San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 27, 2015
Today Galvanize announced the launch of the Galvanize Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) public charitable organization. The mission of the foundation is two-fold – to provide tech education opportunities to historically underrepresented segments of the population, and to provide a direct conduit for founders, companies, and investors to make a direct impact on the diversity imbalance in tech. 100% of funds donated are dedicated to scholarship opportunities and program support.
“The Galvanize Foundation will allow us to work with members of the tech community to ensure that the opportunity to learn in-demand industry skills is affordable and available to all,” said Lawrence Mandes, co-founder of Galvanize. “We are focused on impactful outcomes that are measurable in an accelerated learning environment.”
gSchool’s full-stack development program has seen graduate placement rates of 98%, while the the data science immersive program has seen placement rates of 93%. Overall student diversity has been well above the industry average, with up to 27% women and 60% identifying as a minority in data science cohorts, and up to 46% women and 32% identifying as a minority in full-stack development cohorts. The Galvanize Foundation aims to increase these numbers by providing scholarships to students who want to attend Galvanize’s educational programs through gSchool and GalvanizeU.
“With over 1 million technical jobs opening up by 2020, we have an obligation to create pathways for underrepresented groups to enter this burgeoning industry,” said Ryan Orban, head of Galvanize’s gSchool programs. “We’re excited to work toward fixing tech’s diversity problem while simultaneously meeting the massive industry demand for talent.”
As the topic of diversity in tech receives a growing amount of attention, the Galvanize Foundation makes it possible for founders, investors, and companies to provide life-changing educational opportunities to students. Individuals interested in donating to this initiative should go to: http://galvanize.it/foundation
The Galvanize Foundation is already offering scholarships of up to $5,000 for gSchool at Galvanize. No prior technical experience or formal education is required for the program. Interested applicants can apply at http://galvanize.it/school.
About Galvanize: Galvanize is a community of urban campuses for digital innovators and entrepreneurs that aligns work and learning by combining education, experience, and industry under one roof. Since launching its first campus in Denver in October 2012, Galvanize has expanded to San Francisco, California, and Boulder, Colorado, with more campuses scheduled to open throughout the U.S. in 2015 and 2016. Each campus offers training and education opportunities, tech-focused events and a variety of workspace options. To learn more about Galvanize and membership, visit http://www.galvanize.com.
