We've gone through the arduous review and appeal process with both Microsoft and Google but was ultimately denied the free to use, nonprofit account, as we're a Florida State-registered and validated nonprofit, and not 501(c)(3) federally registered. We've explored the paid route, but would cost the dues of 36 households, when only 22 participate presently. We can't get corporate sponsors as we haven't found any willing to donate with no federal write-off. We can't register as a 501(c)(3) because the registration process and yearly requirements are cost-prohibitive. We can't get grants to pay for registration because we have to be registered to apply. It's a tough chicken and egg situation.
What we're in need of: - An [email] account for 5 board officers - Collaborative cloud storage - Groups / Forums that residents can subscribe to - Email lists
I've so far been unable to find services that will cater to state-registered, but not federally registered (501(c)(3)), nonprofits for these needs. Mixing services is not ideal, but would still be a welcomed last resort.
There's OwnCloud and similar, not to mention mail-in-a-box solutions. Most of which could be done on a $5-10/month digital ocean, linode or similar environment. For that matter, a small ISP hosting account may get you 90% of the way for less than $20/month total.
It kind of depends on your own technical expertise and how much time you can dedicate vs. a paid solution.
Edit:
Take a look at Cloudron on DO for an example. I'd probably do the mid-range $15 droplet, or the $10 one.
We will gladly sponsor you with email services - migadu.com regardless of your status. No cloud storage though and no documents/spreadsheets. Groups/forums/email lists are coming soon by the end of the year. Calendar is due in a few weeks.
For email, I found Migadu [0] this year and love them. It’s ~$50/year, but for that you get unlimited mailboxes. The limit is on how many emails/day you send. This might suit your needs?
How much cloud storage do you need? I’d be using the free tiers at Dropbox/OneDrive/etc., or some sort of P2P solution based off my own server. I use Resilio Sync and it’s great.
Good luck finding solutions to the rest. Sounds like something really worthwhile you’re doing there.
Source: our neighborhood's HOA spent $53K on legal fees to disallow the construction of a 4 story retirement home right across the road from us. This took 2 years and we lost: the other side can just wait you out. Yearly dues were raised from $300 to $450 to pay for this fail.
Have you ever done any fundraising campaigns or events? I think you would be surprised how much the people in your city, even people outside of your neighborhood, might be willing to donate some money to keep livable, walkable communities from being overrun by development.