This Week in BDPA (November 3-9, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 3: BDPA Washington DC - Fundraiser, '35th Annual Awards Gala'
• Nov 6: BDPA Pittsburgh - Networking, 'Meet & Greet (hosted by PNC Bank)'
• Nov 7: National BDPA - Conference Call, 'Strategy & Planning (2014-2019) Meeting'
• Nov 9: BDPA Northern Delaware - Fundraiser, 'Annual Banquet & Education Showcase'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

BDPA Welcomes PNC Bank as a Proud Bronze Level Corporate Sponsor

PNC Bank joined the growing list of Bronze Level corporate sponsors at the 35th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference and Career Fair titled, “Diverse Opportunities in the Age of Convergence,” August 14-17, 2013, in Washington, D. C.

Committed to responsible consumer, small business, corporate and institutional lending that helps to not only sustain economic growth, but also augment it, PNC Bank originated more than $150 billion in loans and commitments last year, including nearly $4 billion to small businesses. Additionally, more than $43 million in grants have been awarded through the PNC Foundation to nonprofit organizations such as BDPA that focus on improving children’s school readiness in math and science.

Monique Berry

"BDPA is delighted to partner with PNC Bank to bring this technology job fair to Washington DC. Workforce development initiatives are a priority for BDPA, and this collaborative effort with PNC is a wonderful opportunity to help our tech community prosper by connecting great companies with much-needed information technology (IT) talent," said Monique Berry, National BDPA president.

In addition to its commitment for the conference, PNC Bank is investing in its current diverse IT employees with the purchase of BDPA corporate memberships in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The ability to provide meaningful volunteer and career-development opportunities for PNC employees in these three cities is an important part of the sponsorship value offered by BDPA.

As a global member-focused technology organization with over 45 active chapters in the United States, BDPA continues to stand as a leader in delivering 21st century technological programs, college scholarships, mentoring, support, and services for youth and adult IT professionals. BDPA is honored to partner with a financial giant such as PNC Bank.

For more information on the upcoming BDPA Technology Conference, contact Wayne Hicks, Director, BDPA Corporate Sales Department, corpsales@bdpa.org, (301) 584-3135.

PNC Bank Seeks to 'Make A Difference' as a BDPA Bronze Level Corporate Sponsor

We are very proud to announce that PNC Bank agreed to become a Bronze Level corporate sponsor. The bank wants to hire on-board at least 3 people over the course of the next year via the BDPA Job Board and the 2-day career fair being held on August 16-17 in Washington DC.

They also want to raise the brand awareness of their company by advertising in the BDPA Conference Guide as well as sponsoring one of the workshop tracks at the 2013 BDPA Technology Conference.

Also, PNC Bank wants to help BDPA provide meaningful STEM experiences to young people in Cleveland and Philadelphia ... as such they agreed to purchase five (5) corporate sponsorships in both of those local chapters.

Finally, PNC Bank wants to work with the BDPA Northeast regional vice president, Fred Smith, and the University of Pittsburgh in an aggressive effort to rejuvenate our BDPA Pittsburgh chapter. To do so, they agreed to purchase 10 corporate memberships ... half of which will go to college students at the University of Pittsburgh.

PNC Bank is looking to work with BDPA at local, regional and national level in 2013 ... and we are grateful to them for doing so!

Grant Declination: PNC Bank (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) works hard to find the funds that support the BDPA programs, scholarships and services around the nation. We're not always successful ... but, we are persistent and transparent. If we win a grant ... we'll tell you! And if we lost out on a grant ... we'll tell you. Today we're disappointed to report that PNC Bank didn't approve our $2,500 grant proposal seeking support for BDPA Cincinnati chapter youth education programs such as the BDPA TECHie Camp program that graduated over 20 students last week at Taft STEM Elementary School.

Anyhow, the PNC declination letter read as follows:

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Dear Mr. Hicks,

We have reviewed your request for sponsorship from the PNC and due to the substantial number of requests that we have received, among other things, we are not in a position to provide you with funding.

As I am sure you can understand, we are approached by a substantial number of worthy causes, such as yours, each year, and because of our limited resources, as well as our focus, we are not in a position to fund all of them.

We appreciate your interest in the PNC and we wish you the best of luck and success in your endeavor.

Sincerely,
Robie K. Suggs, vice president
Community Development Banking

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Although we were unsuccessful in bringing home this grant ... we are still working with PNC Bank to support their efforts to recruit diverse information technology talent.

Grant Proposal: PNC Bank (BDPA Cincinnati)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with our chapter liaison in Cincinnati -- Ellery Lewis -- to complete a $2,500 grant proposal to the PNC Bank community development office. We noted that the young people impacted by our Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Cincinnati are primarily from low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. As such, we think that we have a good match for the PNC Bank community development mission.

Wish us luck!