Building Donor Trust Through Cybersecurity at Los Angeles Mission with Lloyd Fuentes

Guest Introduction

Lloyd Fuentes serves as the Director of IT at Los Angeles Mission, one of the nation’s most respected nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the homeless community in Los Angeles. His career began in consulting and network engineering before moving into IT leadership, and over the past five years he has transformed the Mission’s technology environment. Lloyd has implemented stronger cybersecurity defenses, modernized communications, and built systems that help secure donor trust through improved data protection. He grew up in a difficult environment but found his path in technology through persistence, faith, and practical experience. Today, he applies his expertise to ensure that IT strengthens the Mission’s ability to restore lives and support communities.

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Here's a Glimpse of What You'll Learn

• How Los Angeles Mission evolved from a soup kitchen into a stabilization center offering wide-ranging services

• Why nonprofit IT departments are often underfunded and how Lloyd persuaded leadership to invest in modernization

• How strong cybersecurity practices protect donor trust and improve fundraising outcomes

• The impact of modern phone and network systems on preventing lost donations and enabling remote work

• How Lloyd saved the Mission $330,000 in his first year by reducing inefficiencies and modernizing systems

• Insights on zero trust architecture and how nonprofits can defend against ransomware

• Lloyd’s inspiring journey from a gang-impacted neighborhood to IT leadership in a respected nonprofit

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In This Episode

Lloyd Fuentes explains how he modernized the IT systems at Los Angeles Mission to better protect donors, staff, and the people the organization serves. He describes the nonprofit funding challenges that often leave IT departments overlooked and vulnerable. Lloyd shares how he gained support by showing that cybersecurity investments directly impact donor trust. His projects included MFA deployment, endpoint detection, modern networking through Cisco Meraki, SIM and monitoring systems, and a complete replacement of outdated phone systems. These upgrades not only improved operations but also saved the Mission more than $300,000 in the first year.

Lloyd also shares his personal story of resilience and determination. Growing up in San Bernardino, he faced daily exposure to gangs and instability. A high school computer class sparked his curiosity, and later a role at AT&T gave him the hands-on experience that would build his career in networking. His path from survival to IT leadership shows how technology can be a tool for personal growth as well as organizational stability.

The conversation highlights Lloyd’s passion for reaching youth who often live in survival mode and cannot imagine long-term possibilities. He explains that by placing practical technology in their hands, such as routers, network testers, and Ethernet tools, they can begin to see opportunities beyond immediate challenges. Lloyd believes that youth need to be spoken to in ways that respect their present reality while introducing them to skills that create a vision for the future. His perspective shows that IT is not just a technical field, but also a way to strengthen communities and create hope.