Techtonica is an adult education project of the Social Good Fund that focuses heavily on LGBT people and people identified as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). In its code of conduct, Techtonica suggests that reverse racism is acceptable, using inclusive and welcoming language is a priority, and  “examining biases often” is an important practice. ¹

The goal of the program is to offer “women and non-binary adults with low incomes free tech training with laptops, living and childcare stipends, and job placement with partner companies dedicated to building more diverse and inclusive tech teams.” ^{2 3}

History

Techtonica was started in 2016 by Michelle Glauser. She started the group claiming that people were only being accepted into tech training programs when they were about to have a computer science degree or are well established in the field. ⁴

Glauser created the program to help newcomers become proficient enough to earn jobs specifically in the San Francisco area. The program was eventually acquired by the Social Good Fund and at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the program moved to become fully virtual. Techtonica claims that 88 percent of its graduates are from the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) group and that participants’ income can regularly increase 3 to 5 times more than income before the program. ^{5 6}

Partners and Sponsors

Techtonica asks partners to sponsor students of the program at a cost of $15,000 per sponsorship. Some partners offer supplies like computers so the program can allow students who could not afford computers to be part of the program. There is a tier system for partners consisting of four levels: referral, supporter, ally, and advocate. Advocate is the highest level and requires the most commitment, but offers the most in return such as a guaranteed hire after the program, being included in Techtonica’s social media posts, and getting to do technical interviews with students. ^{7 8}

Social Good Fund

The Social Good Fund is the fiscal sponsor of Techtonica. It is responsible for legal services and enables donations to the program to be tax-exempt. The Social Good Fund manages Techtonica’s employment, donation, payroll, and taxes. The Social Good Fund is a nonprofit donor advised fund (DAF) provided which sponsors Techtonica along with numerous other programs.  ^{9 10}

Kapor Center for Social Impact

The Kapor Center for Social Impact is a grantmaking foundation which focuses on expanding the involvement of diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. It provides support to Techtonica and has published articles in which it suggests that other companies invest in Techtonica. ¹¹ The group asserts that there are biases in the recruiting, hiring, and retention process which lead to disparities in race and gender involvement in the tech industry. The Center tries to compensate for this by investing in nonprofits and initiatives which work to “close the gap” in the tech industry. ^{12 13}

Wikimedia Foundation

Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit umbrella organization which oversees Wikipedia, MediaWiki, and Wikisource, and is noted as a supporter of Techtonica. In 2022, the foundation had revenue exceeding $165 million and held assets in excess of $230 million. ¹⁴

1. “Bridging the Tech Gap.” Techtonica. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techtonica.org/conduct/.
2. “Bridging the Tech Gap.” Techtonica. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techtonica.org/conduct/.
3. “Current Projects.” SocialGood, March 9, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/.
4. Johnson, Sydney. “Nonprofit Bootcamps Want to Make Coding Accessible to Low-Income Learners .” EdSurge, August 18, 2017. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-18-nonprofit-bootcamps-want-to-make-coding-accessible-to-low-income-learners.
5. Johnson, Sydney. “Nonprofit Bootcamps Want to Make Coding Accessible to Low-Income Learners .” EdSurge, August 18, 2017. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-18-nonprofit-bootcamps-want-to-make-coding-accessible-to-low-income-learners.
6. “Bridging the Tech Gap.” Techtonica. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techtonica.org/full-time-program/.
7. Johnson, Sydney. “Nonprofit Bootcamps Want to Make Coding Accessible to Low-Income Learners .” EdSurge, August 18, 2017. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-18-nonprofit-bootcamps-want-to-make-coding-accessible-to-low-income-learners.
8. “Bridging the Tech Gap.” Techtonica. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techtonica.org/sponsor/.
9. “Bridging the Tech Gap.” Techtonica. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techtonica.org/faqs/.
10. “Current Projects.” SocialGood, March 9, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/.
11. Chambers, Candase. “Sourcing - Address Equity Limitations of Bootcamps.” Kapor Center, March 22, 2023. https://www.kaporcenter.org/sourcing-address-equity-limitations-of-bootcamps/.
12. “Transform Tech. Improve Our Future.” The Leaky Tech Pipeline. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://leakytechpipeline.com/.
13. “Who We Are.” Kapor Center, March 28, 2023. https://www.kaporcenter.org/who-we-are/.
14. Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford. “Wikimedia Foundation Org – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200049703.