Rooted Software Serves Nonprofits In Service to Others; Making a Difference, Giving Back
Toby Weiss worked for a faith-based nonprofit in San Francisco for 14 years, managing its IT, helping it scale its operations as technology advanced, security risks increased, and compliance mandates changed daily for the nonprofit world.
Drawn to the good work performed by hundreds of other mission-driven nonprofits in service to populations in need, Toby left the San Francisco organization and co-founded Rooted Software in 2021 with a goal to help its nonprofit clients advance their missions by expertly and thoughtfully managing their IT hardware and software needs. Joining Toby in this venture is his business partner and co-founder, Joshua Bechard (Topeka, Kansas).
In 2023, Toby moved Rooted Software to Shadelands Walnut Creek, 175 Lennon Lane, where he works from an office and shared work space on behalf of his local, statewide, and national nonprofit clients and local small businesses.
From the stand up desk in his office, Rooted Software Founder & CEO Toby Weiss (c) meets with his IT pros, Amy Schiappapietra and Edward Leung.
Toby keenly understands the nonprofit world and its specialized software requirements, budget constraints, limited resources, and the need for extreme data security to protect donor and financial information. As outsourced IT, his mission is to help his clients succeed and grow by managing all IT activities and handling all responsibilities, which frees up their time to focus on their core missions.
More than providing simple IT maintenance services, Rooted Software implements updated and effective IT hardware and software programs to help his clients scale – allowing technology to amplify the organization's mission, rather than complicate it.
In addition to IT, Toby and Rooted Software help nonprofits with their systems, including CRM (Customer/Constituent Relationship Management), online fundraising, and more. Toby uses his expertise in nonprofit operations to help with system selection, implementation, and long-term support, to serve as a true technology partner uniquely tailored for nonprofits.
(l-r) Rooted Software Founder & CEO Toby Weiss confers with IT experts Edward Leung and Amy Schiappapietra, who work from a shared space outside Toby’s office with the tools of their trade at their fingertips.
In the Shadelands headquarters office, Toby shares space with two employees and IT pros, Amy Schiappapietra and Edward Leung, and manages 16 staff members who are spread coast to coast, and another ten contractors, all U.S.-based.
“Our staff is nationwide because we work with nonprofits across the United States,” said Toby. “We have experts in every time zone across the country, which makes us available to help our clients and respond to their outreach at all times of the day.”
British by birth, Toby moved to California 19 years ago “for love – a good reason to move,” he said. He’s been married now 18 years, with four children. As his family has grown, so has Rooted Software.
‘We’ve experienced strong growth in a short amount of time because of our expertise and experience in the nonprofit world, and because of our partnerships with nonprofit software providers, which have allowed us to expand our services to a greater number of nonprofits quickly. We have found a niche, and this is where we do our best work.”
Dependable IT is foundational to a nonprofit's success. “At Rooted Software, we do three things for our nonprofit clients. We are IT providers, so we do outsourced IT. Secondly, we help nonprofits make the best use of donor management systems, fundraising and online giving tools, and other systems vital to their operations. And thirdly, we build applications such as mobile apps and websites.”
Rooted Software is driven by relationships. “We want to actually know our clients as human beings. It’s not just about fixing their computers or troubleshooting a software glitch. We’re here to support our clients and their teams – the people in the organization. We want to get to know them, and we want them to get to know us. When they call, it’s going to be Edward who answers the phone; it’s going to be Luke who jumps on the client’s computer, or Daniel, or Tom, or Todd.”
Edward Leung at the Rooted Software IT Service Desk connecting to a customer’s computer to investigate an issue, while also reviewing their event ticketing system.
“There’s a deeper relationship that we can have as a highly experienced and smaller company. Our client relationships are based on familiarity and trust and easy access to us – visit after visit. Our clients are not just tickets that pop up; they are people who really need our help and who we know personally and professionally,” said Toby.
“When someone calls and they’re super stressed that their Word document just disappeared and they lost all their work, we listen, we understand that this is difficult for them, and we care about them as people as we set about fixing the problem.
“I tell my staff and contractors, ‘You’re a counselor before you’re a technician.’”
View Toby’s Instagram story here, where he shares his story in his own words.
