Tenable co-founders Ron and Cyndi Gula's charitable foundation gave out $1 million in grants to nonprofits that focus on boosting cybersecurity expertise on company boards of directors.
The Women Business Collaborative won the $350,000 first prize out of seven finalists. The other three winners of the June 2022 round of funding included the GRF Foundation and the National Cybersecurity Society, which each won $250,000. The third place winner, the Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection at Cleveland State University, won $150,000.
Gula Tech Foundation co-founder Ron Gula said he chose the Women Business Collaborative for the top prize in part because he believes the organization will be effective at promoting cybersecurity expertise to the public because of its wider business mission.
“I think that the cybersecurity industry, as much as we publish, as much as we talk, and as much as we share, lives in a bubble," Gula said. "People outside that bubble have a hard time getting in."
The Women Business Collaborative's mission to diversify corporate boards also played a role in the Gula Foundation's choice. The Washington, D.C., nonprofit plans to use the grant to train 100 women in cybersecurity.
"It's no secret that most boards look like me," Gula said. "If you asked them 'what do you want,' they want two things, they want diversity and the second thing they want is they want more technology exposure."
Gula said the foundation is thinking of creating a cybersecurity initiative targeting women in the future.
The Gula Tech Foundation, founded in 2020, is the philanthropic arm of Gula Tech Adventures, a venture capital firm founded by Ron and Cyndi Gula. The foundation has given four separate $1 million grant rounds in the past two years, supporting over 21 nonprofits. The first in March 2021, focused on increasing African American engagement in cybersecurity, the second in May 2021 was devoted to cybersecurity awareness, the third in January 2022, supported cybersecurity education for K-12 teachers.
