Closing the Opportunity Divide
Year Up United is dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity for young adults by matching them with skills training, internships, and career pathways at leading companies, including 40+ of the Fortune 100.
Since its founding in 2000, the organization has served over 50,000 students and placed interns with over 1,500 partner companies. As its community has grown, Year Up United’s decade-long relationship with Okta has formed the foundation for scalable, secure service delivery powered by Okta’s Workforce Identity. This partnership is becoming increasingly important as the organization seeks to harness AI’s potential.
A community built on trust
Thousands of students and businesses use Year Up United to connect with opportunities. This diverse user base, which includes alumni, staff, corporate partners, and donors, is a strength, but also a challenge in managing identity and access securely.
“The most important thing is protecting our data,” says Tim Porter, CTO at Year Up United. “We work with Fortune 500 companies and major foundations. To meet this responsibility, Year Up United uses Okta’s Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) to help protect student records and donor information. Role-based access and least-privilege principles are designed to ensure that only staff with the correct permissions can access data. “Some of our teams access highly sensitive resources, so we have to restrict access,” says Tim.
Onboarding and offboarding is automated and secured through Lifecycle Management. “That drives the account creation, and just as importantly, the account deactivation across our core systems,” says Tim. Location-based access controls also play a key role. “Our 24/7/365 Security Operations Center monitors where access requests are coming from and quickly blocks those that seem suspicious.”
Holding up the highest standards
Year Up United sets a high bar for compliance, aligning its security posture with frameworks like FERPA and DFARS. “Because we partner with so many Fortune 500 companies, we have to protect our data to a much higher standard than most nonprofits,” says Tim.
Strong reporting and auditing practices support this commitment. Okta’s detailed activity logs feed into Year Up United’s third-party SOC, allowing it to monitor and respond to threats in real time. If suspicious activity is detected, additional policies kick in, such as non-repeatable MFA. “We have a highly remote workforce across the US,” says Tim. “Okta gives us the ability to secure our information wherever our staff are accessing it.”
Moving faster with Okta for Good
For Year Up United, Okta’s social impact program, Okta for Good, has been vital in maximizing its reach and effectiveness. The organization has taken advantage of discounted pricing on Okta products and services, as well as pro bono expertise, to ensure products are optimized and deployed securely.
Laying the ground for AI
Smarter, more efficient service delivery is on the horizon as Year Up United embraces AI's opportunities. The technology is transforming how students are assessed and matched with the best internship opportunities.
As Year Up United brings more of AWS’s AI functionality in-house, protecting their data will be crucial. “With AI, the underlying data is only going to grow and grow,” says Tim. “We want to enable frictionless access to that data, but we have to ensure identity is established as part of that process. Every tool we put in place, from SSO and MFA to location-based controls, will matter even more.”
Ready for a data-driven future
As Year Up United seeks to do more with its data, driven by AI's potential, it’s deepening its relationship with AWS and Okta as trusted partners.
“We don’t have the budget for a dedicated team of data scientists. Having the ability to protect data no matter who is using it or in which applications it’s located is critical,” says Tim. “AWS and Okta are two of our bedrock technology platforms, and leveraging the services they offer is going to be huge.”
To learn more about Okta’s products and discounts for nonprofits, visit our nonprofits page or contact our team.
About Year Up United
Year Up United, a national workforce development organization, is on a mission to end the Opportunity Divide and ensure that every young adult has the skills, experiences, and support to break through barriers and achieve their full career potential.
