It's during hard times that we learn about ourselves. 2020 was one of those times. LaunchCode was able to sustain itself and thrive last year while absorbing new lessons about our work, world, and impact.
One was that the pandemic didn't stall people's desire to change their own lives. Covid-19 accelerated it. While industries like hospitality were decimated, that harsh reality was the impetus for many people to put themselves on a new path as more than 6,600 people applied for and over 1,300 enrolled in a LaunchCode program last year. Another lesson was that true community transcends physical location. Forced to take programming virtual, we worried about maintaining community. But our grads still consistently commented on feeling like a family. We learned that the magical community-building properties of LaunchCode's programs run deeper than simple physical proximity. A third lesson was about LaunchCode's long-term impact on people and employers. Among those who started a career through LaunchCode prior to 2019, we found 95 percent are still working in tech, they stay at their initial placement company for an average of 31 months, nearly half still work at the company at which LaunchCode placed them, more than 70 percent have received a promotion, and 95 percent have received a raise since placement. LaunchCoders earn an average of $78,000 after two to three years, and the earliest LaunchCode placements earn on average $115,000 per year.
There is much of 2020 we would happily give back. But the lessons we walked away with made it a moment that changed LaunchCode for the better. We carry those gifts with us into 2021 and beyond.
Teaching skills that change lives, solve employer problems, and benefit the entire community, one individual at a time.
In March, LaunchCode suddenly faced a new challenge, to find a way to deliver all of the curriculum and community experience of our in-person learning programs virtually for an unknown amount of time. Along with the rest of the world, staff adjusted to our new reality and found ways to make it work. In a matter of weeks, the team had set up new platforms, reconfigured hundreds of hours of classes, began retraining teaching staff, and reassured students that their learning journeys would continue. 1,368 students flocked to our courses as businesses shut down, jobs disappeared, and the need to prepare for the jobs of the future became more urgent. Together, we were able to continue evolving and learning through a year of tough challenges and create new opportunities for people who needed them most.
The economic impact of the pandemic and the restrictions on normal life it required caused employment rates to plummet. Many low-wage jobs disappeared almost overnight, leaving those already struggling with few options. The challenges leading to such losses also led to huge leaps in technology adoption by individuals, families, and employers suddenly clamoring for ways to digitally recreate a sense of normalcy. The very jobs that LaunchCode's programs lead to — software development, app management, systems maintenance, and many others — become some of the most depended-upon jobs in the world. With LaunchCode in their corner finding jobs that matched their skills and needs, 326 people launched new careers in technology. Many LaunchCoders went directly from high-risk yet low-wage work, exposing them to the public, to new tech jobs that allowed them to work remotely from the safety of their own home and the flexibility to care for children schooling remotely.
Perhaps more than ever before, 2020 was the year it became apparent to everyone just how necessary tech jobs are to all the digital services we rely on every day. During this period, many companies froze or significantly slowed hiring while still trying to quickly and securely accommodate all of the new users flooding in as our lives moved mostly online. For those employers who were still able to hire, they came to us with specific and varied talent needs. Our first Azure training program capped off LaunchCoders' education in preparation for a group of placements at Microsoft. Also this year, a record 99 LaunchCoders, 31% of the total careers launched, were educated in employer-sponsored custom training programs bringing whole groups of LaunchCoders on board at one time. These strategic staffing moves help ensure both the LaunchCoder and employer are planning for the long-term.
I'm always recruiting for new talent. Especially in tech it changes a lot and you need to make sure that you're always one step ahead. [...] We have so far hired 100% of the [LaunchCode] apprentices who have started with us. I would 100% recommend LaunchCode.
— Marc Bernstein, Co-Founder and CEO ofDuring the pandemic, the need for broadly available paths into high-paying growth careers became even more urgent as millions in low-wage jobs were suddenly unemployed in an extremely uncertain economic climate. All at once, the need for communities to come together and support one another became clear to the world in a whole new way.
In 2020 we worked with partners in our communities to find ways to make our programming more accessible to a broader range of individuals than before.
We partnered with Paraquad to make our education course more accessible for people with disabilities by providing tools, resources, and aides to overcome particular challenges.
Also newly available to our students, we began working with Washington University's Brown School of Social Work to bring skilled help to finding solutions for the real-world problems that LaunchCoders face every day.
This assistance in removing barriers allows our students to continue their learning and stay on the path to a new career in technology.
Our job-focused courses wouldn't be possible without our amazing teaching staff, many of whom are former LaunchCode graduates themselves. We developed our Tech Leadership Fellowship Program to better train and benefit those facilitating the learning journeys of our students. The program offers paid training in teaching, management, diversity and inclusion, and advanced tech skills. While leading a group of students, Fellows work toward career development goals with the support of mentors in the community.
In addition to teaching, another way Alumni and others give back to the LaunchCode community is through participation in the newly inaugurated Friends Board. This group has become integral to orchestrating events and fundraisers that help support the work we do.
Your contributions help keep our learning and job placement programs free! Support your community in an impactful way by making a gift or signing up for monthly donations today.
DonateRevenue & Contributions | |
---|---|
Earned Program Revenue | $11,390,000 |
Non-Government Grants | $2,060,000 |
Government Grants | $680,000 |
In-Kind Donations | $1,530,000 |
Other Sources and Investments | $245,000 |
Total Revenue    $15,905,000 |
Expenses | |
---|---|
Apprenticeship, Wages, Taxes & Benefits | $6,240,000 |
Programmatic Expenses | $6,000,000 |
Fundraising Expenses | $490,000 |
Management & General | $1,080,000 |
Total Expenses    $13,810,000 | |
Net Profit    $2,095,000 |
Non-Government Philanthropic Support | $3,566,000 |
Government Support | $500,000 |
New Market Tax Credit | $800,000 |
Total Campaign    $4,866,000 |
Operating Cash Reserves Year End | |
---|---|
2017 | 1.5 Months |
2018 | 5 Months |
2019 | 8 Months |
2020 | 11 Months |
$967,000 of revenue was pledged at year end for LaunchCode's new correctional education programs over 3 years
For our final audited 2020 financials, view our 990.