Campaign Led by Radix's .Tech Domains Raises $62,000 to Expand Computer Science Access in Schools

Back in May, we told you about a new program that .Tech Domains (owned and operated by Radix) was launching in collaboration with Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools. The campaign, labeled #MyStartInTech, sought to eliminate widening gaps that impact young women and students from marginalized communities who are interested in computer science. Domain.com, GoDaddy Pro and Namecheap also got behind the effort and the final results have just been announced. With .Tech Domains and their campaign partners donating 100% of .Tech domain sales proceeds in May and June, over $62,000 was raised for Code.org.

The .Tech announcement noted, 
"The tech industry is historically plagued by stark under-representation of gender, race, ethnicity, geography, and family income. In fact, Code.org data shows that as of 2020, less than half of high schools in the United States teach foundational computer science, despite the fact that the number of job openings in the space have been multiplying year over year. The pandemic has further worsened this gap; disproportionately affecting students from already under-represented groups, especially since Covid-19 forced millions into remote or socially-distanced classrooms."

Suman Das, Sr. Director of Brand Operations, .Tech Domains, said, “We are proud of the awareness we’ve been able to create with the #MyStartInTech campaign for this incredibly important issue. Amassing more than 5 million impressions, this campaign not only illustrates how deep this issue goes in the United States, but also that there is a passion to learn more about it, solve it, and ultimately create an ecosystem that prioritizes equal access to computer science education in schools.”  

The campaign was supported by many notable figures from the tech industry such as Jason Calacinus, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, podcaster; Linus Sebastian, founder of YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips with over 13.5 million subscribers, and many more.  

The campaign also included a series of educational webinars, hosted in association with GoDaddy Pro and Major League Hacking (MLH), that cumulatively garnered over 45,000 attendees tuning in to hear experts discuss the staggering statistics surrounding the lack of access to computer science in schools across the U.S., what they mean for the future of tech education, and how the tech community could come together to widen access to computer science in schools.

Elpida Moutsiou, Global Marketing Manager, Domains at Namecheap, added, “Everything we do at Namecheap is driven by our mission to keep the Internet open, free, and safe for everyone. When our partner Radix reached out to us to collaborate on a program that supports access to computer science to more young people, we just had to go all in! It is our belief that computer science is fundamental for everyone, everywhere. Code.org's mission to teach computer science to young women, and students from marginalized communities, is one we are proud to support by donating all our proceeds for .TECH domain sales during this two month period.”  

(Posted August 10, 2021)

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