Blackboard Launches Charitable Giving Program

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. has launched its Charitable Giving Program, the company announced today. This year, over $200,000 will be provided to multiple organizations to help foster education technology programs all over the world.  

This inaugural program represents the first time Blackboard has formally rolled out a corporate charitable giving process and marks the latest step in the company's efforts to support its renewed mission of "reimagining education."

"As part of the global community, it is important for us to look beyond our four walls and day-to-day activities and find ways we can give back," said Jay Bhatt, CEO of Blackboard. "I couldn't be more thrilled about the launch of this program and am excited to work with the organizations selected this year. While each is unique, all are focused on enhancing life outcomes through improved access to both education and technology. This is directly aligned with what Blackboard strives to do every day."

The five organizations receiving donations are:

• Circle of Women implements innovative and sustainable solutions to increase girls' access to secondary education. In partnership with the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in Indore, India, the organization is building and furnishing a computer room, a classroom and a dormitory for rural and tribal women in India. This project will enlarge BDIRW, allowing them to grow the number of women they serve by 60 percent per year.
• First Book provides new books and educational resources for free or at a low cost to schools and programs serving children in need. First Book is using the funds to support a tablet pilot program.
• inABLE provides nearly 1,200 blind and visually impaired children in rural Africa with computer assistive technology and library services. With the donation from Blackboard, inABLE plans to make software and hardware upgrades to the Thika High School for the Blind in Kenya.
• Library for All has created a digital library that allows access to culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate content sourced from international and local publishers. The organization plans to use the donations to develop a monitoring and evaluation program of the digital library at 10 sites in Haiti.
• Literacy Council of Northern Virginia teaches adults the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and understanding English to help them participate more fully and confidently in their communities. LCNV plans to use the funds to modernize their volunteer training systems, incorporating e-learning and interactive online volunteer management tools.

To learn more about Blackboard's Charitable Giving Program and when applications to be a part of the 2015 program will open, please visit here.

For more information about Blackboard, please visit www.blackboard.com or follow @Blackboard on Twitter.

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard is the world's leading education technology company. We challenge conventional thinking and advance new models of learning in order to reimagine education and make it more accessible, engaging and relevant to the modern day learner and the institutions that serve them. In partnership with our customers and partners in higher education and K-12 as well as corporations and government agencies around the world, our mission is to help every learner achieve their full potential by inspiring a passion for lifelong learning. For more information about Blackboard, follow us on Twitter @Blackboard.

CONTACT
Lauren Dyke, Blackboard Inc.
(202) 463-4860 ext. 2860 or [email protected]

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SOURCE Blackboard Inc.

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