Press/Media
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2010
Contact: Kelley Ellsworth, 202-529-3395 (w),
202-744-4983 (c), kellsworth@byteback.org
Byte Back Receives Honorable Mention for the 2010 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management
DC-based Nonprofit Provides Workplace and Computer Skills for Low-Income and Unemployed Washingtonians
Washington, DC – In its first year competing for the award, Byte Back has been recognized by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement as the 2010 Honorable Mention recipient of the Washington Post with the Excellence in Nonprofit Management Award. Byte Back received a $2,500 cash grant.
Byte Back, located in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC, is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization providing computer and job training to low-income adults and at-risk youth. All instructors are volunteers. Byte Back was one of five finalists, all located in the Greater Washington area. The award was announced yesterday at an Awards Ceremony and Best Practices workshop held at the Washington Post.
“As nonprofits continue to provide critical support to our communities, the Center is honored to bring forward outstanding examples of management excellence here in our region,” said Center CEO Glen O’Gilvie. “We are pleased to acknowledge Byte Back as a stellar example that other organizations should follow and share the best practices from each of our 2010 honorees with the community.”
“Since the recession began, the staff and volunteers at Byte Back have worked feverishly to meet the ever-growing need for computer and job training” said Kelley Ellsworth, Executive Director of Byte Back. “It means the world to us to have our efforts and the quality of our work recognized in this way.” Ellsworth began serving in a volunteer capacity as Byte Back’s Treasurer and in other Board positions beginning in 2006. She was hired as Executive Director in October of 2008. Previously, Ellsworth was Executive Director and President of the Spring Creek Foundation and a researcher for the Women and Poverty Project at Wider Opportunities for Women.
Now in its 16th year, The Washington Post Award is a competitive program open to all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in the Washington metropolitan area. Candidates are judged in the areas of fiscal management, information and communication, organizational development, staff and volunteer development, planning, resource development, risk management, and use of technology. This award is a project of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, sponsored by The Washington Post, cosponsored by RAFFA, P.C., with additional support by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s Benefits Trust and Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership’s Nonprofit Executive Certificate Program.
The award selection process entails three rounds. Applicants must answer pre-determined questions in the first two rounds. Once selected for the third and final round, qualifying organizations host a site visit, where they meet with the selection committee and answer any remaining questions about the organization and its practices.
Some of Byte Back’s recent accomplishments include:
- An increase in revenues by 46% in FY 2009 and 24% in FY 2010.
- Serving 442 students last year and over 1000 this year. Most students are unemployed and either homeless or staying temporarily with family or friends.
- Byte Back grew its job training program from providing basic instruction in Microsoft Office and job readiness skills to include the provision of training for internationally recognized computer certifications including IC3, A+, Net+, Linux, Microsoft Certified Application Specialist, and Microsoft Project certification.
- Byte Back recruited over 100 volunteers in FY 2010 including 80 regular volunteers, each of whom provided an average of 25 hours of their time per month amounting to 4,424 hours of community service.
Byte Back partners with a growing number of nonprofits, businesses and city agencies, including:
- First Time Computers; One Economy; Trinity University; and Catholic Charities.
- Booz Allen Hamilton; Cricket Communications; Google; and Qualcomm.
- DC Public Library and OCTO (Office of the Chief Technology Officer).
Ellsworth gives a lot of credit for Byte Back’s success to the Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA), which administers the award. “My staff and I have taken dozens of classes and workshops at CNA over the years which have greatly improved our ability to effectively serve our students. It was a privilege to give back to CNA, and the communities it serves, through yesterday’s Best Practices Workshop,” said Ellsworth. “During this grueling recession, those of us who work for nonprofits are doing everything we can to improve and expand the services we provide. The Center is an invaluable resource for us all.”
Byte Back improves economic opportunity for low-income residents of the Washington D.C. area by providing computer training and employment readiness skills. Byte Back’s services range from basic computer literacy skill development to computer certification courses for those pursuing a career in the Information Technology field. Byte Back’s staff includes seven full-time and three part-time employees, two AmeriCorps members, and more than 100 volunteers. The organization’s cash budget is $504,000. One July 6, Byte Back begins a new summer initiative offering dozens of classes at multiple sites around the city. For additional information, contact Byte Back at www.byteback.org.
The Center for Nonprofit Advancement strengthens the capacity of nonprofit organizations throughout Greater Washington, D.C. The Center directly partners with nearly 800 nonprofits helping them achieve their missions through training and technical assistance programs, networking, advocacy and group buying power. For more information, visit www.nonprofitadvancement.org.
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Press Coverage of Byte Back:
June 17, 2010: Byte Back and our Community Computer Day event were featured in the Washington Examiner:
January 26, 2010: El Pais, a newpaper published in Madrid, published a lengthy feature article about Byte Back and internet access in the United States. (article is in Spanish)
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Internet/crea/marginados/elpepusoc/20100126elpepisoc_1/Tes
January 2010: Byte Back Director Kelley Ellsworth is interviewed for Comcast Local Edition.
http://www.comcastcreative.com/video/CLE%20-%20%20K%20Ellsworth%20121009_01.wmv
January 2010: Byte Back Director Kelley Ellsworth, Instructors Nicole Feemster and Tiana Jorman, and student Sheila Melvin were interviewed for a Voice of America piece about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s upcoming plan for national broadband access. Click below to read the article or view the video:
October 4, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth, Office Manager Felicia Hawkins, Director of Programs Debony Heart, and student Maurice Dixon are interviewed by Mary Jane Williams for BBN3/Washington DC.
http://assignments.bbn3.com/videos/closing-the-digital-divide-1425
September 23, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth is quoted in an article about the One Web Day panel discussion in PC World, Mac World and Computer World.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172409/fcc_still_looking_for_broadband_ideas.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/142938/2009/09/broadband.htm
http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=E361E701-1A64-6A71-CEF3F8E002BBA739
September 21, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth is mentioned in an article in the “Tech Daily Dose” section of the National Journal Online about the upcoming One Web Day panel discussion.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2009/09/mark-your-calendars-one-web-da.php
September 21, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth is interviewed for the Save Our Safety Net campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhvE_XVyHaw
September 16, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth and Job Coordinator Terrell Waller are featured in a full-page article on page 6 in Street Sense magazine.
http://streetsense.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/091609_small1.pdf
July 2, 2009: Byte Back graduate Calvin Butler and Job Coordinator Terrell Waller are featured on Fox 5.
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/money/070209_fox_5_money_job_search_for_unemployed
June 11, 2009: Byte Back Director of Programs, Debony Heart, mentioned in the Washington Area Women’s Foundation blog. http://thewomensfoundation.org/2009/dcwa-free-job-training-programs-throughout-dc-help-build-skills-and-self-sufficiency/
April 29, 2009: Byte Back is mentioned the City Desk blog from the Washington City Paper about government earmarks.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/04/29/dc-council-porkfest-2010/
April 8, 2009: An interview by Free Press reporter Megan Tady of Byte Back Director of Programs, Debony Heart is posted on the Internet for Everyone website (“Story Five: Left Out in the Cold in DC”) and on Youtube.
http://www.internetforeveryone.org/americaoffline/urban
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoWe3Ej8j_Y&feature=player_embedded#
February 5, 2009: Byte Back Executive Director is interviewed by “The 3-Minute Interview” in the Washington Examiner.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/3-Minute-Interview-Ellsworth39105982.html
September 2008: Byte Back Executive Director Kelley Ellsworth is quoted in an article about D.C. government earmarks in the Brookland Heartbeat.
http://www.brooklandheartbeat.org/sep08_bsa.html
May 13, 2008: Byte Back is mentioned in the City Desk blog from the Washington City Paper about government earmarks.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/05/13/council-porks-out-48-mil/