NPower Inc.

A nonprofit organization

$14,275 raised by 18 donors

95% complete

$15,000 Goal

Headshot of NPower Alumni Cassandra WongNPower moves people like Cassandra Wong from poverty to prosperity by launching tech careers for veterans, their spouses, and young adults (aged 18-26) from underserved communities.

Cassandra joined the Army in 2005 as a way to break free from the poverty she’d known her whole life.  After serving her country for more than 11 years, including two deployments to Afghanistan, she found herself struggling to transition back to civilian life.  Despite having picked up tech experience and skills during her military career, she couldn’t seem to secure a job that paid enough to support her family and faced a return to the abject poverty she’d enlisted in military service to escape.

While many veterans, like Cassandra, received extensive tech training in the military and possess the hard-won leadership abilities that are in such high demand by employers, too many fail to secure employment or otherwise fall through the cracks.  NPower helps providing the specialized training, comprehensive wraparound supports, and job placement  that will prepare them for, and make them indispensable to, today’s leading tech employers.  

Cassie learned about NPower through her local Department of Veterans Affairs and couldn’t believe the program was free.  Following her training, she was offered a paid apprenticeship at one of NPower's employment partners, and, later, a full-time permanent job.  With the training and certifications from NPower, her salary has more than doubled, laying the foundation for financial independence and mobility, and an end to her family’s generational cycle of poverty.

Through intensive skills training in IT, real-world experience in paid technology internships, social support, technical certification, professional development, and access to network building and mentorship, NPower graduates are prepared to launch tech careers and pave their own way to financial freedom.

North Texas is a Tech Hub 

Tech jobs are in high demand in North Texas and their salaries provide a thrivable wage.  100% of NPower trainees are unemployed or underemployed at time of enrollment.  In 2022, trainees started our program earning an average wage of $19,020.  Graduates secured permanent IT roles at a range of corporate employers in North Texas, achieving an average salary of $66,659 at their first job post-program, a 351% increase. 

North Texas is one of the fastest growing economies in the United States. DFW ranks 5th among metros for its IT jobs concentration, at 274,000, and 2nd for growth in IT jobs since 2016.  In the August 2023 CompTIA Tech Jobs Report, Dallas was the #3 Metro area in the country for tech job postings

While tech jobs are in high demand, many workers without post-secondary credentials face diminished job prospects.

Veterans, Their Spouses, and Young Adults Need Our Support

Unfortunately, Cassandra's story is an all too familiar one.  Eight of ten veterans leave military service without a job.   Mental illness (14-16% struggle with PTSD or depression), housing insecurity (veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than the rest of the population), and an overall sense of disconnection and loneliness only serve to compound these challenges. Moreover, 24% of military spouses are unemployed, sacrificing their career for their spouse’s military service. 

North Texas is home to 1.3 million veterans -- a full 8% of the state’s population.  More soldiers transition from active duty to the civilian workforce here than any other state in the U.S..  At the same time, Dallas-Ft. Worth boasts one of the top tech ecosystems (the area ranks fifth nationally for tech-sector employment) with one of the highest job growth rates (3.8% annual job growth vs. 2.6% nationally) of anywhere in the country. All too often, veterans’ expectations that they will quickly find meaningful post-service employment with family-sustaining wages are unmet by reality.

As for the young adult population, only 4 in 10 in Dallas possess a credential, associates degree or higher. Only a quarter of young adults in Dallas County earn a living wage, but that rate is even lower for Black and Latino residents. Recent research (advancing Workforce Equity in Dallas and Collin Counties: A Blueprint for Action) found that while Dallas and Collin counties have seen strong job growth, people without a bachelor's degree (a group that includes about three-quarters of Black and Latinx adults), there are still too few good jobs to go around. Among white workers, 86% are paid at least $15/hour, compared to just 61% for people of color.

With your support, NPower will provide tech training and job placement for low-income veterans, their spouses, and young adults (ages 18-26) from underserved communities. You help provide instructor-led technical training, social support, industry certifications, job placement, and ongoing career support to launch a career to improve life outcomes for themselves and their families.

Mission

NPower creates pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. We envision a future where our domestic technology workforce is diverse, and clear pathways exist for all people regardless of ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic background to succeed in our digital economy.

Our vision can only be realized in partnership with aligned and committed individuals, funders, companies, academic institutions, volunteers and nonprofit and government allies. We actively seek collaborators who share a common goal of a diverse, technology workforce and clear pathways toward economic mobility and greater social equity.

NPower’s commitment does not begin or end with the individual; we are dedicated to advancing true systems change by advocating for credential and skills-based hiring, influencing federal workforce policy, and informing the sector with novel research findings.

One way we’re working towards this vision is through Command Shift; a national consortium of women and allies that advocate for strategies that invest in and inspire the advancement of young women of color in tech careers—with particular focus on women from underrepresented communities and non-traditional backgrounds. The coalition is comprised of business leaders, corporations, nonprofits, and community organizations, who will address the glaring inequities of women of color in tech.

Since launching in Texas in 2013, NPower has provided tuition-free technology training and certification to more than 1,700 low-income and unemployed individuals. In late 2022, we expanded our Texas footprint beyond DFW to serve residents of San Antonio and Houston, as well as our reach to serve underserved young adults (18-26) in addition to our traditional target population of military veterans. Beyond changing individual lives, we work across all of our programs, and in close partnership with local, regional, and community advocates, stakeholders and decision-makers to upskill the local workforce, fill in-demand jobs, and measurably improve diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. The demand for qualified talent in tech consistently outpaces the supply of skilled workers, while people of color, women, and others from marginalized, low-income communities are still at risk of being left behind in a rapidly evolving economy. NPower works thoughtfully and strategically, to move the needle on workforce and social/economic equity, and truly bridge the digital divide.

Needs

Many of us are looking for ways our donation can make a real difference. Supporting NPower means opening doors to career opportunities for so many. We can only do this work with the support of the North Texas community of funders, partners and donors-to keep our program free for veterans who are most in need of our services.

Your investment in our students is one of the most effective and sustainable paths out of poverty. A $7,500 investment in one student through the NPower program can generate $1 million in additional lifetime earned income, changing their life and the lives of their family.

Donate today and make a difference for deserving veterans and young adults today.

Equity Statement

NPower is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion for our employees that extends to our trainees and external stakeholders.

The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company's achievement as well.

We embrace and encourage our employees' differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.

NPower's diversity initiatives are applicable-but not limited-to our practices and policies on recruitment and selection; compensation and benefits; professional development and training; promotions; transfers; social and recreational programs; layoffs; terminations; and the ongoing development of a work environment built on the premise of gender and diversity equity that encourages and enforces:

-Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees.

-Teamwork and employee participation, permitting the representation of all groups and employee perspectives.

-Work/life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate employees' varying needs.

All employees of NPower have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect at all times. All employees are expected to exhibit conduct that reflects inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and at all other company-sponsored and participative events. All employees are also required to attend and complete annual diversity awareness training to enhance their knowledge to fulfill this responsibility.

Any employee found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against others may be subject to disciplinary action.

Employees who believe they have been subjected to any kind of discrimination that conflicts with the company's diversity policy and initiatives should seek assistance from a supervisor or an HR representative.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

NPower Inc.

Tax id (EIN)

13-4145441

Guidestar

Causes

Economic/Financial Security/Poverty, Employment & Workforce Development, Veterans

Operating Budget

$1,000,000 - $2,999,999

Counties Served

Grayson, Wise, Tarrant, Somervell, Rockwall, Parker, Palo Pinto, Navarro, Montague, Kaufman, Johnson, Hunt, Hood, Fannin, Erath, Ellis, Denton, Dallas, Cooke, Collin

BIPOC Serving

Hispanic or Latinx, Black or African American

BIPOC Leadership

Both the Executive Director/CEO and Board Chair

Equity Statement

Equity Statement

Address

1402 Corinth St. Suite 137
Dallas, TX 75215

Phone

214-421-1800

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