We’ve been in your shoes and have hired consultants. For us, one of the more frustrating parts was the unpredictable nature of the engagements, especially around price. It’s rare for consultants to publish pricing - often because the discovery process is about the consultant calculating what they think you’ll be willing to pay. When the invoice arrives with a bottom line that’s way bigger than was predicted, there’s no good way to explain it to a board.
We aim to do this work the way we’d want it done if we were hiring. Our empathy comes from having walked your path and we bring it to everything we do - including helping you scope and cost out what you really need distinct from the “nice to have’s.”
Our initial conversations are free. Our engagement types, baseline pricing, and sliding scales (for nonprofit organizations) are published here. Use them as a guide, keeping in mind that the specifics of every project dictate the pricing details.
Our first conversation is always free. If we decide to move forward together, the next stage is about discerning what you need. We’ll do our best to provide an initial evaluation. That’s yours to keep, whether you decide to engage Cobalt Shields or go in a different direction.
No charge · one to two hours
We sit down together and cover at least these four basic areas:
Again, what comes of that meeting is yours - without any obligation to proceed further.
Monthly retainers, if it makes sense for both you and us. Each tier includes everything in the one before it.
Around 8 hours a month
$1,400 - $2,000 /month
Small companies and organizations that need technology strategy, planning, and policy leadership; cybersecurity risk oversight; experts who can respond to a crisis on short notice.
Most engagements
Around 20 hours a month
$3,500 - $5,000 /month
Mid-sized companies and organizations.
Everything in Essentials, plus:
40 or more hours a month
$7,000 - $10,000 per block of 40 hours a month
Companies or organizations in transition, or carrying ongoing compliance or regulatory obligations.
Everything in Core, plus:
Defined work, a fixed price, and fixed period. Remember, these are partnerships between you and us. Collaboration around a clear scope of work is required, and success hinges on effectively working together. Here are a few examples of projects we can work on together.
| Engagement | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Board Technology Risk Briefing | $3,500 - $5,000 | Two to three weeks. A short, readable briefing your board can act on. |
| Technology & Security Baseline Review | $7,500 - $12,000 | Four to six weeks. Where you stand, what it is costing you, and what to fix first. |
| Framework Readiness Assessment | $9,000 - $18,000 | Readiness for NIST, SOC 2, HIPAA, FERPA, NYDFS, and SOX. Gap analysis, a prioritized remediation plan, and supporting documentation for your auditor. |
| Deep dive strategic, budget and staffing planning | $8,000 - $20,000 | IT strategy development aligned with institutional mission; evaluation of existing staff and contracted resources for skillset, quality, and fit; operating and capital budget analysis and multi-year planning. |
Work outside a retainer is billed at $175 to $250 an hour, on the same scale as the retainers.
Tier ranges apply to nonprofit organizations sized based on averaged expense and asset information from your three most recent Forms 990.
| Total annual expenditures - three-year average | Your rate |
|---|---|
| Under $1 million | $175 / hour |
| $1 million to $5 million | $210 / hour |
| Over $5 million | $250 / hour |
Your retainer is that rate times the hours in your tier. For example, an 8 hour monthly retainer is $175 × 8 hours or $1,400 (as shown in the Essentials option). Travel and expenses we incur on your behalf are billed separately.
For nonprofits, your annual expenditures, revenues, and your assets/debt are all taken into consideration. An organization carrying substantial reserves or debt may end up higher or lower than its spending or revenue considered alone would suggest. Serving nonprofits is core to our mission and we’ll do what we can to make it work for everyone.
Please note - this is a scale, not a discount. Essentials is a smaller engagement than Core, which is why it costs less. Our work standards are consistent regardless of your organization’s size.
Because we prioritize our reputation and your trust, we neither resell hardware or software, nor accept commissions or referral fees.
In cases where a vendor is willing to discount for our clients, we will help you negotiate that to the extent that it’s part of your engagement with us. That savings is exclusively yours. Again, no commissions or referral fees.
It’s free. Seriously. If there is a fit, we can set up a more expansive discovery meeting from there. That takes one to two hours, is also free, and you will come away with our read on where your technology stands - along with pricing for our services if appropriate.
