NPower Awarded $2.3 Million Grant from Ascendium Education Group to Bridge the Tech Opportunity Gap for Women

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Sep 17, 2024, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NPower, a leading national tech training nonprofit focused on increasing economic mobility for young people and military-connected individuals through tech jobs, received a $2.3 million grant from Ascendium Education Group. The new funding will help support NPower's work in expanding pathways to economic mobility for women, especially women of color (WOC), through IT careers.

"One of the pillars of NPower's work is creating "expanded learning pathways" to well-compensated IT roles for our students. What excites me most about Ascendium's generous grant is their support for innovating and piloting new pathways specifically designed to dramatically increase the number of women of color who enter, persist, and thrive in tech careers," said Bertina Ceccarelli, NPower CEO. "This investment not only elevates the earning power of the women we will serve, it is also an investment in their families and communities."

The grant will fuel the following initiatives:

Pathways to Application Development careers for WOC: Path2TECH, NPower's latest training initiative tailored for women, including WOC, to enter software development careers, will enroll 300 participants over two years across three annual cohorts. The program will include 400-500 hours of instruction in Full Stack Development and Web Application Design, integrating both instructor-led and asynchronous learning.
Support for HBCU/MSI Students: NPower will collaborate with local Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to identify WOC students who have dropped out or are at risk of doing so, offering them an alternative pathway to tech careers through NPower's holistic training programs. NPower will work with HBCU and MSI partner institutions to support women served through the program to re-enroll in college when the time is best for them.
Bolster Alumni Networking Initiatives: The program will provide ongoing professional development, mentorship, and upskilling opportunities to ensure long-term career success for graduates.

"NPower's mission aligns with our goal of creating pathways to quality jobs and upward mobility for diverse learners from low-income backgrounds," said Keith Witham, Ascendium's Vice President of Education Philanthropy. "We're excited by the promise of NPower's work to shape a future where learners, regardless of background, can enter and thrive in the tech workforce."

Ascendium's latest commitment builds on recent key investments to NPower's growth. Recently, NPower received a $4 million grant from the Department of Labor to expand its Tech Fundamentals program, which will train an additional 8,656 low-income and unemployed young adults (ages 18-26), veterans and other military-connected individuals. To date, NPower has supported over 12,000 students in 13 cities in receiving tech training in IT, cyber, software engineering, AI fundamentals and other vital tech skills.

About NPower
NPower is a national nonprofit that provides free tech training, support services, and job placement assistance to young adults, military-connected individuals, and women from under-resourced communities. Since their founding in 2000, they've offered tech fundamentals and advanced career training opportunities to over 12,000 students in 13 cities. NPower's unique approach combines rigorous training, and trauma-informed support services, addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students. Their strength is seeing students of non-traditional backgrounds through pivotal life transitions. Led by a team that reflects the diversity of their students, the organization empowers students to drive change in their own lives and communities. As NPower expands into 12 new markets by 2030, they're ensuring they create a tech workforce that mirrors the world around us. To learn more about NPower, visit http://www.npower.org.

About Ascendium Education Group
Ascendium Education Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping people reach the education and career goals that matter to them. Ascendium invests in initiatives designed to increase the number of learners from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates, and workforce training programs, with an emphasis on first-generation learners, incarcerated adults, rural community members, learners of color, and veterans. Ascendium's work identifies, validates, and expands best practices to promote large-scale change at the institutional, system, and state levels, with the intention of elevating opportunity for learners from low-income backgrounds. For more information, visit https://www.ascendiumphilanthropy.org.

Contact:
Hillary Ovalle
[email protected]

SOURCE NPower