Fundraising Tip: How To Raise More Money Online

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) exists to raise money to support BDPA programs all over the nation.  Our story of helping young people win the future by working with them on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs is a powerful one.  Our challenge is turning the power of that story into donations to our nonprofit.  We need to do a much better job in meeting our fundraising goals.

I think that the following fundraising tip may be a helpful reminder to all of us that work with nonprofits that are doing good works.

Make Your Donation Button Shine

---

Online fundraising is a critical component of any individual fundraising strategy. It's the fastest-growing piece of the development pie, plus when people hear about your organization, want to learn more, or seek updates on your work, they will visit your Web site.

It is critical to make sure that visitors can find your donation button within two seconds of clicking on your home page. This means that the button should be sizeable, colorful, prominent, and "above the fold," meaning it's visible on the page without the need to scroll down.

Play around with different iterations if you can and carefully note the impact on conversation rates and donation amounts -- Network for Good performed a test on their Web site and witnessed a 30 percent greater conversion when they changed their donation button from gray to red. Conversion at the last mile is key, so analyze how many people click on the button versus how many actually donate. If the link doesn't go straight to the donation page, fix it! You should also get creative and use images or different words to relate a donation to something tangible, e.g. "donate a science book" or "save our children's future."

---

Few, if any, of the local BDPA chapter websites are taking advantage of this tip. The National BDPA website has a 'donations' button located at the bottom of their left-hand navigation bar. We don't have a 'donate now' button on our BETF homepage. We have a 'Donate' option in the navigation bar ... but, I've learned from this fundraising tip that we're missing the boat on this one!

DONATE NOW!

This tip is inspired by Darian Heyman's new book, 'Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals'.

Does this tip seem like one that you might use for your local chapter or nonprofit? If not, do you have a fundraising tip that you would like to share with us?

Andersen Corporate Foundation

Andersen seeks to better people's lives and strengthen communities, focusing primarily where Andersen employees live and work. Andersen Corporate Foundation has expanded its giving to the many communities where Andersen has facilities and employees. These communities are co-located with BDPA chapters in New Jersey and Twin Cities.

One of the areas of focus for this foundation is 'EDUCATION AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT'. Andersen Corporate Foundation supports organizations that offer intellectual and social opportunities, primarily for young people K-12. They seek to fund programs that focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The STEM education provided by our SITES program in New Jersey and Twin Cities would be excellent.

BDPA Education and Technology (BETF) would be honored to team up with either chapter if they are interested in submitting a grant proposal to this funding source.

Message from BDPA Chicago Chapter President

Greetings,

I am seeking your support to become your next National Vice President of BDPA. I am passionate about the organization and know that I have what it takes to move us forward. My key focus areas will be Brand Rejuvenation, Member Value Proposition and Cultural Transformation of National BDPA.

Please review the attached brief summary and also share with your delegates to gain a little more insight about me.

Pamela Sexton, Candidate, National BDPA Vice President (2014-2015) from Wayne Hicks

I am looking forward to meeting you and your delegates next week to discuss any suggestions or concerns you may have going into 2014. Thanks for your support.

Thanks & Regards,
Pamela Sexton
BDPA Chicago Chapter President
National BDPA VP Strategy & Planning
2013 National BDPA Conference Director
Email pamela.sexton@bdpa.org

Archer Daniels Midland Company

The Archer Daniels Midland Company converts corn, oilseeds, wheat, and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical, and energy uses. The Company’s new ADM Cares program supports safe, responsible, and environmentally sound agricultural practices in critical growing regions in more than 60 countries around the world including North America, South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Grantmaking is focused on four areas: health and safety programs for farm workers and children who live on farms, responsible use of agricultural chemicals, sustainable farming practices, and rehabilitation and preservation of environmentally sensitive lands. The Program will focus 1 percent of pre-tax earnings to investments to support these grant interests.

At the local level, the Company will continue to support educational initiatives for children and young adults, and other programs that build vibrant communities.

Submit your online application for ADM Cares funding at any time.

Introducing the 1st Annual BDPA Hall of Fame

Earl Pace

In 2013, BDPA will inaugurate its first members into the BDPA Hall Of Fame. Similar to other national and professional organizations, BDPA will celebrate and acknowledge members of the organization who have made very significant contributions to the existence, advancement and success of the organization.

From August 14-17, 2013, BDPA will conduct its 35th annual Technology Conference and Career Fair at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. In addition to distribution of several organization awards, conducting numerous development workshops, networking sessions and panel discussions, this year’s Conference will also include the first Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It is expected that over seven hundred members, corporate leaders and technology professionals will attend the event.

Diane Davis

This year’s Hall Of Fame group was selected by a panel of the BDPA National Executive Council. In 2014 and beyond, nominations will be accepted from the BDPA Community and enshrines announced during the annual BPDA National Technology Conference.

The following individuals represent the inaugural BDPA Hall of Fame group.

Dr. Jesse Bemley

- Innovator, Dr. Jesse Bemley
- Contributor, Diane Davis
- Co-Founder, Earl A Pace Jr
- Co-Founder, the late David Wimberly

Please visit www.BDPA.org for more information regarding BDPA, our 35th Anniversary Technology Conference and Career Fair or this year’s 2013 Hall of Fame group.

Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation

The Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation, while limited in its grantmaking to organizations within Michigan, has charter goals to improve the educational, religious, economic and cultural lives of Michigan's people as those needs can be defined in a world which constantly presents new or different challenges and opportunities. The Foundation trustees carefully consider proposals submitted, and look for programs where their contribution can be leveraged. Organizations requesting funding for a new program should be sure that they have planned for that program's future self-sufficiency.

Since the needs, desires and capabilities of Michigan's people and their organizations are constantly changing, there can be no fixed or steadfast priority in the Foundation grant making decisions.

There is no formal application form; however, applicants are asked to include the following information in a proposal:

1. a letter setting forth the nature and potential results of the program for which funding is sought
2. the total cost of the project including any endowment for operations
3. the total amount sought from the Foundation, and how and over what period of time the grant may be disbursed, as well any other funding sources being sought for the project
4. evidence of the organization's tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)
5. a detailed annual organizational budget and audited financial statement for the organization (These should be submitted annually for the duration of the grant.)

6. the names of management and of the trustees or directors of the organization

Those proposals that pass initial evaluation are referred to the appropriate program committee of the Board of Trustees for full consideration. Trustees may request additional information, make site visits, or invite organizations to meet with them in Midland. The Board meets periodically during the year to make final grant decisions. The Foundation’s usual practice is to disburse grant payments in December.

Grant Applications Should be Submitted in Writing to:


Mrs. Margaret Ann Riecker, President
The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation
1018 West Main Street
Midland, Michigan 48640-4292
email: grants@hhdowfoundation.org

The Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation grants are limited to organizations within Michigan. BETF would be happy to work with BDPA Detroit on a joint grant proposal if there is interest within that chapter.

Bemley Scholar Byron Wooden Seeks Computer Science Degree from University of Illinois

BDPA Chicago chapter has trained some excellent young men and women in its Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program over the years. None better than Byron Wooden. Byron earned a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship as a result of the bronze-medal performance of his High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team trained by Chicago to compete at the 2010 National BDPA HSCC Championships. Byron informed us recently that he plans to use the Bemley Scholarship funding to study for a computer science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Class of 2017).

During Byron's high school years he was part of the cross-country track team and earned a spot on the dean's list all four years. He also became active with the BDPA Chicago chapter as a high school student. His passion for problem solving through web development is what brought him to BDPA in the first place. His BDPA experiences inspired him on his current pursuit of higher education in a STEM-related curriculum.

We asked Byron to share his thoughts on the BDPA experience:

---

At the start of 8th grade, I had no programming experience. What I had instead was a desire to solve problems by building things. At that time, I wanted to be an inventor and entrepreneur. I would come up with ideas for products or services to create; everything from flying cars to a nanny service to help new moms. I envisioned myself building things for a living. My Dad took me to work one day and introduced me to HTML, CSS and JavaScript. He showed me how to build webpages ... and I loved it. I could build anything that I saw in my mind's eye; and I tore through those languages until eventually they weren't enough. Eventually I knew that I needed more. I joined BDPA in the 8th grade because I wanted to be better able to build web sites and solve the sort of problems that we all see everywhere.

I was discouraged when I first started with BDPA Chicago chapter. I assumed that I would be the most talented programmer in the class due to my prior experience with web development. The opposite was true. There were at least six seniors with years of experience and dozens of other students with more age and experience than me as well.

It wasn't likely that I would do well enough to make the national HSCC team from Chicago. However, I managed to stay interested in the program for two reasons. First, I didn't join BDPA to be the "best coder". I joined to become a "better coder" so my job was to polish my skill set and not to shine. The second reason I stayed was because the HSCC program wasn't a competition, or at least it didn't feel like one. The program felt like a class, the first one I had ever taken where everyone was engaged, helpful and where the environment was fine-tuned to produce advancement.

2010 BDPA Chicago HSCC Team in Philadelphia

Through focus and consistency, I managed to be part of the national team that year (2010); the only freshman on a team full of seniors. Our team went on to place third place in the national HSCC championships held in Philadelphia.

My sophomore year was a rebuilding one for the chapter's HSCC program. Most of the students from the prior year graduated. That year (2011), I became team captain and a large onus was placed on me to help the team be successful. This year, just like last, did not proceed the way that I expected. I assumed that my experience from the previous year meant that I had nothing left to learn from BDPA.

2012 BDPA Chicago Chapter SITES Students

The truth is that in all my years in BDPA, I've never stopped learning the same lesson that I'm learning today: how to be a leader. It is from these lessons that I learned to manage a team of peers, take responsibility and report back to coaches on the progress of the team, and also how to help instruct other students in the program.

Although the teams I was on never placed as high at the national HSCC championships as we did during my freshman year, I wouldn't trade the experiences that I've had with BDPA Chicago chapter for any other, because I know that these experiences have been invaluable in preparing me for a professional career in ways I never could have imagined when I joined BDPA.

During my first four years with BDPA, I've not only had the opportunity to improve my skills as a web developer, but I've also had the opportunity to find other dedicated coders to build websites with. It is working with my BDPA teammate that has meant the most to me. They challenged and pushed me as a web developer by sharing new techniques or challenging my programming logic and even by given me competition to try to outshine. I will leave for the University of Illinois in the fall. I'm sure there will be aspiring web developers there as well. I can't wait to find them and to begin to build web sites with them; a lesson well and gratefully learned at BDPA!

---

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is very proud to have Byron as one of our Bemley Scholars! We look forward to following his college career and eventually his professional career. I sense that Byron may be back with BDPA one day as a chapter president or a regional vice president or perhaps as our national president! Share some love with Byron as a REPLY or COMMENT to his testimonial.

Finally, you can help us increase the number of college scholarships that we give out to the BDPA Chicago students with your secure online donation. Won't you support BDPA today?

Google RISE Awards

Google RISE Awards are designed to support organizations that promote access to Computer Science education and give students aged 9-18 the opportunity to become creators - and not just consumers - of tomorrow’s technological innovations. Google awards funding to, and partners with, organizations running programs that inspire, engage, and retain students on a long-term path in the field of computing.

Organizations are chosen based on their focus on underrepresented minorities in the field and position as changemakers in their respective countries for Computer Science at the K-12/Pre-University level. Google is especially focused on partnering with organizations that specifically target girls and currently have the potential to scale their efforts and reach more girls around the world.

Organizations are eligible to apply if they are either:

• Running a successful program in CS that they want to expand in terms of reach and depth of impact.
• Currently running a successful wide-reaching program in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) that they want to grow to include CS.
• At a minimum, programs should have regional reach (city, county or state) with the potential to scale nationally and collaborate internationally with similar organizations.
• Programs must target girls or underrepresented minority students up to the age of 18. This is not open to programs targeting students already enrolled in University.
• Previous RISE awardees may apply if adding a new dimension to former programs.

A partnership with Google RISE involves:

• Funding between $15,000 and $50,000
• Membership to the community of current and past Google RISE partners
• Invitation to the annual global summit
• Consultancy with Google experts on technical tools & organizational development for a period of one year
• Volunteer support from Google engineers (where available)

This appears to be a wonderful funding source for BDPA to consider in light of its annual Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.

This Week in BDPA (August 4-10, 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 :

• Aug 8: National BDPA - Webinar, 'BDPA Strategy & Planning Quarterly Meeting' 

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.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, July 2013)

Can you smell the excitement in the air when it comes to BDPA? We are only a couple of weeks away from the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference and you can see the increased buzz at chapter meetings and throughout the various social media platforms. You can tell by the increased number of people that are joining or renewing their membership in BDPA that momentum is strong!

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

Corporate America recognizes as much. In recent weeks we've had financial commitment from the Environmental Protection Agency, Life Technologies and Wal-Mart to underwrite the annual dues for over 180 college student members. That is a wonderful testament to the powerful college student programs that BDPA deploys on a local, regional and national level.

The membership totals for July 2013 have been released. It is time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. The only change from last month is with BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) who made their move on BDPA Atlanta chapter (down 1 spot). The move by BDPA Washington DC is even more remarkable ... the chapter grew by over 40% in a single month.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (July 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Message from BDPA Huntsville Chapter President

Cross-posted from BDPA Huntsville Chapter Blog

New Chapter President Introductions, Membership and News

I am posting a copy of an email announcement regarding BDPA Huntsville Chapter's first meeting under my leadership. This letter speaks to the heart and soul of what I believe to be true about BDPA and the vision for my Presidency. I've also attached three other documents mentioned during our conversation:

1. a brochure that highlights BDPA as an organization;
2. a list of the top ten benefits that are available to those who join BDPA; and,
3. a recent sampling of the type of benefits our members receive from BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

Just a couple of personal thoughts before you read 'the corporate' literature:

• BDPA was formed 35 years ago to support minorities in the fields of data processing – the modern day Computer Science or IT professional. We now have several thousand members across the nation (e.g. Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, North Carolina, Atlanta, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, etc.) with engineering, analysts, and programming skills that cover every career level from the classroom to the boardroom.

• Our Vision is simple - "Be a powerful advocate for our stakeholders' interests within the global technology industry.”

• And, basically, we are a coalition of IT (STEM) professionals who are true to our Mission - "BDPA is a global member-focused technology organization that delivers programs and services for the professional well-being of its stakeholders*."  [*Here, by stakeholders, we mean – students, academia, entrepreneurs, federal and private sector, and industry]

As you can see, I'm passionate about making this organization count. I'm even more passionate about doing all I can to see to it that this organization

1. promotes excellence in our youth (classroom), 
2. professional development in our matriculating seniors and career members (mid-level), 
3. rendering a return-on-investment that is acceptable to our industry, federal and academia partners, and 
4. bolster business development and success of BDPA member entrepreneurs (boardroom).

These are "The 4 Goals" by which I will measure my presidency.

Based on the support and interest from our core membership, the BDPA Huntsville chapter constituency that met with me are charged and ready for action.

Huntsville and Greater Madison County Alabama - I'd even go so far as to say Northern Alabama, once you've had an opportunity to review, I'd like to hear your thoughts and more importantly, we'd like your support in breathing life into the BDPA Huntsville chapter.

Sincerely submitted,
Carol Bell, president
BDPA Huntsville Chapter

Fundraising Tip: 8 Steps to Writing a Good Grant Proposal

BDPA Foundation blog welcomes guest blogger Heather Johnson. She writes on the subject of California teaching certificates. We are pleased that she agreed to share information about grant-writing with us.

---

Writing a Good Grant Proposal

The art of securing funding does not come easy to everyone; it takes a lot of painstaking work and an eye for detail to be able to come up with a grant proposal that’s a winner in every way. While each funding source has its own set of standards and guidelines that their grant proposals must conform to, there are general rules and principles that apply to grants as a whole.

1. Take care to ensure that you understand the mission and objective of the funding agency, be it government or private. If your aims do not correspond with that of the agency, there’s no point in applying for a grant.
2. Your proposal must be the result of intense research and enormous effort rather than a half-hearted appeal put together in an hour or two. You must believe that your proposal is the only way you’re going to get the money you need, and that no external influences are going to help you in this issue.
3. Start preparing the proposal even before you identify a potential funding source. Rework the specifics to cater to a particular agency once you identify which sources you want to apply to.
4. Do not waste time preparing proposals for every agency that offers funding; make sure that your needs and the organization’s match and that you stand a decent chance of being considered seriously for the grant.
5. Even though a grant is a sum of money that need not be paid back, make sure you do your homework when mentioning the tentative budget for the project you want the grant to sponsor. Be specific about amounts and break down the budget into smaller and more specific expenses. Include an estimate of the overshoot you expect if the project will span a long period of time.
6. Your project proposal must include a short summary of the project, a brief introduction to your organization, its members, goals and achievements, the problem that will be tackled with the money you get, the objective of the project at hand, the methods you’re going to adopt in order to achieve those objectives, the time frame in which you hope to reach those goals, and the methods of feedback and evaluation you will adopt in order to ensure that your project is on track and on time.
7. Make sure that all the information you include is authentic and true to the best of your knowledge and supported by relevant documentation.
8. Include any other documents or forms that are necessary including your resume detailing your qualifications, achievements and accomplishments.

Bemley Scholar Daniel Rothchild Heads to Ivory Towers of Harvard University

Daniel Rothchild

BDPA Detroit chapter has a proud legacy of building leaders and outstanding information technology talent through its annual participation in the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships.

One of the very special young people who went through the BDPA Detroit chapter Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program for three years is Daniel Rothchild. Daniel earned Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship funding of $4,000 for his high-performance in the HSCC championships during 2009, 2010 and 2011. He plans to use that funding to help defray the costs of attending Harvard University!

Daniel has lived for most of his life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He trained with BDPA Detroit chapter for three years and was a key member of HSCC teams that placed in 2nd place (2009, 2011) and 4th place (2010) on a national level. He graduated from high school in 2013 and is considering a degree in a computer-related field when he attends Harvard University.

Daniel was a guest on the BDPA iRadio Show in the past.  We asked Daniel to once again share his thoughts about BDPA. Here is what he had to say:

---

"I participated in the HSCC program for three years, and my experience preparing for and competing at the national competition has had a tremendous impact on me. First and foremost, I learned the programming language Java intimately through my years of practical, hands-on experience. Though reading books on programming and taking computer science classes are helpful, nothing has prepared me better for programming in Java than the experiences I gained through BDPA.

I also learned to work as part of a team. Every member has his or her strengths, and I learned how to participate effectively as a member of a team by taking into account the strengths of other team members ... and dividing the work accordingly. I am sure this skill will be invaluable for me when I enter the workforce.

The skills I learned through my participation in BDPA have already been incredibly useful for me. This summer, I am working at a company where I need to write programs in Java ... which is the language that BDPA taught me during the HSCC training process. I am sure these skills will continue to be invaluable to me as I progress through college and beyond.

---

Daniel is the first BDPA student to use his Bemley Scholarship for attendance at Harvard University. I look forward to watching this young man as he progresses through his college and professional career. I hope that he is able to connect with our BDPA Boston chapter over the next four years that he is in Massachusetts!

President Profile: La Donna Crum (BDPA Greater Birmingham)

BDPA Greater Birmingham chapter was chartered in August 2002.  The chapter is a key element of our BDPA South Region and a past host of a quarterly National BDPA Board of Directors meeting.  The future looks bright for BDPA Greater Birmingham as they welcome on board the newest chapter president -- La Donna Crum.

La Donna Crum, President
BDPA Greater Birmingham Chapter

Address: P.O. Box 10341
Birmingham, AL 35205
(205) 504-1438

La Donna shared her BDPA story with us:

---

My vision for BDPA Greater Birmingham Chapter over the next couple of years under my presidency is to promote membership, obtain sponsorship and build a competitive High School Computer Competition team. I feel strongly that we can offer community service, participate in local technology events and educate our community on Information Technology (IT). I envision our chapter becoming a pillar within our community for the IT industry; to become a household name and to prepare our youth people to become IT professionals.

HER FAVORITE QUOTE: 'Each One Should Teach One!'

---

Please use the POST COMMENT link below to share some BDPA-Love with the president our BDPA Greater Birmingham chapter!

Related articles

• Long Story Short: LaDonna Crum (BDPA Greater Birmingham)
• BDPA iRadio Show - March 25, 2014

BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan Receives Diversity Award from BDPA

BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan (BCBSM) has been honored by National BDPA with a 2013 Epsilon Award for its diversity programs.

"It is an honor for Information Technology to be recognized by the BDPA," said Gary Harvey, vice president, Information Technology. "Receiving this award is another example of IT’s commitment to foster and promote a diverse and inclusive culture. My thanks to those who have volunteered to work on, or with, our Diversity Advisory Council over the last several years. It is their efforts that are truly being recognized."

Past winners of the honor include Health Care Service Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Merck, Wal-Mart, WellPoint and Wells Fargo.

"We congratulate Information Technology and the Diversity Advisory Council on receiving this award for their efforts to embed diversity and inclusion at the business-unit level," said Amal Berry-Brown, senior director of BCBSM’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. "IT has been an exemplary partner in embracing diversity and in engaging their leaders and employees by implementing a division mentoring program, creating a job shadowing program and recognizing employees’ efforts for their diversity and inclusion activities through their divisional Diversity Branding Strategy."

The award will be presented Aug. 16 at the Dignitaries Reception during the National BDPA Technology Conference in Washington, D.C. The Epsilon Award qualifies BCBSM for further consideration to be named the BDPA Top Company for Blacks in Technology.

Since its inception in 1975, BDPA has been a strong advocate of promoting and advancing the interest and careers of African Americans in the field of Computer Science and Information Technology.

Cross-posted from Blues News (BCBSM Intranet newsletter)

This Week in BDPA (July 28 - August 3)

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 :

• Jul 28: BDPA Chicago - Seminar, 'Learn More About Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco' 
• Jul 30: BDPA Foundation - Webinar, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Aug 3: BDPA Cincinnati - Social, '12th Annual Jazz in the Park Festival'

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 Greater Columbia High School Computer Competition Team (2013)

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter is one of the most remarkable local BDPA chapters in the nation. They have shown a commitment to providing meaningful STEM learning experiences for K-12 students in South Carolina. The training is conducted under the umbrella of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. Chapter leaders and volunteers are offering seminars and workshops in web development (asp.net), programming (vb.net) databases (mysql), java script, system development life-cycle, web site story boarding and argile project management methodology. The students in the chapter's SITES program are also taken through a series of workshops in video creation and editing, creating web page profile, and oral presentations.

L-R:   Perry Cates, Jr., Kevin Rabinovich, Joel Schirmer, Cody Shearer, James Smith,
Jalil Peterman, Makayla Ishmal, Constance Elkins, and  Braxton Robinson
Not pictured: Horace Bookman, Brandon Elkins, Amber Goodman, Kayla Jackson,
Ashley Taylor, and Anthony Coleman.
Instructors: Kelvin Robinson and Alex Rabinovich

The funding for training these young people comes from corporate sponsors (BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and IT-oLogy), membership dues and supportive donors like yourself!

BDPA Detroit High School Computer Competition Team (2013)

BDPA Detroit chapter has a powerful legacy in its training of K-12 students. Hundreds of young people have participated in the chapter's Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program over the past quarter century.

That legacy continues in 2013! The SITES program in Detroit starts early in the year and concludes in mid-fall with an awards presentation. The training begins with teaching HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before moving to more intense training of J2EE technologies, Java programming, JSP & JSTL, JDBC/SQL, project management, time management and computer history knowledge.

1st row (L-R): Tonji Zimmerman (Coordinator/Trainer), Richard Session (Trainer),
Cortez Christian, Bradley Wise, Elizabeth Ho, Desiree Taylor
2nd row (L-R): Anthony Garrett-Leverett (Coordinator/Trainer),
Charles McIntosh II, Thomas Graves, Joseph Sigmon, Cameron Campbell
Students not in photo: Cameron Hughes, Howard Smith

BDPA Detroit chapter holds its SITES training sessions at Compuware headquarters office. Funding for the program comes from corporate sponsors (Compuware, General Motors and Trinity Health), membership dues and supporters like you!

Where Are They Now? Amiga

What it was: A remarkable line of personal computers, introduced by home PC pioneer Commodore in 1985, that delivered powerful multimedia and multitasking years before they became commonplace on PCs and Macs.

What happened: Well, you could fill a book with the details -- and hey, someone did. Commodore had superb technology, but did a terrible job of developing and marketing it. You could argue that Amiga would have petered out no matter who owned it -- even Apple flirted with death as DOS and then Windows overwhelmed other alternatives -- but Commodore’s decision-making sure didn’t help. In 1994, it declared bankruptcy and stopped making computers. The Amiga name went on to change hands at least four times over the next decade, sometimes being used on hardware, sometimes being used on software and sometimes just disappearing.

Current whereabouts: You can find Amiga lovers on Twitter. Amiga Inc, the current owner of the Amiga name, uses it on middleware for set-top boxes as well as games and other applications for cell phones (you can buy an Amiga tip calculator). It also says it’s still working on Amiga OS 4.0, a product so long in the making that it, like Harlan Ellison’s science-fiction anthology The Last Dangerous Visions, is best known for how long it’s been promised without ever appearing. As a former Amiga fanatic, I hope it does ship someday -- there’s no way a new Amiga OS wouldn’t be cooler than an Amiga tip calculator.

---

SOURCE: 'Where Are They Now? 25 Computer Products That Refuse to Die' by Harry McCracken.

Global Agricultural Giant Monsanto Partners with BDPA

Monsanto was recently honored as one of FORTUNE Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. Of course, we think it is equally significant to note that Monsanto is one of the eleven 'corporations' to earn the 2013 Epsilon Award, denoting the 'Best Companies for Blacks In Technology'. Monsanto recently announced its Bronze Level corporate sponsorship of BDPA programs, scholarships and services nationally with an emphasis on the STEM-related work being done by the BDPA St. Louis chapter.

Craig Brown

"It is my honor to work with the Monsanto family and continue to grow and cultivate BDPA and the Monsanto partnership," stated Dr. Craig Brown, National BDPA Vice President. "In addition, I look forward to transforming our partnership into a ‘tradition’ where Monsanto employees and the members of its surrounding communities can continue to benefit from BDPA local chapter activities and the BDPA National Conference, year in and year out."

Monsanto’s commitment to preserving agriculture and improving lives is built on their challenge, "To meeting the needs today, while preserving the planet for tomorrow." Fully committed to Sustainable Agriculture, Fighting Rural Hunger, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Human Rights, Corporate Giving, America's Farmers, and Youth and Education, Monsanto is recognized as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens’ by CR Magazine, The Scientist 2010 Best Places to Work, and the Diversity Inc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. Globally, Monsanto employs over 21,000 workers in 66 countries at 404 different facilities.

Vincent Shorter

"My relationship with BDPA over the past three years has been both personally and professionally rewarding,” said Vincent Shorter, Monsanto IT director. “I am proud that Monsanto has continued its commitment to BDPA for over nine years. Whether sponsoring the local High School Computer Competition, presentations at the national conference, helping grow the local St. Louis chapter or offering $10,000 in scholarships, Monsanto has stepped up to the challenge. Now is the time to take advantage of the growth in IT and to leverage BDPA to increase opportunities for everyone from the classroom to the boardroom."

The sponsorship also includes $10,000 funding for the 1st annual Monsanto Scholarship for BDPA Students. This will provide scholarships to four young people who plan to study a STEM-related curriculum in college. The winners of this scholarship will be announced at the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference on August 14-17, 2013 in Washington DC.

Wayne Hicks

Wayne Hicks, BETF executive director said, "My vision is for BDPA to award full-ride 4-year college scholarships to our young people interested in pursuing STEM careers. Monsanto moves us closer to that goal with the four college scholarships that they have funded with their 2013 sponsorship. Well done!"

BDPA is recognized nationally 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. For more information on 35th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference, contact Wayne Hicks, Director, BDPA Corporate Sales Department, corpsales@bdpa.org, (301) 584-3135.