NewBoCo seeks public support to bring coding classes to recently incarcerated individuals
Google.org Impact Challenge Iowa awards NewBoCo funding to bring DeltaV courses into Iowa Correctional Institute for Women
Cedar Rapids, IA, August 23, 2019 – The Google.org Impact Challenge Iowa has chosen NewBoCo to be one of its recipients of $175,000. This grant funding will enable NewBoCo to bring DeltaV Code School classes into the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women in Mitchellville, Iowa.
While partnering with the Iowa Department of Corrections, and using curriculum provided by Seattle-based Code Fellows, NewBoCo aims to help lower recidivism rates with this vocational training program while also helping address Iowa’s technical workforce shortage.
Now, the public has a chance to select their own Google.org Impact Challenge winner by voting for the People’s Choice Award. The nonprofit with the most public votes will receive an additional $125,000 to implement their project.
If NewBoCo wins the People’s Choice Award, that $125,000 will help even more recently-incarcerated individuals throughout the state have a new chance at life by becoming software developers through DeltaV. Voters can support NewBoCo here: http://www.newbo.co/vote
There are approximately 8,500 incarcerated individuals in Iowa’s nine prisons and an additional 40,000 individuals in community-based corrections, such as probation and parole programs. Research consistently shows that individuals who receive vocational and educational training while incarcerated are far less likely to return to prison because they are able to find meaningful employment upon their release.
“I am always looking for new opportunities across the state that not only help individuals find employment upon release, but also introduce employers to skilled, trained workers that can fill open positions,” Statewide Apprenticeship Coordinator for the Iowa Department of Corrections Dane Sulentic said. “NewBoCo will provide an opportunity for incarcerated individuals to learn the necessary skills and be trained in one of the fastest-growing industries in the state.”
NewBoCo launched DeltaV Code School in 2016 to help solve Iowa’s severe technical workforce crisis. On average, there are 4,000 open programming jobs a month in Iowa, but our universities only graduate approximately 450 computer science majors a year.
In DeltaV, adults with little-to-no technical experience become Full Stack JavaScript Developers in 20 weeks. Since DeltaV began, 100 percent of reporting graduates were employed within four months as software developers with an average starting salary of $58,400.
“We’ve proven that going through DeltaV gives people the skills to enter highly in-demand careers in Iowa,” NewBoCo Chief Operating Officer Aaron Horn said. “But with such a low unemployment rate in Iowa, we need to think outside of the box and train people with backgrounds not traditionally represented in technology to help solve Iowa’s technical workforce shortage.”
The Google.org Impact Challenge Iowa offered $1,000,000 to nonprofits to support innovative proposals to create economic opportunity in Iowa. Five nonprofits, including NewBoCo, were selected as winners.
About DeltaV Code School
DeltaV, Iowa’s premier adult code school, believes in life improvement through technical education and is addressing the lack of software developers in Iowa. At DeltaV Code School, adults take classes to become Full Stack JavaScript Developers in 20 weeks. DeltaV Code School is powered by NewBoCo and Code Fellows.
About NewBoCo
The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, Inc. (NewBoCo) is a 501(c)(3) organization located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. NewBoCo’s programming supports entrepreneurship, innovation, and tech education to help Iowans become more resilient and thrive in a changing economy.
Media Contact: Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing
jessalyn@newbo.co