GlobalHack
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
As societal issues evolve, the ways we solve emerging real-world problems must adapt as well. Technology can be a powerful tool in this evolution, updating obsolete systems to craft new efficiencies, enhance transparency, and reconnect growingly disconnected institutions. GlobalHack's hackathons bring together cross-sector talent in a fun, competitive environment to rethink obstacles and generate working, sustainable and innovative solutions. By 2020, the U.S. economy will add 1.4 million computing jobs but train only 400,000 computer science students to fill them. More locally, the 2017 State of St. Louis Workforce report showed that three of the top ten most frequently posted jobs requiring a college education involved computers and programming - nearly 15,000 openings in the past year. GlobalHack youth programs aim to increase the number of youth interested in technology careers – to enhance students' career possibilities and partially fill the growing tech workforce gap.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
GlobalHack Hackathons
GlobalHack hackathons bring together engineers, developers, UI/UX designers, entrepreneurs, and technologists for weekend-long software competitions. Small teams across youth, college, and professional divisions work around the clock to build innovative software solutions that solve real-world, civic problems. Winning prototypes, as selected by highly-qualified industry experts, are further developed and implemented by GlobalHack for real-world impact.
Youth Programs
GlobalHack education programs focus on engaging middle and high school youth in computer science and programming. Current programs include
*GlobalHack Summer Camp: a series of eight week-long programs for middle and high school youth, featuring web design, game design, programming basics, and mobile technology.
*The Youth Coding League: an after-school "team sport" in which school-based teams work together to learn Python and code the best game, culminating in a thrilling final competition with game demos and live coding challenges.
*CS First with GlobalHack: an after-school entry-level coding club feasible for every school, with part-time instructors trained by GlobalHack leading youth through Google's video-based coding curriculum.
Where we work
External reviews
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
GlobalHack aims to strengthen the St. Louis community in two ways: fostering software solutions for residents and nonprofit organizations and providing accessible coding education opportunities for youth. Current activities aim to provide a game changing software solution every two years through GlobalHack, the organization's flagship software development competition. Additional events, like Code with a Cause deliver smaller scale solutions to nonprofit organizations over the course of a few days.
GlobalHack's youth program efforts aim to attract and encourage more youth to pursue coding education and careers. Over time, the organization aims to serve greater numbers of youth, doing its part to shrink the gap in the technology workforce.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The organization's activities fall into two general categories: professional hackathons and education programs. Hackathons - or software development competitions - increase the technology industry's public profile by creating real-world impact for local communities and nonprofit organizations. Meanwhile, GlobalHack education programs aim to build the next generation's tech workforce, bringing computer science education opportunities to schools and families that normally cannot afford them.
The organization's namesake software development competition - GlobalHack - takes place every two years, bringing more than 1,250 technologists, from youth through retirees, together to tackle civic challenges through tech. In the two years following the competition, GlobalHack works to implement winning software solutions in local nonprofits and scale the solutions regionally and beyond.
Additional hackathons complement this flagship program. Code with a Cause, debuting in February 2018, brought tech professionals together with 11 local nonprofits to tackle simpler technology issues, like developing an app for a local school to communicate with parents.
Beyond these events, GlobalHack's education programs engaged nearly 700 youth in 2017. Current programs in 2018 include:
GlobalHack Summer Camp – a fun, educational camp inspiring youth to pursue programming careers
Youth Coding League – an after-school “team sport" in which school-based teams compete to design the best game
CS First with GlobalHack – an after-school program using Google's new education program
GlobalHack Summer Camp and the Youth Coding League have completed their proofs of concept and will continue to grow in 2018. Ninety-eight percent of Youth Coding League participants increased their confidence with coding through participation in the pilot program. CS First launched earlier this year and will serve hundreds of participants in the first year alone.
Both the Youth Coding League and CS First engage volunteer or part-time coaches and instructors to bring content expertise to a variety of sites. This model allows GlobalHack to increase the number of youth served without sacrificing program quality or expanding costs dramatically.
Notably, GlobalHack is also proud of its commitment to accessibility. Of 400 summer camp slots, in each 2017 and 2018, 200 are provided on full scholarship with transportation provided when needed. CS First with GlobalHack is serving schools with a majority free- and reduced-lunch-eligible population, providing part-time coding instructors at no cost. Plus, any fee-based programs include a sliding scale system to provide discounted (including free) programming to organizations or individuals who could otherwise not participate.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
First, GlobalHack is powered by dedicated staff driven to accomplish its mission.
Matt Menietti, Executive Director, oversees all operations for GlobalHack and has a strong history of leadership. Matt has more than five years of experience in the St. Louis startup community and has been recognized twice by the St. Louis Business Journal, in 2012 as part of the 30 under 30 list of young professionals and again in 2017 as a Diverse Business Leader. He is a former AmeriCORPS VISTA member and alumni of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, and he co-founded GoodMap, an online resource-sharing tool for nonprofits.
Beth Casagrand, Youth Programs Director, oversees all youth program activities at GlobalHack. She has 5+ years in experiential youth programming, formerly serving as Youth Leadership St. Louis Director at FOCUS St. Louis and teaching students in eighth grade as part of Teach for America. Beth leads recruitment, coordination and supervision for GlobalHack's youth programs. Beth is extremely committed to the organization's focus on accessibility and equity, aiming to expand the availability of computer science programs across the St. Louis region.
The organization is also positioned well in the St. Louis community for the strategies it intends to use. GlobalHack sits at an interesting intersection of the entrepreneurship, technology and nonprofit industries. In this space, staff can recruit and work with technology professionals to employ their skills for real civic change. They can drive the development of new startup products arising from its hackathons. And alongside nonprofit partners, they can understand how the software tools should be shaped to drive success. GlobalHack staff facilitate the development of meaningful products, but they rely on the expertise of all of these partners to do so.
Youth engagement at GlobalHack benefits from the organization's relationships within the local school system. Staff make an intentional effort to participate in school STEM fairs, join in local education policy discussions, and maintain connections with educators across the St. Louis community. Teachers and administrators see the students they serve nearly every day, and GlobalHack aims to leverage those existing relationships to spend less time recruiting and more time teaching.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
GlobalHack VII in October 2018 will bring more than 1,250 technologists together to design software solutions for challenges facing immigrant communities and the organizations that support them.
GlobalHack's commitment to tackling civic issues arose with GlobalHack V with a focus on the complex local court system. The product developed at that event, http://yourstlcourts.com/, is now helping local residents clarify information about tickets and upcoming court dates.
The solution identified at GlobalHack VI in October 2016 is nearing its pilot implementation in three local nonprofit organizations supporting individuals without secure housing. These organizations often use multiple database systems, one to support daily operations and another to provide data to government funders. Currently, they can spend hundreds of hours per year on redundant data entry, transferring data from one system to another. GlobalHack VI identified a solution that would allow data transfers across these systems, allowing case managers to spend more time engaging clients.
GlobalHack introduced youth programs to its mission in 2016 and has already engaged more than 1,000 youth. Both GlobalHack Summer Camp and the Youth Coding League completed their pilot programs in 2017 with strong results.
On average, GlobalHack Summer Camp participants understood 72% of learning objectives. Of the programs 40 learning objectives (across 8 curricula), 38 were mastered by at least half of participants. A curricular consultant is currently reviewing evaluation results and the curriculum to revise elements prior to 2018 programming. Summer Camp participants were also likely to continue learning to code. From "1" (Not likely at all) to "5" (Very likely), 86% rated themselves at "3" or higher, with 57% rating "4" or higher. More than half of participants who indicated they had no prior coding experience indicated they were likely to continue learning to code.
In the Youth Coding League, 98% of participants stated that their confidence in coding had increased through the program. The program also demonstrated success with learning objectives. Nearly half - 42% - of participants mastered all eight objectives, and 88% learned six or more.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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GlobalHack
Board of directorsas of 03/28/2019
Mr. Brian Matthews
Cultivation Capital
Mark Lewis
LockerDome
Brian Matthews
Cultivation Capital
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes