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About the Program

501Secure is a Ragland Institute program dedicated to strengthening nonprofits through expert IT and cybersecurity planning and mentoring services. This initiative connects experienced IT and cybersecurity professionals with nonprofits to increase organizations' capacity to self manage online security. The program was developed, and is currently led, by a former nonprofit Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), who brings years of IT and cybersecurity governance to this vital work. 501Secure embodies Ragland Institute's commitment to lifelong learning and connecting seasoned professionals with nonprofits for mutual benefit.

We serve nonprofits exclusively. We are committed to providing free resources and affordable services tailored to the needs of nonprofits and the professionals who protect them. We specialize in helping organizations new to cybersecurity formalize their online security and compliance efforts. We take a long view to building sustainable relationships with the nonprofits we serve. Building a culture of security takes time, typically years. We encourage nonprofits to grow with us as their understanding of the cybersecurity landscape develops and their organization's needs change. 

This long-term view is currently a rarity in both the philanthropic and cybersecurity space. The trend in nonprofit cybersecurity assistance programs (as it is also in commercial offerings) is scalable solutions, reaching as many nonprofits as possible for the least amount of investment. But cybersecurity can't be adequately addressed with software tools, checklists, or a free afternoon clinic. From our own experience building security programs in nonprofits, we understand there is a need for long-term vendor neutral, 1:1 support for nonprofit professionals who find themselves managing IT, online platforms, navigating changing compliance requirements, and making decisions about tools, settings, and vendors. 

Every organization's security needs are unique. Our focus is not scalability but rather building long term relationships with nonprofits.

Mission

The 501Secure program mission is to reduce nonprofit vulnerability to cyberattacks. We work with nonprofits at any stage of development to secure their online work, increase cybersecurity risk awareness, and support Google Workspace admins with hardening their instance to reduce the risk of unauthorized access and data loss.  

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