It's been a wild few months for Washington, D.C.-based digital literacy nonprofit Byte Back.
Headed up by Elizabeth Lindsey, the nonprofit has been setting the course of its soon-to-come expansion into Maryland. This week, the group announced a new partnership that solidifies those long awaited plans.
In October, Byte Back will start teaching students in Prince George's County through a partnership called EPIC, or Education Partnership for IT Careers, with the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation-Workforce Services Division. A $200,000 grant from the Greater Washington Works Initiative, from JP Morgan Chase and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, is powering the partnership for the next two years to bring free IT career training to both D.C. and Maryland.
Byte Back's expansion plans aren't new. In March, Lindsey pitched the expansion at the first WeWork Creator Awards in D.C., and she took home a $360,000 award that night.
But having a new partner to help advertise and market the expansion in the Maryland county helps Byte Back bring their move to the next level.
"As you know, we won that award, and that award really helped us getting more name recognition, and we are really going to do this to think more strategically in how we’re going to expand," Lindsey said in an interview.
Through the new partnership, 60 people will receive free IT career training in the D.C. metro area, with funding for 36 students in D.C. and 24 in Prince George's County, according to Byte Back. This is the first time in 20 years that Byte Back will be teaching students outside of D.C., Lindsey said.
"We get calls and walk-ins who live in Prince George’s County," she said. "There are people who need our training who don’t live in D.C."
This demand just made it easier for Byte Back to look to Maryland for its first expansion spot. As Lindsey says, it's easy for her D.C. team to drive to Prince George's County for meetings or for the classes. This way, they can easily test out an expansion without investing too many extra resources.
"I think all expansion plans are a combination of art and science," Lindsey said. "Yes, we know that there’s a need for our training in Prince George’s County, and there’s no organization that’s exactly like that there. And a part of it is just that we have amazing partnerships there."
With a quickly approaching first day of class, the Byte Back team is already meeting with community members in Prince George's County to get everything up and running.
"This is a first step in a longer, more robust partnership," Lindsey said.
Image courtesy of Byte Back
