Executive Summary

Hack the Hood is an Oakland-based, Black-led organization that is preparing low-income youth of color for career opportunities in technology. Our mission is to provide Black, Latinx, Indigenous and AAPI youth with tech skill-building and career pathway programs that are grounded in justice and support economic mobility. Since 2013, we have delivered programs to more than 1,500 learners in Oakland and the greater Bay Area.

Despite close proximity to the global technology hub of Silicon Valley, BIPOC youth in the East Bay have had limited access to high-quality STEM training that adequately prepares them for the family-sustaining jobs that exist in their own backyard. These barriers include enrollment in under-resourced schools, gender and racial stereotypes about their STEM abilities, lack of access to internet and digital devices, and lack of role models and mentors. This disparity in access is a racial and economic justice issue that prohibits BIPOC youth from unleashing their talents, accessing wealth-building opportunities, and contributing their unique perspectives to the creation of more inclusive technologies.

Hack the Hood is solving the tech equity challenge by delivering rigorous technical curriculum designed and delivered by Black and Brown educators through a racial justice lens, building learners' social capital by introducing them to a network of tech leaders and mentors, and providing access to career pathways into the field. One hundred percent (100%) of staff, 75% of our Board of Directors, and 100% of the youth we serve identify as people of color.

Organizations may provide budget and employee data based on this proposal or the organization as a whole. For more information on this proposal or organization, please email us.