The Knowledge House (TKH)

The Elevate Prize would advance The Knowledge House’s work, by expanding postsecondary and career opportunities for emerging technologists in underserved communities. Funding will support TKH’s two innovative programs: 1) The Karim Kharbouch Coding Fellowship (KKCF) for high school students, with a preference for immigrants and 2) The Innovation Fellowship for adult jobseekers. The Elevate Prize will also support an innovative technology platform that supports a strategic partnership, The Bronx Digital Pipeline (BxDP), among workforce development nonprofits and higher education institutions offering tech skills training to Bronx-based students and jobseekers to build a diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem for the borough. As a result of our programs, we have trained more than 1,800 young adults, with over 75% successfully securing meaningful employment with salaries of more than $50,000.

There are a number of things that have brought me to this work. As a Bronx-native and daughter of Dominican immigrants, my mother is my biggest influence. After launching a teaching career in the Dominican Republic, she started over when she arrived in New York, earning her Bachelor’s and working in the public school system. She taught me the important role education has in preparing underserved people for employment. I myself worked in education after college. I coordinated STEM after-school programming, joined Students for Education Reform, and worked in the public school system leading family engagement. After working a few years in education, I grew frustrated with the focus stakeholders had on college pathways for poor kids. Although college worked for me, it didn’t work for many of my peers and I wanted to expose low-income young people to alternative pathways to sustainable careers. The tech sector presented many economic opportunities to folks without college degrees, so I began exposing my community members to pathways into tech through The Knowledge House, which I co-founded in 2014. Looking forward, my goals are to sustain and grow the organization; doubling our geographic footprint and our enrollment in the next 12-18 months.

There is a critical need for job training and workforce development programming to ensure low-income young people are not left behind in the growing tech economy. The unemployment rates and impact of COVID-19 have disproportionately affected the employment outcomes of low-income people, people of color, and young adults. Due to Covid, in June 2020 the unemployment rate hit 25% in the Bronx, and 11% nationally. Nationwide, there are 531,200 new technology jobs, with a projected growth of 11% over the next decade, and college degrees are not required for nearly half of these positions. Unfortunately, this growth has not benefited Black and Brown young people from low-income communities. This population faces barriers to employment, including the inability to access high-cost coding boot camps, financial illiteracy, a lack of at-home technology, and lack of transportation. The impact of the pandemic exacerbated the need for training as unemployment rates skyrocketed and more companies transitioned to remote work.  

TKH addresses the problem by helping young people, ages 14 -35, access digital skills training, postsecondary education, and career opportunities by combining career training and support, and a comprehensive network of partners to help job seekers secure rewarding tech careers and become financially independent.

TKH’s work is innovative because we develop tech curriculum that aligns with industry standards. This ensures our students learn the latest trends in the tech workforce. This year, TKH has taken three new approaches to its work: 1) Expanding the KKCF program from six weeks to 12 months allowing students more time for deeper learning and engagement; 2) Adding cybersecurity and UX/UI tracks to the Innovation Fellowship; and 3) Launching the Bronx Digital Pipeline tech platform to build a diverse, inclusive, and thriving local tech ecosystem that provides students and job seekers easier navigation of the school to work pipeline. 

In addition, our work is unique because of our partnerships with the City University of New York college network, including Hostos Community College, Bronx Community College, Lehman College. TKH programs align with Hostos Community College credit-bearing courses, and students receive college credit and certifications. 

Finally, TKH has been recognized for innovation. In 2019, TKH was a winner of Kapor Center’s national Tech Done Right Challenge and last year won an inaugural NBA Foundation grant to support expansion. In 2020, TKH became a Power Fund leader which came with another inaugural grant from the Robin Hood Foundation.

TKH impacts humanity by closing the gaps in the education–to–employment pipeline and creating job opportunities for low-income young people. TKH is building the foundation for a 21st-century economy and strives to make the technology industry more equitable and inclusive. This industry has a history of being dominated by white males, and the high costs of tech programs are inaccessible to those who are low-income. Through our innovative programming, TKH is creating a pipeline of talented workers equipped with the technology and skills that provide economic opportunity, living wages, career mobility and lift entire communities out of poverty. 

To achieve our planned impact, TKH is:  

• Expanding nationally to serve young people in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Newark. This will provide more young people in high-need areas the opportunity to secure tech careers. 

• Launching our Bronx Digital Pipeline tech platform to serve more job seekers locally and successfully match them to employers interested in nontraditional talent.

• Providing mental health services to students in partnership with health care providers, including counseling and wellness workshops to overcome the effects of the pandemic and systemic racism.

TKH currently serves 230 young people virtually through the Karim Kharbouch Coding Fellowship and the Innovation Fellowship. In one year, TKH anticipates serving 350 young people. Additionally, TKH will serve 400 Bronx youth and jobseekers through the Bronx Digital pipeline platform described in the proposal. The number served this year will build on TKH’s success in training more than 1,850 young adults since 2014, with over 75% successfully securing meaningful employment with salaries of more than $50,000.

TKH equips underserved young people with digital skills to secure careers in the tech industry and provide economic opportunity. Our impact goals are to train 100 high school students through the Karim Kharbouch Coding Fellowship, with 75% of fellows completing the program and eligible for 6 college credits, and 75% obtaining an internship or enrolling in a degree- or certificate-granting college program. We also aim to train 130 adults through the Innovation Fellowship, with 75% of Fellows graduating from the program, 80% of graduates securing full-time employment.

This work aligns with UN Sustainable Goal 8, target 8.6, and indicator 8.6.1. TKH is creating an inclusive 21st-century economy that provides opportunity and equity in the tech industry for underserved young people while reducing the number of young people ages 18-35 not in employment, education, or training. 

The work also aligns with Goal 10, target 10.2. The impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated the unemployment rates in underserved communities and communities of color, like the Bronx where TKH is headquartered, drastically increasing the need for TKH’s tech training in those communities.

Three barriers impact our goals over the next year:

1. Impact of COVID-19 on funding and programming. 

2. Expanding to new markets without a physical presence in the region. 

3. Market saturation of online learning platforms, such as Blackboard and Coursera, and TKH competitors are utilizing online learning platforms. 

 TKH has developed plans to overcome these barriers. Winning the Elevate Prize would allow TKH to leverage the larger platform to build new strategic partnerships in our expansion cities and increase funding opportunities from national partners. 

1. TKH received a $250k PPP loan in 2020, which allowed TKH to secure new funding and end the year with $1.8M. In 2021, TKH aims to operate at approximately $2.5M. The transition to virtual programming in 2020 – 2021 has provided the opportunity to train more young people virtually in Atlanta, Newark, and Los Angeles. 

2. TKH is establishing strong community partnerships in each city and meeting with prospective funders to increase our presence.

3. Although the BxDP platform may not be profitable in the short term due to market saturation, TKH is building the platform for community-based organizations. The need for virtual local community programs could lead to profitability in the long term.

TKH will leverage the platform as an Elevate Prize winner to grow its programming, partnerships, and organizational capacity. The media campaign to amplify our work and build brand recognition will position TKH as a thought leader on a national scale and help create systems change within the tech workforce. For example, TKH will use this platform to educate employers on thinking differently about their hiring practices, degree requirements, and the barriers they create for young people to access tech positions, especially those from nontraditional backgrounds. The amplified platform will also create opportunities to build strategic corporate partnerships with more tech companies across the country. This can lead to increased job placement opportunities for students, increase in the number of young people served, and corporate volunteers to join our robust volunteer program to serve as mentors for our 1:1 mentorship matching. 

Furthermore, TKH would leverage the platform and funding to secure additional grant funding from other philanthropic partners. This will help TKH grow its capacity and infrastructure. The brand recognition will support TKH in its expansion to Atlanta, Newark, and Los Angeles by opening the door to more funding opportunities and community partners in each city.

TKH is the only tech-training organization in New York City, founded and led by a Black woman. As the leader and co-founder, I take pride in building an organization that is anti-racist, anti-poverty, diverse, equitable, and inclusive for our staff and participants. TKH has a staff of 18 of whom 90% identify as Black, Latino or Asian and are from or currently reside in the Bronx and share participants' lived experiences. Most of our staff are women. TKH staff are led by the Senior Leadership team, which includes the co-founders, the Director of Programs and Partnerships, and the Director of Operations. The Senior Leadership team convenes weekly to track the program outcomes, organizational health and discusses key decisions that must be made. They assess policies to ensure that they remain equitable and inclusive. TKH staff is also empowered to help eliminate hiring bias in our employer partners, by sharing processes and tools  to help them demonstrate DEI. Additionally, TKH is governed by nine Board of Directors, led by our Board Chair, a Black woman, and our Board Vice-Chair, a Black man. More than half of board members identify as people of color.

My experience as a Black woman and working in education prepared me to lead this work for TKH. After working a few years in education, I grew frustrated with the focus stakeholders had on college pathways for poor kids. Although college worked for me, it did not work for many of my peers, and I wanted to expose low-income young people to alternative pathways to sustainable careers. The tech sector presented many economic opportunities without college degrees, so I began exposing my community members to pathways into tech. Since co-founding TKH, we have already made a positive impact in the Bronx as a nonprofit led by people of color that has created jobs locally and provided digital skills to at least 1,850 underserved young people in NYC. TKH also hires our alumni to teach their younger peers. For example, our Senior Manager of Programs and Operations is an alumnus of TKH. She uses her experience to inform TKH’s promising practices and areas for improvement. Our Head of Career Success is a career development & college access subject matter expert who has directly trained over 630 participants and has helped 75% of them secure tech careers.

Operating during a pandemic presented a new challenge as a leader. TKH had a hiring freeze and let go of many consultants, which affected our capacity and program operations. This was overwhelming, especially by the end of 2020, as we prepared for a year of growth. I quickly pivoted the organization from operating in-person to 100% remote and without a Director of Programs. We recruited students virtually, held pre-recorded info sessions, and promoted via social media. Applications for our programs doubled. The transition to virtual created a unique opportunity to expand our proven education and job placement to new students and partners in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Newark in 2021.

To sustain operations after the pandemic reduced the organizational budget, I led an annual campaign without the support of a Development Director. While Black female founders typically receive the least philanthropy, 2020 was a banner year for TKH. We secured $1M in new funding, the most in our history. We received a $450,000 grant from the Robin Hood Power Fund and a grant from the NBA Foundation. There was also an increase in online giving, and we secured over ten corporate sponsorships. Our organizational budget doubled to $2.9M for 2021.

TKH has been publicly recognized for its innovative work. CEO Jerelyn Rodriguez, was recognized as a Trailblazer by the Community Resource Exchange, as a TED2020 Emerging Innovator, and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016. In 2018, TKH won an Innovation Challenge Award from the Lumina Foundation. In 2019, TKH was a winner of Kapor Center’s national Tech Done Right Challenge and last year won an inaugural Microsoft grant to Support expansion. In 2020, TKH also became a Power Fund leader which came with another inaugural grant from the Robin Hood Foundation. TKH programs have also been profiled in publications by NYU, the Susan Crown Exchange, Research Alliance for NYC Schools, and in Center for an Urban Future's report Plugging In: Building NYC's Tech Education & Training Ecosystem.

Blavity Op-Ed

BronxNet interview on TKH Expansion

Common Impact, Black Leadership Spotlight

Pix11 spotlight

As an Elevate Prize winner, funding will help TKH lead its two innovative 12-month technology training programs for 260 young people to access digital skills training, postsecondary education, and career opportunities: 1) Karim Kharbouch Coding Fellowship for high school students, and 2) Innovation Fellowship for adult job seekers. Our unique combination of technology training, career support, and a comprehensive network of partners for student internships and job placement will help young people secure rewarding careers in tech and become financially independent. Funding will also support our innovative technology platform, the Bronx Digital Pipeline, a strategic partnership among workforce development nonprofits and higher education institutions offering tech skills training to Bronx-based students and jobseekers. 

This funding will support TKH in advancing its mission to empower and sustain a talent pipeline of technologists, entrepreneurs, and digital leaders who will uplift their communities out of poverty. By leading digital skills training and equipping underserved young people, ages 14-35, with technology skills, TKH is closing the gaps in the education-to-employment pipeline. Ultimately, through our programming TKH is providing economic opportunity, career mobility, and an inclusive and equitable tech economy for a population often left behind.

TKH forms strategic partnerships with community agencies, government agencies like the Department of Education and Small Business Service’s Tech Talent Pipeline and university systems like CUNY.

• Corporations such as Verizon and Citibank, for the placement of program Fellows and creating a formal pathway into the tech workforce. Program graduates with the essential technical skills in Data Science, Web Development, Cybersecurity, and Usability Testing Design are hired by corporations for entry-level jobs.

• Government agencies such as the NYC Department of Education, Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, and Small Business Services. TKH Fellows provide technical instruction and hands-on tutoring for employee professional development.

• Nonprofits and startup clients based in the Bronx and Harlem in need of tech solutions. TKH Fellows help build websites and applications for startup businesses and entrepreneurs. 

TKH also supports links between local students, educators, tech innovation, and business development that bring positive community impact through the Bronx Digital Pipeline initiative. Partners include Hostos Community College, Bronx Community College, Lehman College, The Thinkubator, and DreamYard. Each partner contributes to the Bronx tech ecosystem by offering academic and non-degree technology courses and granting community college credits or stackable credentials as a gateway to postsecondary education and career success.