Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent identity provider, today announced the launch of a Nonprofit Cybersecurity Portfolio and $1,020,000 in grants to support better security across the social sector. Stemming from Okta’s three-year commitment to invest $10 million out of the Okta for Good Fund, a donor-advised fund held at Tides Foundation, this grant comes at a time when nonprofits are facing increased cyber-attacks, putting millions of already vulnerable people at even greater risk.
More than 50% of nonprofits report being targeted by cyberattacks, yet most do not have the resources to maintain adequate cybersecurity plans. Nonprofits are integral in doing society’s most important work in coming together for common good. Their data and the people they serve must be protected. Okta’s Nonprofit Cybersecurity Portfolio, which is part of Okta’s Nonprofit Technology Initiative, is the company’s first step in supporting better security for nonprofits through six grants that provide resourcing for projects ranging from training to incident response support.
Nonprofit Cybersecurity Portfolio Grantees and Projects
The funds will be distributed between six different organizations and projects, selected in partnership with external nonprofit security experts and Okta Security leadership including David Bradbury, CSO, Okta, and Jameeka Green Aaron, CISO, Auth0, a product unit of Okta. The grantees selected are:
- CyberPeace Institute: The institute will use its $150,000 grant to expand CyberPeace Builders, connecting corporate cyber volunteers with nonprofits in need of cybersecurity training.
- NetHope: With $375,000 from Okta over two years, the organization will establish a “Dial-a-CISO” program and provide a coordinated incident response for NetHope members. In addition, to further its commitment to the cybersecurity of nonprofit organizations, NetHope will be using the grant to establish a global humanitarian Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) service to support nonprofits involved in Humanitarian Relief and engage the private sector in greater support of their cybersecurity efforts, in collaboration with Okta and the United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”).
- Norwegian Refugee Council: The organization will leverage $290,000 over two years to create policies and training materials for the safe handling of data in humanitarian response to be scaled across a network of global nonprofits.
- Simply Secure: A grant of $80,000 will support privacy and design consulting for nonprofit technology startups that are building digital services for vulnerable populations.
- TechSoup Civil Society Strengthening Fund: Okta for Good is proud to be the founding partner of this new program, administered by TechSoup, to help civil society organizations in and around Ukraine strengthen their cybersecurity posture, with plans to expand globally in the future. In addition to its own grant of $100,000, Okta is working to recruit its tech peers to contribute to this program and to date, Zscaler has contributed $20,000 and Zendesk $50,000.
- UC Berkeley Center for Long-term Cybersecurity (CLTC): A $25,000 planning grant will explore areas for potential future collaboration such as cybersecurity training for graduate students and original research on public interest cybersecurity issues.
“Our work at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is focused on helping people forced to flee with access to their most basic and necessary needs. The last thing the people we support should be worried about is if their personal data is safe,” said Pietro Galli, CIO, NRC. “We are grateful for Okta’s support in helping nonprofits improve their cybersecurity which is a critical, yet underfunded, area.”
Okta’s Nonprofit Technology Initiative launched in 2020 with the goal of contributing to a paradigm shift in how nonprofits are funded and enabled to make the digital transition. It focuses on three key areas including accelerating nonprofits’ move to the cloud, supporting digital transformation to enable nonprofits to reach their stakeholders digitally at scale, and securing nonprofits and their critical data. The Nonprofit Cybersecurity Portfolio is Okta’s first grant program focused on this third priority and brings the company’s total commitments through the Nonprofit Technology Initiative to nearly $6.5 million.
“I believe deeply that what we do at Okta isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. There’s nothing more important than the people we support and help to protect, which is why I am passionate about advocating for nonprofits and their missions and helping them protect the identities of their people,” said Jameeka Green Aaron, CISO, Auth0, a product unit of Okta. “I was thrilled to be a part of this Okta for Good effort to identify areas of need and to expand our work in securing nonprofits and their critical data.”
