News
BGF Foundation extends cyber risk monitoring to charities via KYND
By working with BGF portfolio company KYND, charities can gain an independent view of their external cyber risk.
19 May 2026
The BGF Foundation is enabling its charity partners to strengthen digital resilience, alongside growth, through access to cyber risk monitoring from BGF portfolio company KYND. The Foundation aims to amplify the impact of charities working with disadvantaged young people, through a combination of funding and practical support that helps them to scale sustainably. Connecting charity partners to our 300-strong community of portfolio businesses is a prime example of the type of support that the BGF Foundation is uniquely positioned to offer.
Why cyber security and why now?
By working with KYND, charities can gain an independent view of their external cyber risk. Cyber risk is a live issue for the charity sector. The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found that 30% of charities reported a cyber security breach or attack in the 12 months beforehand. Trustees and leadership teams often want clearer visibility of risk, plus simple, prioritised actions that can be reviewed and acted upon.
“Managing a dynamic risk like cyber is inherently challenging. By giving organisations an accurate view of their external exposure, along with prioritised actions, we help them focus on what matters most and take practical steps to strengthen resilience.”
Andy Thomas
Founder & CEO of KYND
What support can charities receive through KYND?
KYND helps organisations understand and manage cyber risk by monitoring their external risk profile, often described as attack surface monitoring, and highlighting the issues most important to address.
As part of a pilot programme, the BGF Foundation secured 10 free licences for its charity partners to access cyber risk monitoring through KYND. Each month, participating charities receive a clear report that flags high- and medium-priority risks, alongside recommended actions. The reports are designed to be easy to interpret, so leaders can focus on the steps that will make the biggest difference.
KYND also offers each participating charity support from a dedicated account manager, to help them maximise value from these monthly reports. They aim to help charities to:
- Interpret findings confidently
- Prioritise actions, starting with the highest-risk issues
- Identify quick wins that reduce exposure without major investment
- Create a clear snapshot for leadership and trustees
Case study: Jon Egging Trust
One BGF Foundation charity partner that’s already using KYND’s reports and support is the Jon Egging Trust (JET), which helps young people facing adversity to develop aspirations, and social and emotional skills, and to re-engage with learning, improve grades and maximise employment potential.
Following onboarding, JET’s account manager at KYND walked the team through their first report, explained what the risk signals meant, and helped them to prioritise actions that can be tracked over time, and shared with senior leaders and trustees.
“Cyber security has rapidly risen to the top of our organisational risk matrix. Having clear, independent insights from KYND — pinpointing vulnerabilities and helping us take proactive, prioritised action — is proving invaluable in strengthening both our governance and our resilience, and is only possible thanks to BGF’s commitment to creating opportunities for charities that genuinely move the dial beyond funding.”
Angie James
Director of Operations & Finance at JET
Leveraging the BGF community
BGF has a dedicated Value Creation team, providing tailored support to our portfolio, to help accelerate their growth. This includes access to frameworks, training events, SME tools, our network of operating specialists, non-executive talent, and extensive portfolio community.
The BGF Foundation works closely with teams across BGF and has been exploring how our value creation offering can support its charity partners. It’s through that collaboration that the Foundation first became aware of KYND, and how it could help charity partners.
”Our mission is to provide valued skills, training and tools to accelerate the development of over 300 portfolio businesses. The remit ranges from risk mitigation initiatives, like KYND, through to ambitious AI use case hackathons, in partnership with Google, and thoughtful training workshops on pricing, US expansion and leadership. We aim to deliver value beyond investment in each business that chooses to partner with us.”
Tracy Bownes
Head of Value Creation at BGF
What the pilot is teaching the BGF Foundation
The KYND offer was shared across the Foundation’s charity partner portfolio. Around half of charities enrolled quickly, while others needed additional support to get started, and some simply weren’t ready. That variation is useful insight. Capacity, priorities, digital maturity and onboarding requirements will all vary by organisation. Timing is also key. Effective skills-based support is about meeting charities where they are, and helping them move forward in the right way and at the right pace for them.
This pilot with KYND will continue to develop, in response to feedback from charity partners, including what they’re finding most useful and how it realistically fits alongside their day-to-day.
If your business is interested in sharing skills, or you want to learn more about the BGF Foundation’s approach to support beyond funding, contact the team at info@bgffoundation.org.uk.
