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Kobalt.io and Nonprofit

Cybersecurity & Compliance for Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit organizations handle sensitive donor information, financial transactions, and mission-critical data, making them prime targets for cyberattacks. With limited IT resources, nonprofits often struggle to implement strong cybersecurity protections and compliance programs, putting donor trust and operations at risk.

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Table of Contents

Common Security Challenges for Nonprofit Organizations

  • Cyber Threats Targeting Donor & Financial Data - Nonprofits process online donations, grant funding, and supporter contributions, making them vulnerable to fraud, phishing, and financial scams.
  • Ransomware & Phishing Attacks on Nonprofit Staff - Nonprofits often operate with limited IT budgets, making them easy targets for ransomware attacks, email fraud, and business email compromise (BEC) scams.
  • Compliance with Data Protection Regulations - Organizations handling donor and beneficiary data must comply with GDPR (for EU donors), CCPA (California residents), PCI DSS (if accepting online donations), and HIPAA (for health-focused nonprofits).
  • Limited IT & Cybersecurity Resources - Many nonprofits rely on volunteers or small teams to manage IT security, leaving gaps in cyber threat monitoring, risk management, and compliance enforcement.
  • Third-Party & Vendor Security Risks - Nonprofits use third-party donation platforms, CRM systems (like Salesforce NPSP), and cloud-based tools, increasing the risk of data leaks and supply chain cyberattacks.

Why Nonprofits Need Cybersecurity & Compliance

  • Data Protection: Secure donor records, volunteer data, and financial transactions.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Meet security standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA (for healthcare-related nonprofits), and PCI DSS (for donation processing).
  • Prevent Financial Fraud & Phishing Attacks: Protect against scams targeting staff, donors, and beneficiaries.
  • Ensure Business Continuity: Avoid disruptions due to ransomware, account takeovers, or data breaches.
Get a Free Security Consultation

Compliance & Security Services for Nonprofits

Kobalt.io provides affordable cybersecurity and compliance solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations.

  • Penetration Testing – Identify vulnerabilities in donation platforms and CRM systems.
  • Cloud Security Assessments – Secure cloud-hosted donor databases and financial transactions.
  • Incident Response & Ransomware Protection – Rapid response to cyberattacks on nonprofit data.
  • Third-Party Risk Management – Assess the security of donation processors and nonprofit software vendors.
  • SOC 2 & ISO 27001 – Build trust with donors and funding partners by achieving security certifications.
  • GDPR & CCPA Compliance – Protect donor information and ensure global data privacy compliance.
  • HIPAA Compliance (for Healthcare Nonprofits) – Secure sensitive patient and beneficiary data.
  • PCI DSS Compliance – Ensure secure online donation processing and credit card transactions.

Compliance & Security Services for Nonprofits

  • Affordable cybersecurity solutions tailored for nonprofits.
  • End-to-end compliance support for donor data protection.
  • Proactive threat detection & incident response.
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Services

Compliance

The challenge every nonprofit faces when securing funding and partnerships—the dreaded security questionnaire. Dozens of complex questions, varying compliance requirements, and seemingly endless hurdles. Our team understands these challenges and can help you put the right solutions in place efficiently and cost-effectively, so you can focus on advancing your mission. Whether you need to navigate SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, or other compliance frameworks, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. 

Partnership|Kobalt.io &Vanta|Compliance and Cybersecurity

We automate your compliance process –

Kobalt.io and Vanta work together to provide our clients with value beyond compliance. With Kobalt.io cybersecurity, compliance and data privacy expertise, combined with Vanta’s best-in-class technology, our clients can quickly achieve their security compliance goals, proving trust and driving growth.

About Vanta

Vanta is the leading trust management platform that helps simplify and centralize security for organizations of all sizes. Over 4,000 companies rely on Vanta to build, maintain and demonstrate their trust—all in a way that’s real-time and transparent. Founded in 2018, Vanta is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Dublin, New York and Sydney. For more information, visit www.vanta.com

Threat Detection

Nonprofit organizations rely on the cloud to power their operations, from donor management platforms to financial systems and collaboration tools. Your critical data lives in AWS, Azure, GCP, and essential SaaS tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and online fundraising platforms—not in a locked filing cabinet or outdated server room. Our security monitoring services help protect your infrastructure, ensuring donor trust, and regulatory compliance.

Book A Free Consultation

User Education

Kobalt.io’s cybersecurity training empowers your staff and volunteers with best practices to safeguard donor information and prevent cyber threats.

Gap Assessment & Penetration Testing

Your nonprofit’s cloud infrastructure, donation platforms, and volunteer management systems must be secure from cyber threats. Our gap assessment and penetration testing help protect your organization by identifying vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive donor and beneficiary data.

Through our assessments, we provide a roadmap to strengthen your cybersecurity posture, helping you meet compliance requirements and build trust with donors and stakeholders.  

Security Advisory

Cyber security is a journey that requires focus and dedication. Our team of expert advisors help ensure you are progressing your cyber security program while freeing up your internal resources.

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What Our Customers Say

We had some deadlines to meet for our internal audit, and Kobalt.io was flexible and responsive to our timeline. Their proven expertise with the Vanta platform made them the clear choice for us.
Grant DonaldsonHead of Engineering, Opypro
The team at Kobalt.io are friendly and well organized. The kick off call was timely and all information required for a smooth Pen Test was requested in advance. The Pen Testing itself ran smoothly and didn't interrupt our daily workflow or impact our customers.
Juliet OwenChief Data Officer, Squadify
Kobalt.io brings knowledge and experience to penetration testing and a rigorous process so we know that we are putting our data and systems to the test appropriately. When they identify vulnerabilities, Kobalt.io provides detailed screenshots and examples of the failures as well as clear guidance to fix them.
Juliet OwenChief Data Officer, Squadify
Kobalt.io acted as our virtual CISO, providing the expertise and support we needed every step of the way. They didn't just tell us what to do; they helped us understand why it was important and how it fit into our business. Their ability to engage with both our management and engineering teams was crucial. Kobalt.io helped us gain better visibility into our security situation, create necessary policies, and understand the risks associated with our business.
Dushern PatherCEO, TechSpecialist
Overall, Opypro was very pleased with the services Kobalt.io provided to conduct our internal ISO 27001 audit and in the lead up to a successful certification. It was a pleasure working with the team and having their guidance throughout the entire process.
Grant DonaldsonHead of Engineering, Opypro
Kobalt.io has been instrumental in helping us prioritize security improvements, set pragmatic goals, and select the right tools. Their guidance enabled us to strategically build our security program. SOC 2 compliance has been a pivotal milestone, allowing us to engage more seamlessly with enterprise customers and unlock opportunities with high-value clients.
Daniel Opden DriesHead of Engineering, Giftbit
Kobalt.io has been a trusted partner since 2022, providing us with invaluable support in Penetration Testing and SOC 2 compliance readiness. Their team is professional, thorough, and easy to work with, consistently delivering clear guidance and actionable recommendations.
Bruce QiFounder, Launchpad Technologies
Working with Mahmood from Kobalt.io has been an invaluable experience for us. His expertise and guidance were instrumental in helping us achieve SOC 2 compliance. From conducting thorough assessments to providing actionable insights, Mahmood made our compliance journey manageable and efficient.
Marwan HaddadCTO & Founder, Railtown AI Technologies Inc.
In partnership with Kobalt.io, OneFeather established a comprehensive compliance program that included SOC 2 security framework implementation, policy development, and managed threat detection. This collaboration enhanced OneFeather's security posture through strategic advisement, employee education, and audit preparation.
Jerrett TaylorCTO, OneFeather
The Kobalt.io team are true experts in compliance and cybersecurity. They worked tirelessly to help us achieve ISO 27001, overcoming challenges along the way. Under tight deadlines, they rose to the occasion with a collaborative, results-driven approach, guiding us to a successful outcome.
Dane LeckeyCIO, Spineka
Partnering with Kobalt.io has been a game-changer for us. Their team guided us through the complexities of SOC 2 compliance, ensuring we met all the necessary requirements seamlessly. On top of that, their penetration testing services were thorough and insightful, helping us identify and address vulnerabilities before they became a problem. Their expertise and proactive approach gave us confidence in our security posture and compliance efforts, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.
James McNeiceInfrastructure and Security Lead, samdesk
We've partnered with Kobalt.io for several penetration tests and have been very happy with their team’s commitment to understanding our infrastructure as well as their attention to detail as we maintain and strengthen our security posture.
Sam FogartyCo-Founder, President & COO, Suited
Kobalt.io's penetration testing and their guidance on remediation helped us achieve SOC 2 certification on time and without any significant hurdles. Their expertise and structured approach were key to this success. Their team was professional, responsive, and efficient, ensuring that the entire process, from planning to execution, was smooth.
Dmitry KulaksyzChief Operating Officer, Stripo Inc
Kobalt's team is incredibly easy to work with and has been highly supportive of our business goals. As our vCISO partner, they collaborate with us on each security initiative, providing ongoing support. Thanks to this partnership, we're now positioned to take the next steps in strengthening our security posture, with plans to pursue SOC-2 and GDPR certifications in the future.
Dane LeckeyCIO, Spineka
Kobalt.io provided exceptional support in helping us achieve our SOC 2 Type 2 certification. Their managed compliance program, led by a knowledgeable vCISO, ensured we were audit-ready through comprehensive policy development and continuous monitoring. Thanks to their expertise, we passed the audit with ease.
Eric AlvarezCEO & Founder, Grapefruit Health
"Kobalt.io is a cybersecurity partner we can rely on. They always have risen to the challenge with us. When we needed a quick turn around to get SOC 2 Type 1 certification, they were there. When I needed the attention of their leadership team, they were there. Kobalt.io has been a reliable partner to date."
Klaus SalchnerCTO, APOLLO Insurance
"By working with Kobalt.io, the amount of headway we've made is huge compared to the amount of time we internally have to put into cyber security."
Jacqueline WinterChief Financial Officer, Active State
"The people that we worked with at Kobalt.io truly are experts and I had a high degree of comfort knowing that working with Kobalt.io will be able to plot our course forward."
Craig DixonHead of Product, PUG Interactive
“Kobalt.io gives us peace of mind as our trusted advisor. They are responsive and provide advice quickly when needed.”
Hieg KhatcherianChief Information Security Officer, Thrive Health
“We chose Kobalt.io given their ability to proactively support us and recognize the hard work we put upfront into our operations and processes, which reduced the workload required to achieve compliancy.”
Gaston SiriCEO and Co-Founder, SideDrawer
"We have an identified partner in cyber security moving forward as our team has more capacity. We are looking forward to working more deeply with Kobalt.io in the future and expect to continue to collaborate."
Erin BerubeVP of Operations, Vivo Team
"Kobalt.io has performed a penetration test for us. The test was extremely thorough and we were happy with how it was conducted. The Kobalt.io team is easy to work with and they actually work more like a partner and make sure we understand the findings."
Derek SzetoCEO and Co-founder, Walnut Insurance
“The pentesters were amazing, they went above and beyond with regard to testing. After thoroughly investigating our access control strategy, they took the time to interact with our software for additional exploits unrelated to access control. The documentation we received was excellent.”
Aaron Hudon Director, Pool Queue Information System
"Kobalt.io helped us achieve our goal of auditing our current state of IT security, and provided a solid list of recommendations as the next steps to take our IT security to another level."
Matthew JamesPresident & CEO, Purity Life Health Products LP.
"The engagement was very rewarding and a comprehensive report was put together at the end of the engagement. We are very excited to move on to the next stage, to have the recommendations in the report implemented."
Jordan SchleyFounder, Care2Talk
"The fact that Kobalt.io does not just give you a tool but a comprehensive service with a designated program lead to help us navigate the process makes everything easy for us."
David KeeneVice President of Engineering, Vantage Point Logistics
"This was our first experience at Vivacity going through a cyber security assessment and it was a great engagement. The assessment gave us visibility into where we stand in terms of cyber security and the recommendations offered a roadmap for shaping our security posture into the future."
George EmeryCEO, Vivacity Technologies
"Process and communication were clear from the beginning. We received a thorough report with detailed recommendations on steps that should be taken to better meet our privacy protection responsibilities."
Simon DannattCEO, The Sound
"The engagement was smooth and informative. The team has been very responsive and committed to the timeline. The gaps that have been highlighted will be very helpful for us in improving our security posture."
Stuart LomasCEO, Luau Data Corp
"We are very satisfied with the overall process and the outcome of the engagement, and we look forward to conducting a retest to ensure issues identified are remediated."
Patrick LoPresident, Trakking Software Corporation
"The Kobalt.io team has been very responsive, and they were good at answering technical questions. The information-gathering sessions were informative and the findings were to the point."
Jordan CooperDirector, Our Place Society
" I really enjoyed working with the Kobalt.io team. Their promptness and attention to detail were remarkable. The information captured in the discovery sessions was accurately conveyed to the executive summary. We completed the engagement with an accurate snapshot of our security landscape and a plan to improve! Would highly recommend working with them."
John CharetteCOO, iDream Interactive
"We felt confident along the process, the Kobalt.io team was excellent at digging into every detail possible to write the policies for us. The quality of the deliverables was much more than what was expected, it was a learning experience.
Shannan LouisFounder and Head of Studio, FatBelly VFX
"The security assessment report is easy to read and understand. It gave us the right picture of our security posture and excellent recommendations. On top of that, the Kobalt.io team was amazing to work with, they made the process so easy for us."
Gurpal NagraIT Engineer/Web Developer, Level One Robotics
"The Kobalt.io team is such a good team to work with. It didn't take long to recognize that they are extremely knowledgeable about the requirements of an ISO audit. We were very happy with the detailed report, and informative sessions we received."
Nathan TaylorChief Operating Officer, Partly
"We absolutely love the security training awareness module, especially the real-world scenarios to show applications of key concepts. Kobalt.io provides excellent online training materials that are very engaging and instrumental for users working from home."
David KeeneVice President of Engineering, Vantage Point Logistics
"The security assessment report is impressive. It covered all the security dimensions, and the Kobalt.io team is a great team to work with. The entire process was smooth and the deliverables were informative and detailed."
Kartik BhutaniCo-founder and CTO, Blossom
"The insurance sector has always been a target for cyber attacks. As we hold so much sensitive data, security is our main concern. Being able to understand our vulnerabilities allows us to take a proactive approach."
Lisa TungDirector of Project Management, Noldor
“Kobalt.io team has been very helpful in providing us with such practical and cost-effective suggestions. As an early startup, we can immediately apply them to improve our security posture, and we really appreciate them.”
Tan VuBack-end Developer,
SISA Energy
"It was a great experience working with the Kobalt.io team on the ISO internal audit. I am impressed by how well they explained the ISO requirements and how quickly they understood our process that enabled them to deliver the report in a short period of time. I look forward to working with them again."
Isis T. BauligCo-Founder & CTO,
Climatiq
"Kobalt.io's vCISO provided clear guidance and support, managing our ISO 27001 compliance process on Vanta with ease. It's so much easier to work with them than if we had to start from scratch."
Chris SpencerCTO, Silico
"Kobalt.io was recommended to us by Vanta. The team provided strong guidance throughout the entire Internal ISO audit. They and Vanta were instrumental in getting us ready for the final one."
Igor TasevskiLead DevOps Engineer, Alchemy Cloud
"We view Kobalt.io as a valuable extension to our team. They help us fill in gaps and ensure our security. They keep their managed threat detection service simple, and allow us to stay ahead of the game and focus on what is important for us."
Robert Fraser, Ph.D.President & CEO, Molecular You
"Kobalt.io is a great end to end partner providing expertise and connections we needed to achieve our goals. They were able to help us arrange everything we needed to achieve our compliance objectives in a very short period of time. All parties are aligned and work in unison to support our business objectives."
Ryan WilsonCEO, Minutebook Technologies
"Kobalt.io has been an invaluable partner. We are very happy to work with them on a bunch of initiatives. They do a great job of keeping everything on time and consistently delivering value-packed sessions and reports."
Stéphan BélangerVP Production & Support, The Cloud Connectors
“Kobalt.io performs several services for us. We trust them to run security education for our employees, test for vulnerabilities and provide overwatch with 24/7 threat detection across our infrastructure. They’re a great partner and have become an important part of our business as we continue to level up our operations."
Sean EikermanDirector of Operations, InTime
"I am pleased that we selected Kobalt.io. They performed for us a penetration test, a gap assessment, helped developed a cybersecurity risk register, and provided advisory support, amongst other items. Kobalt.io responded to our needs promptly and offered quality services at competitive rates. They are truly a one-stop shop for our cybersecurity needs. "
Ian ChristmanPresident. Vehicle Sales Authority of BC
"From the get-go, Kobalt.io provided Silverpond an agreement with clearly outlined details of engagement and deliverables. The ISO Internal Audit was performed thoroughly and professionally. We're very pleased with the overall experience and would be pleased to recommend Kobalt.io."
Yanni FlorenceHead of Operations and Customer Success, Silverpond

Book A Free Consultation

If your nonprofit collects donations, stores supporter data, or operates online, investing in robust cybersecurity and regulatory compliance is essential.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Nonprofits may need to comply with:

  • SOC 2 (for data security in nonprofit SaaS platforms).
  • ISO 27001 (for global cybersecurity best practices).
  • GDPR & CCPA (for donor data privacy).
  • HIPAA (for healthcare nonprofits managing patient data).
  • PCI DSS (for secure online donations and credit card transactions).

If your nonprofit stores, processes, or transmits sensitive donor or beneficiary data, SOC 2 certification helps build trust with donors, grantmakers, and funding partners. Vanta automates SOC 2 compliance, while Kobalt.io provides security audits and implementation support.

To protect donor records, nonprofits should:

  • Use encryption for donor data stored in CRM platforms.
  • Implement role-based access control (RBAC) for staff.
  • Conduct regular penetration testing on donor management systems.