Black Girls CODE™ Launches Indiegogo Crowdfunding Campaign to Create Future Tech Leaders

SAN FRANCISCO - July 8, 2013 - PRLog -- Black Girls CODE, a rapidly expanding Bay Area nonprofit, is raising $100,000 dollars through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to educate 2,000 girls of color in computer programming workshops in 10 new cities nationwide this summer. A team of impassioned experts will teach courses in web development, mobile app development and game design, exposing girls of color to the tools and skills necessary to build empowered futures for themselves in the world’s technological economy.

The Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign tagged Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix is a continuation of Black Girls CODE's highly successful 2012 summer program and is a response to requests from parents and students from more than 80 cities around the world to bring the workshops to their towns. This crowdfunding campaign and ongoing fundraising effort  is the first step in responding to this demand and will expand the reach of the organization beyond the Bay Area to an additional 10 cities over the summer from July- September. The funds raised will provide key program resource needs such as laptops for students who need loaners to take programming classes, student scholarships and instructor stipends to support the organization’s rapid growth and expansion. Contributions will also go towards seed funding for the development of 8 Black Girls CODE chapters in current markets which are already serving students throughout the year.

“We are truly excited to launch our second annual Black Girls CODE Summer of Code. Our inaugural program in 2012 had an ambitious goal of reaching 200 students with low cost and affordable technology classes, in 7 cities, over the course of 90 days.  We exceeded that goal handily reaching almost 1,000 students in summer 2012, in over 7 cities plus in our first international program in Johannesburg, South Africa!  This year we set the bar higher with the audacious goal of reaching 2,000 girls, in 10 cities, over the course of this summer. We feel our work with educating the next generation of technologists is vitally important and we are confident we can meet and exceed this goal with the support of our generous community and corporate partners.  We are definitely up for the challenge!” said Kimberly Bryant, Founder and Executive Director of Black Girls CODE.  

The San Francisco-based nonprofit, Black Girls CODE, provides workshops and classes which introduce girls to computer programming, robotics, mobile app development, game design, and other technology topics in communities across the nation. The organization’s mission is to introduce girls of color (African-American, Latina and Native American) ages 7-17 to computer programming and digital technology to enable them to become the technology creators and leaders of tomorrow. Women currently make up half the college-educated workforce in the United States, but hold less than a quarter of professional or managerial roles in computer science, mathematics, engineering, and the life and physical sciences. In fact women's attainment of bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science has steadily decreased from a high of 27% of degrees awarded in 1984 to less than 18% of degree holders today. Black Girls Code is determined to “change the equation” by introducing girls from underrepresented communities to technology at a young age and to feed the STEM pipeline.

The Black Girls CODE “Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix” campaign has gotten off to a great start with the organization raising over 20 percent of its goal of $100,000 in a little over two weeks. With generous donations from philanthropist Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist, and organizations such as the Kapor Center for Social Impact, Lokion Interactive, and The Reginald Lewis Foundation, Black Girls CODE is poised to meet and exceed its goal over the remaining 30 days left in the campaign.  The organization plans to continue to solicit additional corporate and individual donors who are aligned with its mission to train girls in computer programming and technology.  

For full details, including video and pictures, visit the campaign at:http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/382858/

About Black Girls CODE

Black Girls CODE is a global movement. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco based nonprofit introduces young girls of color, ages 7-17, to computer programming, mobile app development, robotics and other STEM fields. In 2012 the nonprofit launched in 10 cities nationwide and expanded to South Africa. Voted as "2012 Most Innovative Nonprofit" by Bank of the West and “Top Social Enterprise Improving the Lives of Women and Girls” by Women Deliver in 2013, the nonprofit continues to expand and empower hundreds of girls worldwide.