The KeyBank Business Boost & Build program, powered by JumpStart, has awarded $100,000 in funding to Per Scholas Inc. in Columbus through the KeyBank Center for Technology, Innovation and Inclusive Growth.

Per Scholas was founded more than 20 years ago with a mission to open doors to transformative technology careers for individuals from overlooked communities. This funding will help Per Scholas build a tech workforce collaborative called “On-Ramps to Tech Careers” to increase the pipeline of students from underrepresented groups into the Columbus tech workforce. The work will focus on women, people of color and young adults who have not followed traditional pathways to their careers.

Important partners in the On-Ramps to Tech Careers Collaborative include Columbus State Community College, Jewish Family Services, the City of Columbus (via the My Brother’s Keeper initiative), TECH Corps and the Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity.

“We are grateful for the support from the KeyBank Business Boost & Build program and excited about the impact this funding will have on our work.” Said Per Scholas Managing Director Toni Cunningham. “The tech economy in Columbus is growing rapidly and now is the time to ensure the workforce reflects the full diversity of the wider community in Central Ohio.”

“We are proud to support Per Scholas in their mission to diversify the tech industry and create more opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups,” said KeyBank Central Ohio District President Melissa Ingwersen. “The workforce collaborative they will be leading has the potential to not only diversify the Columbus tech ecosystem but also strengthen it significantly by including a more diverse range of skills, voices and experiences.”

Funded by a grant from the KeyBank Foundation, the KeyBank Business Boost & Build program is designed to stimulate economic growth in Ohio and Upstate New York. In Ohio, the program powers the KeyBank Center for Technology, Innovation and Inclusive Growth, which is designed to accelerate the success of women and minorities as entrepreneurs of high growth firms as well as connect women, minorities and those in rural communities to career opportunities in growing, globally competitive small businesses.

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About Per Scholas
Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or underemployed for successful careers as technology professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in eight cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Greater Boston, MA; Greater Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; Newark, NJ and New York, NY. To date, Per Scholas has trained 10,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing skills and careers in technology. Learn more at perscholas.org.

About KeyCorp
KeyCorp’s roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $141.5 billion at March 31, 2019. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of over 1,100 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit www.key.com. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

About JumpStart Inc.
JumpStart is a nationally recognized investing, entrepreneurial support and economic development organization dedicated to unlocking the full potential of diverse and ambitious entrepreneurs to economically transform entire communities.