Craig Newmark Philanthropies (CNP) has announced a commitment of more than $50 million in support of a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to educating and protecting Americans amid escalating cybersecurity threats.

The grants from the charitable network of craigslist founder Craig Newmark will focus on building the civic infrastructure, policy frameworks, and digital tools necessary to support what Newmark calls a “cyber civil defense” effort to bolster American national and global security in the face of new threats. To that end, the funding will support efforts to raise public awareness of threats and online security choices, in addition to the creation of online tools and digital infrastructure that help secure the country’s networks. The effort also will include programming aimed at developing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce capable of meeting the technical challenges ahead.

This effort is part of Newmark’s long-standing commitment to supporting digital security. In recent years, CNP awarded more than $30 million to organizations involved in the initiative, including Black Girls Hack, Girls Who Code, R Street’s Making Space Initiative, Shadowserver, the Stanford Internet Observatory, the Technology and Social Change Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, VetsInTech, and Wikipedia. The organization aims to give the remaining $20 million over the next 12 months. The latest grants include support for Consumer Reports, the Global Cyber Alliance, and the Ransomware Task Force at the Institute of Security and Technology.

“American and western democracy are at risk,” said Newmark. “As individuals, we’re also under attack. We need to work together to protect each other and democratic ideals in the digital world.”

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