Tech Impact Celebrates 20 Years of Social Impact
PHILADELPHIA, November 8, 2023 (Newswire.com) – Tech Impact celebrated its 20th anniversary, honoring the groups and programs supporting its mission at its Greater Philadelphia Celebration of Impact Luncheon on Friday, November 3. Guests attended the event, which recognized donors and supporters and featured speeches from Elicia Wilson, Director of Operations at GitLab Foundation, and Tech Impact CEO Patrick Callihan.
At the event, Tech Impact recognized partners and volunteers with several awards. Morgan Stanley received the Community Impact Award for its continued investments in the nonprofit’s technology, helping hundreds of nonprofits improve operations and security. The Distinguished Alumni Award was given to Brian Sarbaugh, a graduate of ITWorks in 2012 who has since gone on to a rewarding career in Cloud Security at Morgan Stanley. Brittany Nisenzon was honored with the Volunteer Impact Award for her support over the last decade, and Craig Chanoff was recognized with the Founders Award, which honors the dedication and commitment of an individual to the mission of advancing social impact.
“Twenty years ago, we set out to be the most impactful nonprofit organization in the technology sector, and I believe we have earned that status with over 1,400 graduates, 2,800 volunteers providing over 25,000 hours of support, over 10,000 educational resources shared, and over 12,000 nonprofit staff supported every day,” said Patrick Callihan, CEO of Tech Impact. “We would not be where we are today without our team, volunteers, and funding partners, who collaborate to make this work possible. Together, we build the capacity of hundreds of nonprofits each year to leverage the power of technology and make a bigger impact on the communities they serve.”
Expanded workforce program
Workforce development programs have become core to Tech Impact’s mission, equipping people to change their lifelong income potential by earning skills in technology support, coding, and customer experience. Tech Impact announced it will now offer three ITWorks cohorts in both Philadelphia and Las Vegas, up from two in previous years, expanding its program by over 30%. “We have seen placement rates this year exceed 85%, which is well above our average. By meeting this demand, we will be changing over 200 lives yearly,” added Callihan.
Tech Impact also added middle-skill programs to help ITWorks graduates build on the careers they started, offering training in Computer Networking and Cyber Security. Recent funding also supported building a “Hy-Flex” classroom in Philadelphia, which has improved program delivery, strengthened student learning and outcomes, and enabled the pilot of new, innovative teaching methods that can reach additional students.
The Evolution of Tech Impact
Originally known as NPower Pennsylvania, Tech Impact launched in 2003 as a service that set up and repaired computers for nonprofits in the Philadelphia area. The organization has evolved and expanded, offering workforce development programs, a Data Innovation Lab, a digital marketing service, and more. Click here for a look at the last 20 years of impact.
“We are sincerely grateful for our program participants, donors, and nonprofit clients for trusting us to deliver a high-quality experience for the last 20 years,” said Callihan. “Looking to our next 20 years, we will continue to focus on learning and evaluation, ongoing improvement, and adapting to the needs of today with virtual programs and low-cost/high-impact tech services.”