Nonprofit Safety and Security Planning

We're hearing from many members concerned about the safety of their staff and board members, and we encourage all organizations to take the volatility and threat environment seriously, no matter how far removed if feels for you in the moment. Protect your teams and your organizational health by listening, communicating, and taking proactive steps. This Risk and Resilience Checklist for Purpose-Driven Boards (BoardSource) can help, and find additional recommendations and resources below.

Physical Safety

Here are some practices to consider if you anticipate your staff are at risk of being targets of hostility or violence because of their identities, or because of your organization's mission-related work.

• Remove your office's physical address from your website and other public facing documents.
• Have a standard policy not to share details of staff locations/schedules without permission.
• Remove from your bio details about your families or other identifying information.
• Weigh the pros and cons of having staff feel accessible with the risks of sharing staff names - consider removing staff names and photos entirely from your website if you feel at high risk for personal attacks.
• Utilize a web "scrubbing" service (like DeleteMe, Incogni, or Optery) to remove all mention of identifying information on the web (age, address, phone number - the things you can easily find through a web search).
• Document standard operating procedures regarding emergencies (who to call in various scenarios) and regularly talk through these scenarios with staff.
• Closely monitor all incoming mail, email, voicemail, and social media messages, and make a plan for how you will - if necessary - contact trusted authorities or legal support.
• Install security cameras.
• Offer de-escalation training for staff to support them in navigating a situation with a confrontational or hostile participant at an event or who shows up at the office.

Resources:

• Keep Canvassers Safe - download
• Office Check-List - download
• Event Planning Check-List - download

Immigrant Safety

In addition, you may have employees or clients who are concerned about their rights related to immigration - make sure your organization understands what to do in the case of a visit from ICE.

Resources:

• The National Immigration Law Center offers A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace. 
• New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Lawyers Alliance for New York have issued updated guidance to nonprofits outlining best practices for assisting and protecting immigrant clients.
• Know Your Rights (Protesters’ Rights) - ACLU
• Know Your Rights, booklets in multiple languages (Through Peace)

LGBTQ2S+ Safety

• Movement Advancement Project: LGBTQ+ Rights and Protections by State
• How-to Guide: Changing Gender Markers and Names
• MaineTransNet: Vital Document Update Clinics 

Cybersecurity

Most organizations do not have internal expertise in this area, so you may want to use MANP's Business Finder to found outside support!  

Resources:

• Zoom Bomb Threats - download
• Device & Network Vulnerabilities - download
• User Behavior & Awareness - download
• Campaign Cyber Security - Digital Defense Fund
• Anti-Doxxing Guide - Equality Labs
• Guide to Doxxing Yourself on the Internet - NYT
• Online Harassment Field Manual - Pen America
• Check if your email address is in a data breach - Pwned
• Protect Yourself - tips on platform-specific security options - Take9

Get Help

• MANP's Business Finder to found outside support!  
• Democracy Protection Network: Offers support across cyber, physical security, communications, and legal for organizations working on democracy. Support may be free or at low cost.
• The Democracy Security Project: Provides trainings on physical, communications, and cyber security, along with 1:1 support through their intake process. Initially for the democracy field, now expanded to serve all organizations.
• Vision Change Win Community Safety Rapid Response Support - free of charge virtual rapid response support to social justice movements, organizations, and leaders dealing with urgent community safety incidents.