Donors Help Progressive Nonprofits Protect Themselves From Growing Security Threats
Rajasvini Bhansali, executive director of Solidaire, recently spoke to the Chronicle of Philanthropy about creating the Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund, a dedicated pool of security funding for movement leaders to stay safe in the face of rising threats to their physical safety as well as cyberthreats.
…Solidaire, a network of about 200 wealthy donors and foundations, started its own security fund last month with $1 million, using money from a $20 million contribution that the David and Lucile Packard Foundation had made to Solidaire’s Black Liberation Pooled Fund.
It quickly became clear that amount wouldn’t be enough to last through the end of the year, Bhansali said, so Solidaire went back to its network of donors and plans raise an additional $1 million.
The group provides security-related grants ranging from $2,000 to $100,000. Grant recipients are using the money to beef up computer virus protection and provide security guards for highly visible movement leaders who have been the victims of physical threats or actual violence, Bhansali said.
Thirty-five grant applications flowed in from across the country within three weeks. “The need and the demand for this kind of protection is immense,” she said.
The need is so acute and so sensitive that the organization uses an encrypted application system to prevent hackers from learning the identity of applicants, she said. Solidaire has kept the application process simple — it takes about five minutes, Bhansali said, and decisions are made within two days after the request is made.
“Donors Help Progressive Nonprofits Protect Themselves From Growing Security Threats” by Dan Parks, The Chronicle of Philanthropy / October 22, 2020
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