna says. “Our skill set is taking care of people with trauma, not managing electronics, so we usually need advice on what providers and brands to choose.”

Because of the sensitive nature of each family’s situation, Fresh Start must juggle cybersecurity as an additional concern. The team manages personal information for the parents and children in the program, so keeping their records secure is vital to protecting them from potential harm. Donna emphasizes that these risks even exceed the standard concerns related to major cyberattacks and data breaches.

“A lot of our clients have people in their lives who might choose to harm them if they learned their location,” she says. “We keep the kind of records that HIPAA protects, so it’s critical to keep everything incredibly private and secure.”

The Solution

After becoming a MITS client at Bit-Wizards, Fresh Start turned its usual guessing game of expenses into a predictable monthly cost. Every IT issue under the sun is now taken care of by the MITS team, from troubleshooting printer issues to setting up new equipment. Instead of being billed for time and materials each time they need help, the Fresh Start team receives support without worrying about additional costs that would take away from their clients.

“We know that Fresh Start is cost-conscious like any nonprofit, so we ensure that every dollar they spend on managed IT adds value to their organization and creates peace of mind,” says LXS Fregger, Client Success Manager at Bit-Wizards. “We’re providing value to Donna and her team by giving them peace of mind, just knowing that we’ll be there to pick up the phone and help whenever they need it.”

Donna recalls one instance that emphasized the value of the fixed monthly MITS cost to her team. When issues started to arise while an internet company implemented updates, Cody Covert, Lead Infrastructure Engineer at Bit-Wizards, ended up spending most of his day onsite to get the team back into working order.

“Cody was here for five hours with us because of a third-party issue, and he helped us get through it while having a great time,” she shares. “And again, it didn’t cost me any more because I knew exactly what my monthly fee was.”

“It’s not just about showing up and fixing a problem—it’s about building relationships as human beings, treating their business like our own, and helping our clients by taking some stress off their plates,” says Cody. “No task is beneath a Wizard, so we drop what we’re doing and assist whenever they reach out to us.”

In addition to internal IT needs, Bit-Wizards helps Fresh Start manage every aspect of its technology planning and partnerships. Through virtual CIO services, vendor management, and other custom solutions, Donna and her team leverage IT equipment and vendors that adapt to their priorities and budget. Whenever Fresh Start needs to expand or adjust its current strategy, Bit-Wizards is there to provide recommendations and hands-on assistance.

“While we can’t take care of anything that depends on electricity, we can recommend vendors of products and services that we trust to take care of our clients just as well as we would,” explains LXS. “Whether it’s an internet service provider or a security camera company, we work between them and our clients as a liaison to ensure they get exactly what they want and need.”

When the clock started ticking for the end of support (EOS) for Windows 10, Bit-Wizards supported the team in recommending new computers from trusted brands that ran on Windows 11. Donna says planning for the switch was logistically and financially seamless thanks to the expertise and advance notice.

“LXS let us know that our computers would need to be replaced almost a year before the deadline, and the team shopped for the best prices for us so we could allocate funds for the upgrades in the next budget,” she says. “Bit-Wizards knows our needs when it comes to electronics, and I know they’re not going to oversell me.”

In working with various vendors to run its operations, Fresh Start can optimize time spent helping clients by depending on Wizards for vendor coordination. Whether it’s an internet, security, or fiber company, Bit-Wizards works with any vendor whose services impact Fresh Start’s IT infrastructure.

“Our team is filled with engineers who have various expertise and a laundry list of certifications that we earn and maintain to make sure we provide cutting-edge technical support,” says Cody. “We double- and triple-check when working with vendors to make sure that our clients are getting the correct solutions, and we sometimes end up teaching them new things about their own products because we know what to look for.”

While cost-efficiency and dependability are top priorities for Fresh Start, cybersecurity is paramount to the safety of the program’s clients. Bit-Wizards applies proactive, robust security measures to ensure the team’s files are stored and accessed securely. Whenever suspected phishing attacks land in their inboxes, the team reaches out to the Wizard help desk to investigate the source and determine if it’s safe.

“There are many vulnerable families at Fresh Start that don’t want their information falling into the wrong hands, so we do everything to protect their data and online activity from accidents or malice,” says LXS. “We secure their files, monitor their systems, and alert them of rising cyberattack trends to ensure the families and staff have multiple layers of protection.”

“Fresh Start helps families overcome tough situations, and the last thing they need is to suffer from a data breach that destroys their sense of safety,” says Cody. “Our goal is to help the staff maintain peace of mind for them and the families by covering the data aspect through antivirus software, alert monitoring, and other security support efforts.”

The Result

With all things IT running smoothly, Fresh Start has the reliable internet connection needed to get things done. Whether it’s school assignments or intake processes, clients and staff members alike can focus on their individual goals without being held back by overpriced, ineffective resources. Donna says the team’s capacity to give families their full attention is thanks to the steadfast support and care from Bit-Wizards.

“We’ve called Bit-Wizards for everything we need, and they’ve taken care of so many things for us to the point that we feel safe and don’t think about IT issues anymore,” says Donna. “Bit-Wizards ensures every part of our IT runs perfectly, enabling us to focus on our sole purpose of helping families heal.”

One aspect that makes IT support from Bit-Wizards even more special and effective for Fresh Start is the understanding and empathy each Wizard has of the organization’s purpose. Ever since her first day on the team in 2024, Brittany has had the tools she needs to help clients develop their life skills—all while knowing the Wizards who can help her are just a call away.

“Cody, Tim, and the rest of the Wizards are family-oriented, have a heart to serve, and value being uplifting to others—just like the team at Fresh Start,” says Brittany. “They have a passion for what they do in terms of IT and customer service, and you can’t put a price tag on that or the added benefit of both organizations striving to uplift families and the greater community.”

Supporting the staff and families at Fresh Start is easily achieved thanks to the MITS team’s collective expertise and care. With Wizards bringing unique experiences and perspectives to the table, the collaboration between them over the past decade has enhanced their ability to support Donna and her team. LXS shares that her personal connection to the nonprofit’s mission makes the work feel especially meaningful to her.

“As someone who benefited from services like what Fresh Start offers when I was a child, it’s remarkable to give back a bit to such an impactful organization,” she says. “Helping them provide security and peace of mind to the families they support is an incredible privilege.”

IT support from Bit-Wizards goes beyond checking items off a to-do list—it’s fueled by the understanding and compassion Wizards have for the clients they support. No matter what industry a company specializes in, each MITS team member strives to make companies more successful through technology solutions. Cody believes the company’s core values are what distinguish the Bit-Wizards experience apart from the rest.

“Wizards take ownership of each client’s successes and opportunities, so my teammates and I treat your business as our own and strive to be part of your team,” he says. “That’s how we make magic for our clients—if we can’t be the magic for our clients, then what are we doing as a company?”

Get in touch to learn how the magic of Bit-Wizards can enhance your business.