CyberSafe Foundation C.I.C. home

Not for profit · Company No. 17106862

Online safety should not be a luxury

CyberSafe Foundation C.I.C. pays for charities, community groups and the people they support to get proper online safety training and tools, at no cost to them. Plain English, no jargon and no scare tactics.

Apply for free access How it works
For registered UK charities and community organisations. Individuals and families can use the free safety check with no application at all.

What we do

The charities and community groups who look after the most vulnerable people are usually the ones with the least money for digital safety. They hold sensitive information about people who cannot afford for it to leak, and they run on volunteers, shared laptops and goodwill.

We exist to close that gap. The Foundation funds full access to the CyberSafe Coach online safety platform for organisations that could not otherwise pay for it, so their staff and volunteers get the same training a well funded organisation would.

Charities and community groups

Funded access to the platform

  • Full platform access for your staff and volunteers.
  • Short, practical online safety training rather than a day long course.
  • A safety check for your organisation, with a written report.
  • Progress records you can show funders, trustees or inspectors.
Cost to you: nothingFunded by CyberSafe Foundation C.I.C.
Apply for free access
Individuals and families

A free safety check, open to anyone

  • A free online safety check that takes around five minutes.
  • Plain English guidance on what to fix first.
  • Advice on scams, passwords and keeping children safe online.
  • No organisation, referral or application needed.
Cost to you: nothingNo account fee and no subscription.
Start the free safety check

Who can apply for funded access

To receive funded access through the Foundation, your organisation needs to meet all of the following.

  • Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR in Scotland, or CCNI in Northern Ireland.
  • Based in the UK.
  • Annual income below £100,000, or evidence that the standard rate is a genuine barrier.
  • Using it for staff, volunteers or the people you support, not for commercial purposes.
  • Willing to send us a short impact report after six months and at each annual renewal.

How the process works

  1. ApplyVerify your charity number and complete a short form. Around 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. We verifyWe check your registration against the public register for your regulator.
  3. We assessWe check the funds the Foundation currently holds and make a decision.
  4. DecisionA written decision within 10 working days of a complete application.
  5. Access set upYour account is created and login details go to your named contact.
  6. Annual reviewReviewed every 12 months, with a brief impact report.
Being straight with you about funded places

The Foundation can only award what it holds. If we cannot fund you immediately we will say so honestly, tell you your position on the waitlist, and set out the alternatives. We use the waitlist as evidence of demand when we apply for grants, so being on it genuinely helps us fund more organisations. Free access for individuals and families is never affected.

Apply for free access

Not sure whether you qualify? Email admin@cybersafefoundation.org.uk and we will talk it through before you fill anything in.

How this is funded

We are open about where the money comes from, because organisations are right to ask. The Foundation is funded in three ways.

One

The standing pledge

2% of every CyberSafe Coach subscription is donated to the Foundation automatically. No opt in, it simply happens.

Two

Optional social impact donation

Subscribers can choose to add a one off 10% social impact donation at the checkout.

Three

Sponsored Access

A business sponsors one named local school, charity or community group for a full year, from £420. The sponsor is publicly recognised and receives a quarterly impact report.

How we are governed

Community Interest CompanyCyberSafe Foundation C.I.C., registered in England and Wales, company number 17106862.
Statutory asset lockA CIC asset lock means the Foundation's assets cannot be extracted for private benefit.
Public annual reportingWe file a community interest report each year, which anyone can read at Companies House.
Separate from the platformThe platform is built and run by CyberSafe Coach Plus Ltd. The Foundation is a separate company that pays for access.

For police, councils and anyone referring an organisation to us

If you work with small charities and community groups and want somewhere to send them, this is it. There is nothing to buy, nothing to sign and no catch, and you are not referring anyone into a sales process.

  • Funded access is awarded by the Foundation, a not for profit community interest company.
  • Individuals and families can use the free safety check with no application at all.
  • We publish our eligibility criteria and our process, so nobody is guessing.
  • If we cannot fund an organisation immediately, we tell them honestly rather than stringing them along.

Happy to provide a leaflet, a short paragraph for a newsletter or briefing, or come and talk to your team. Email admin@cybersafefoundation.org.uk.

Get in touch

Contact

Email admin@cybersafefoundation.org.uk. We answer everything ourselves, so it may take a day or two, but it will be a real reply from a person.

Apply for free access