The Department of Homeland Security is soliciting applications for its 2023 Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign to provide awareness to the Nation concerning cybersecurity risks and provide messaging, tools, and resources that encourage the American public, business and industry to reduce their exposure to online risks and malicious actors.
Donor Name: Department of Homeland Security
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/03/2023
Size of the Grant: $549,996.00
Grant Duration: 29 months
Details:
Through strategies both implemented during Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, and encouraged throughout the year, the campaign seeks to improve the public’s understanding of cyber threats as well as amplify opportunities Americans can leverage to strengthen their own cybersecurity posture and encourage year-round discussion, engagement, and actions they must all take every day to reduce cyber risk to ourselves and those they care about.
Goals
This cooperative agreement supports the CISA Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign of which Cybersecurity Awareness Month held annually during October, is a focal point of the messaging and activities to accomplish the following Goals and encourage year-round actions to reduce such risks:
- Strengthen the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.
- Assess and counter evolving cybersecurity risks through actions that promote threat risk reduction.
- Build a national culture of preparedness for all Americans, ensuring equity and accessibility in their efforts to increase online and digital safety.
- Build stakeholder relationships that encourage and support data-driven actions by governments, the private sector, tribes, non-profits, and the public that reduce cybersecurity risk.
- Reinforce the importance of secure by default and secure by design industry practices that do not place the first line of cyber threat risk reduction on those with the least capabilities and resources.
- Encourage activities supported by data which result in key behavior change that reduce cyber risk.
Objectives
The following objectives will support the goals of the Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign:
- Educate the public, small businesses, and industry about the dangers of cyber threats and key actions that can be taken to mitigate risks.
- Promote sustainable cybersecurity and encourage the technology industry to provide secure-by-default technology products with strong security features right out of the box, without added costs; and technology that is secure by-design, purposefully developed, built, and tested to significantly reduce the number of exploitable flaws before they are introduced into the market for broad use.
- Identify effective approaches to increase cybersecurity awareness among the general public and target audiences, including vulnerable populations and those with disabilities that may make it challenging to take actions that reduce risk.
- Build relationships and coalitions across cybersecurity stakeholders to support Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
- Develop a baseline from which they can begin to measure the impact Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign strategies and messaging has on changing behavior, increasing public awareness of cybersecurity risk.
- Contribute to the agency’s efforts to build a culture of preparedness, by informing and empowering communities and individuals to obtain the skills and take the preparatory actions necessary to become more resilient against threats and hazards Americans face.
Funding Information
- Available Funding for the NOFO: $549,996.00
- Period of Performance: 29 Months
Eligible Applicants
Nonprofit organizations, other than institutions of higher education, with an effective ruling letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service granting tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Applicant Eligibility Criteria
Applicants whose mission is dedicated to promoting cybersecurity-related awareness and safe behavior online, and any proposed subrecipient, must provide documentation of non-profit status and tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3). Any of the following constitutes acceptable proof of non-profit status:
- A reference to the applicant organization’s listing in the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) most recent list of tax-exempt organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
- A copy of a currently valid IRS tax exemption certificate.
In addition, DHS will not consider multiple applications from a single organization serving as the lead. If more than one application is submitted by a single organization as the lead, the later in time will be considered, unless the later application clearly indicates a unique role for that organization, other than as lead for this activity.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
