2023 Annual Report

For over two decades, KORI Youth Charity (KORI) has empowered underrepresented young people in the U.K. and beyond. By creating and nurturing social networks for students in urban areas, this group inspires youth and illuminates new possibilities. KORI programs provide youth work interventions and opportunities so students can make strong steps forward. 

Partnering with the Akamai Foundation in 2023, KORI Youth Charity students visited offices around London for KORI Career Lab days. Through these Career Labs, students found inspiration to pursue passions they never imagined possible. One student, previously isolated at home, shared his newfound excitement that his passion for video games could lead to a career in software and gaming. 

Additionally, KORI works with refugees in and around London. Due to experiences with organizations like Akamai, refugee students have access to education outside of conventional schooling via apprenticeships and real life work experiences.

Tech Kids Unlimited (TKU) works specifically with neurodiverse (autism, ADHD, language-based learning disabilities, and auditory, sensory, and learning challenges) students ages 10 to 24. TKU improves digital equity by teaching disenfranchised students computational literacy, technology, and social emotional skills. 

The Akamai Foundation’s grant helped to fund the TKU Career Ladder program, a 12-week online program which mimics a workplace, but is intentionally designed for young people with advanced tech skills who learn differently. Participants are paid a stipend for their contributions and work together to complete projects for real clients.

This program helps neurodiverse students gain knowledge, acquire technical skills, and build work-based experience. Participant involvement creates valuable career opportunities for social networking in a safe and inclusive environment. For example, one student has been involved with TKU for more than three years, participating in many programs, such as the Digital Agency. After expressing a desire to share his knowledge and love of technology, he joined the staff of TKU in 2023 as a classroom counselor.

In 2022, TKU provided educational opportunities to 500+ students in the Greater New York City area, with 75% of TKU students able to receive financial aid. With the introduction of new in-person and virtual events and programs in 2024, TKU hopes to reach even more students in the coming year.

ChickTech is an empowering organization that works to diversify the technology industry by expanding the pipeline and increasing the retention of underrepresented technologists, with a focus on women, girls, and nonbinary people of all ages. Founded in Oregon, this nationwide organization strives to provide STEM education to both K–12 students and adults.

With the support of the Akamai Foundation, ChickTech expanded programming to include new, impactful 2023 events. A shining example of this was ChickTech’s first in-person hackathon, organized and co-led by members of the student leadership committee in Portland, Oregon. The event was a success, even inspiring one attendee to start a student tech club at her high school. 

After 10+ years, ChickTech grew its offerings to include 1:1 mentorship opportunities, providing a necessary and difficult-to-find resource to more students than ever before. With the launch of this new initiative, 54% of the students registered for the first mentorship cohort of 2024 are first-time participants. This is an exciting indication that contributions from the Akamai Foundation help create the support students need to pursue an education and career in the technology sector.

Reaching an estimated 8 million students, Science Journal for Kids is an online magazine featuring scientific research and concepts targeted to K–12 students and educators. This teacher-founded nonprofit aims to make peer-reviewed papers more accessible for younger students. The Akamai Foundation’s Early Learner STEM grant awarded to Science Journal for Kids funded the production and publication of four scientific articles and one educational video on math, technology, and AI-related topics. With the support of organizations like the Akamai Foundation, content is free for all students, regardless of their school district’s budget.

Women Who Code (WWCode) is a global nonprofit that strives to empower women in technology and bridge the gender gap across the industry.

WWCode works to create programming, networking, and training for women and other underrepresented groups to succeed at every level of the technology sector. This organization provides resources, communities, and support for more than 360,000 diverse technologists globally.

Founded in 2011, WWCode strives to help members advance their careers at every stage. They do this through a community of collaboration and knowledge sharing, with a heavy emphasis on mentorship. Over 17,000 events have been implemented around the world to date. They offer tutorials and articles, information on jobs and leadership opportunities, daily technical and career events, and millions of dollars in funding for members’ scholarships and conference funds. Membership is free, and 97% of members would recommend the organization to others.  

WWCode has recently expanded its offerings to include training in—and communities dedicated to—blockchain, Python, data science, mobile, front end, and cloud. Additionally, their offerings now encompass a focus on the rapidly developing cybersecurity field. They aim to close the gender gap in this field, with the understanding that increasing diversity in the workforce also increases resilience against cybersecurity threats worldwide.

NPower is a U.S.-based nonprofit, operating at the forefront of bridging the digital divide. The organization provides comprehensive technology education and workforce development programs, primarily to young adults and military veterans in underserved communities. 

Representatives of these groups, supported by NPower, typically face many hurdles when entering the technology field, so NPower’s mission is to move people from poverty to middle class, specifically by offering training and tech job placement opportunities. To accomplish that goal, NPower focuses not just on the needed technical skills, but also on the ecosystem around success in the digital space, which includes building community and confidence.

Training programs focus on coding, IT support, and, notably, cybersecurity—a rapidly growing sector that impacts the entire global economy. Eighty-one percent of NPower graduates begin careers in tech or continue their education, and graduates see an average of a 420% increase in salary.

For over a decade, NPower has served more than 2,000 military-connected individuals training for and entering into technology fields across the country.

Founded in 1944, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) provides financial aid, professional development, and internship and career opportunities for students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). 

The Akamai Foundation Empower STEM grant supports UNCF’s ability to serve students through the development and pilot implementation of their Tech Hub platform. The platform will allow UNCF to establish robust networks and affinity groups among students and alumni pursuing careers in the tech industry. In addition, the platform provides a unique space in which tech companies can establish an ongoing presence and connect with both students and alumni interested in internships, jobs, and careers.