NPower (USA)

NPower is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training for careers in Information Technology to military veterans and young adults from under-served communities. They seek to empower members of under-represented groups to pursue technology careers by teaching the technical and professional skills demanded in the workplace and engaging with businesses, volunteers, and other nonprofit organizations. They currently operate in New York City, North Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Toronto, Jersey City, and St. Louis.

NPower is supported by grants from a range of companies and foundations as well as through its own revenue-producing programs.[1] Grant making organizations that support NPower include Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Symantec. NPower has a board composed of members drawn from its largest corporate sponsors.

Programs and Services

The NPower signature training model includes:

Tech Fundamentals – A 22-week program consisting of 15 weeks of in-class instruction and professional skill-building followed by a 7 week paid internship. Coursework focuses on basic Information Technology (IT) competencies needed for entry-level IT employment.

Advanced Certifications– Multiple paths for advanced IT coursework and certification including Cyber Security, Coding, and IT Service Management.

NPower provides a range of social service support (housing referrals, clothing donations, travel assistance, etc.) to students during their tenure in the program.

History

NPower was founded in 1999 as NPowerNY to help nonprofits in New York with their technological needs including training and infrastructure support. NPowerNY set up Technology Service Corps (TSC), a training organization, with its first 4 students completing courses and an internship program in 2002. NPowerNY was one of the NPower affiliates founded by Microsoft. The affiliate network was run by NPower Seattle.

By 2006 NPowerNY had trained 90 students and had developed IT Basic, a managed service offering for nonprofits. NPowerNY had begun to help nonprofits with their customer relationship management (CRM) and case management application development through an earned income consulting and solutions practice. In 2007 NPower Seattle transferred the NPower headquarters to NPowerNY which was the largest of the 12 affiliates in the network.

NPowerNY’s primary funders were a few foundations funding TSC and 3 corporations funding overhead and the losses in the earned revenue businesses. Microsoft was the original founder and largest sponsor giving almost $2M in 2007, but JPMC and Accenture supported NPower as well. All agreed the current business model was not sustainable and Microsoft indicated their intent to significantly reduce their role and funding.

A new CEO, Stephanie Cuskley, was hired in 2009 to develop and launch a new NPower strategy focused on attracting new, sustainable funding to scale NPower’s impact. The remaining NPower network affiliates separated to pursue differing strategies. Of the original 12 affiliates 4 remained - 501cTech in DC, TechImpact in Philadelphia, TechBridge in Atlanta, and Apparo in Charlotte.

FoundationConnect was built and launched as a product in late 2009 to address the needs of foundations to manage their grant-making process. Simultaneously, NPower began reducing its consulting business. FoundationConnect was sold to RoundCorner Inc. in 2014.[2]

IT Basic continued to expand its customer base and focused on reducing costs by outsourcing its help desk in order to achieve a break-even financial position. NPower left the business in late 2012 and early 2013.

TSC relocated to Brooklyn and trained an additional 150 students per year. In 2011 TSC opened a new location in Harlem, and in 2013, they launched the TSC Advisory Council to accelerate program improvement. In 2013 TSC expanded its efforts to Dallas-based veterans and launched plans for expansion to serve San Francisco veterans.

The Community Corps (TCC), a volunteer matching portal, was developed. TCC, launched in 2010, was initially focused on matching nonprofits to skilled volunteers. In 2013 TCC’s focus was expanded to include sourcing volunteers to help with NPO mission delivery. TCC currently focuses on helping nonprofits source volunteers for 3 primary causes: NPO Capacity Building (TCCs initial focus), Women in Technology, and Youth and Education.

In 2014 NPower announced a partnership with Symantec offering the new service Symantec Cyber Career Connection (SC3). SC3 currently operates in New York, and in 2015, it was expanded to North Texas to reach veterans.

In 2015 NPower began a new service called TechCareer Accelerator (TCA)[3] that connects Software as a Service (SaaS) professionals to students who wish to obtain certifications in the field. TCA currently operates in New York, New Jersey, Alameda, and North Texas. NPower also expanded in New Jersey and opened a "Corps class" for under-served young adults and introducing a TechCareer Accelerator class during the summer. It trained its first class in December 2015.

Between 2015 and 2016, NPower opened new locations at Alameda, Baltimore, and San Mateo in the San Francisco Bay Area. Partnerships were set up with colleges and universities in the areas, including the University of Maryland Biopark and the College of San Mateo.

Events and Fundraisers

NPower hosts an annual fundraising gala in Manhattan. Other events include regional graduations each summer and winter.

References
  1. Feder, Barnaby J. (November 17, 2003). "MARKETING; Selling to Nonprofits Proves Not That Easy". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  2. "Foundation Connect". www.npower.org. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  3. "Tech Career Accelerator". www.npower.org. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
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