ColorStack is a community-focused nonprofit that provides professional and academic support for Black and Latinx Computer Science (CS) students. Under the leadership of Founder and CEO, Jehron Petty, ColorStack became a 501(c)3 organization in May 2020. It has steadily grown over the past three years to include in-person chapters, professional development events, and a robust online community.

‍

The 2023 fiscal year, a period spanning July 2022 to June 2023, has been monumental for ColorStack. In light of this, the team has prepared its first ever impact report to take a closer look at the organization's performance. Using a data driven approach, the report recaps ColorStack’s accomplishments from the past year and identifies goals for the future. 

‍

In terms of community highlights from the report, ColorStack is proud to announce that its online community reached 5,226 members this past year, a sizable increase from 1,881 members the prior year. This growth is also reflected in the number of in-person ColorStack Campus Chapters which expanded from 3 to 18 universities across the U.S. 

‍

Virtual gatherings, a core part of ColorStack’s programming, saw immense growth as well this past year. And due to the overwhelming success of the 2022 Fall Stacked Up Summit, the team added its first iteration of the Spring Summit in 2023 to its lineup of annual events. This virtual conference drew a crowd of more than 1,400 attendees. While monthly Fam Friday events boasted a similarly impressive 200 attendees per event.

‍

Touching on organizational highlights, the nonprofit received its largest financial contribution in ColorStack’s history, a grant of $1.2 million dollars from Reboot Representation Tech Coalition. Over the next two years, this grant will allow the ColorStack team to ensure Black and Latinx college women have the support and resources they need to pursue and succeed in tech careers. And with support from Google’s Tech Equity Collective - 26 ColorStack community members attended the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) conference where 75% of those members secured a job. 

‍

Combined, ColorStack’s community and organizational accomplishments have resulted in an environment where Black and Latinx Computer Science students have the space and support they need to thrive. Of ColorStack’s community, 91% of members are on track to graduate, and 61% of graduating seniors (2023) secured a full-time job.

‍

And with more than 2,000 ColorStack alumni members by the end of this year, current and graduating members can expect to have a robust network of professional contacts as they enter the workforce––not to mention friendships that will last a lifetime. The ColorStack Census shared that 57% of members have made at least one friend through the community. 

‍

While ColorStack is incredibly proud of its success, the team is already looking to the future and identifying ways in which the organization can facilitate even more opportunities for its members. Some goals include: expanding campus chapters to every college campus that offers Computer Science, hosting more in-person gatherings, building out ColorStack’s community management software, formalizing the alumni programming, and more. 

As ColorStack moves forward, it maintains its three core pillars: academic support, career development, and perhaps most important - community building. To learn more about ColorStack’s impact, check out the full annual report here. 

‍