A Safer Future for Students: How The Shadow Project is Leading with Security

When your mission is to help students with learning challenges thrive, cybersecurity shouldn’t be what keeps you up at night.

The Shadow Project is a nonprofit with a powerful mission: help students with learning challenges like dyslexia, ADHD, and trauma build confidence, improve reading skills, and thrive in school. Their work empowers teachers, supports families, and uplifts students—especially in communities that have historically been underserved.

When they partnered with Lockwell, they weren’t just checking a compliance box. They were making a strategic decision to protect the future of their mission.

Like many nonprofits, The Shadow Project operates lean—collaborating with volunteers, storing shared resources, and moving fast to meet student needs. And like any organization getting serious about cybersecurity for the first time, what they uncovered initially was... a lot.

Over 800 potential security issues appeared on day one.

“We were overwhelmed,” they shared. “It felt like too much to manage.”

And you know what? That’s completely normal.

Starting a cybersecurity journey is a lot like cleaning out a long-neglected closet—you uncover things you forgot were there. You discover old files that no longer need sharing, passwords that deserve more protection, and settings that could use a second look.

The initial mess can feel bigger than expected. But The Shadow Project didn’t flinch. They leaned in.

Instead of being overwhelmed, they saw the opportunity:

• To safeguard sensitive student and staff data.
  
  

• To strengthen how they work with volunteers and partners.
  
  

• To protect their digital ecosystem—from internal files to the broader supply chain of schools, tools, and family communications.
  
  

This kind of proactive leadership sets an example for the entire nonprofit sector.

They embraced Lockwell’s platform and leaned on Elle, our AI cyber assistant, to break the work into small, manageable steps. Each day, Elle helped prioritize a few important fixes—no security background needed. We also provided custom onboarding, extended trial access, and training sessions tailored to their team’s pace and needs.

With Workspace Security, they tightened file sharing. With Vault Folders, they moved sensitive credentials out of shared Word docs. And with Elle’s help, they built new security habits that didn’t disrupt their day-to-day operations—but instead, enhanced them.

Now, The Shadow Project isn’t just secure. They’re resilient.

And in doing so, they’ve shown what it looks like when a small team makes a bold choice to prioritize trust, because their mission demands it. By protecting their data, they’re protecting students, families, staff, and the schools that depend on them. They’re modeling what it means to lead with care.

We’re proud to support The Shadow Project as they continue building a more inclusive, secure future for the students they serve. And we hope more organizations follow their lead.