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Breaking down barriers to education and employment Byte Back FY2012 Annual Report
Breaking down barriers to education and employment
Byte Back
FY2012 Annual Report
From Our Director
From Our Board Chair
Dear Friends and Family of Byte Back,
As we celebrate 15 years of service, this is
an amazing time to serve as chair of the
board of Byte Back. The tremendous amount
of outreach and support we receive from our
partners and community allow us to provide
a premier level of service to our students.
Our extraordinary staff, with the help of over
250 volunteers, has helped shape the educa-
tion and development of almost 1,400 stu-
dents this past fiscal year. Even more amaz-
ing is that many alumni return to the organi-
zation as volunteers and give right back to
their community. We’ve also had the great
fortune of growing the staff, including bring-
ing on volunteers in permanent, full-time
roles. These are just some of the results of
our investment in the community.
Your support allows us to update curriculum
and technical certification programs, expand
our outreach, and improve our facilities and
technology, ensuring that Byte Back continues to provide exceptional service. Despite a decline in federal and local funding to the non-profit
sector, we remain fiscally sound due to diverse revenue streams, aggressive donor cultivation strategies, and increased board contributions.
Byte Back’s success is possible because of the efforts of our resilient students, staff, executive director, volunteers, board of directors, strate-
gic partners, donors, funders, and loyal friends of the organization. I’d like to personally thank all of you for your contribution to Byte Back,
and your commitment to our mission. I invite you to attend one of our digital access tours, student graduations, or open houses, and experi-
ence the commitment and passion of our students and staff. I’m confident that together we can eliminate the digital divide one student, one
community, and one city at a time!
Mario Burney, Board Chair
Dear Friends and Family of Byte Back,
We live in a city of contrasts. Our government affects world economies, but our residents face unemployment levels as high as 21.9%. In the
very nation that created the Internet, 40% of residents of some neighborhoods of our city have no Internet access. A recent national study
ranked DC as the “most literate” city, yet 50.4% of Ward Eight residents are functionally illiterate.
Byte Back’s goal is to level the playing field and bridge the digital divide. Last year, we
taught almost 1,400 individuals through courses ranging from our basic computer literacy
class to five different IT certification programs. We worked to remove barriers that might
prevent students from learning new skills by providing classes at 26 locations across the city
during daytime, evenings and on Saturdays. We offered classes in English, Spanish and
American Sign Language, providing assistive technologies as needed.
In addition to teaching new skills, our instructors, tutors, and mentors supported students by
sharing their love of learning and encouraging students to believe in themselves and in new possibilities. Our volunteers and staff helped
guide students in their quest for career advancement. Byte Back gifted many of our graduates with free, refurbished computers and free Inter-
net for their home. Students who moved from unemployment to employment began their new jobs at an average hourly wage of $18 per hour!
We are inspired by our students every day as they face their fears and pursue their dreams. Thank you to our donors, staff, and volunteers who
make what seems impossible possible.
Kelley Ellsworth, Executive Director
“In the very nation that created the
Internet, 40% of residents of some
neighborhoods of our city have no
Internet access […]Byte Back’s
goal is to level the playing field
and bridge the digital divide.”
The Year at a Glance
*According to our student outcome survey of students who completed classes in FY11 and the first half of FY12 and our FY12 end of course surveys.
Byte Back graduates who were unemployed when they came to us and are now employed are earn-
ing an average of $18 per hour working an average of 31 hours per week. 75% receive benefits.
“I am no longer scared of the computer.”
- Byte Back student (PC for Beginners)
39% pursued additional training or education as a result of their enroll-
ment in Byte Back programs, with 21% of these pursuing their GED/EDP
and 32% pursuing a college degree.*
98.8% of students would recommend the course they took to others.
85.6% plan to take another Byte Back course.
In FY12, Byte Back:
Was one of five finalists for the Washington Post Award for Excel-
lence in Nonprofit Management and received an honorable mention
for the second time
Held our first trilingual graduation ceremony
Implemented a new database for centralized student information
Created a dedicated communications department
Became a certified testing facility
Hired a Byte Back graduate as an in-house networking administrator
Taught computer courses in three languages (English, Spanish, and
American Sign Language)
FY12 Student Race/Ethnicity FY12 Student Gender
Continued to provide free computer and Internet access through
our open labs
Taught 1,396 students (with 1,818 enrollments)
“Your patience and support has helped [me] to realize that I can-
not afford to let myself continue to lag behind in what may be my
only way to support myself in this century.”
- Byte Back student (PC for Beginners and Office Track)
Gave out 736 vouchers for free, refurbished computers
Held a Community Computer Day with 181 attendees with free computer workshops, barbecue, prizes, a moon
bounce, cotton candy, and a deejay.
Special Populations (Out of 1244 Respondents)
Wards Represented
Gave out 454 vouchers for a free modem and a year of free broadband Internet from Cricket
“Byte Back is a great program
that I recommend to anyone
that's trying to get in the com-
puter field. Thank you all so, so
much for all that you have given
me.”
- Byte Back student (A+ Certification)
Core Services
930 students took our Personal Computing for Beginners, a two-part, entry-level course designed for students with no previous experience
with computers. Students learn how to use a computer and the Internet to apply for jobs, correspond with institutions, manage their healthcare
and finances, and participate in their community and government. This course is offered in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.
We also offer two specialized versions of this course, each designed to meet the learning styles, interests and needs of two groups of students:
senior citizens and low literacy learners (40 course hours).
Support Services: one-on-one tutoring, mentoring, and career counseling; job clubs
in English, Spanish and ASL, and job placement assistance.
Open Lab: allowed community members free access to Byte Back computers and
the Internet.
Financial Literacy Training: Byte Back contracted with the Capital Area Asset
Builders to provide their five-part Money Management 101 to our program partici-
pants.
95 students took our Community Academy Courses, an array of beginning and intermediate courses such QuickBooks and HTML, which
assist students in keeping their jobs or advancing in their careers (26-40 course hours each).
“Byte Back has helped me feel more
empowered in my life. I am now
equipped with the tools I need in order
to compete with anyone else that is
looking for employment and I won't feel
‘less than.’”
- Byte Back student (PC for Beginners and Office
Track)
298 students took our Microsoft Office Track a comprehensive course which includes instruction in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
and Outlook, as well as job readiness training. This course is offered in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. Each graduate re-
ceives a free refurbished computer and many receive a year of free Internet as well (48 course hours).
Certification Courses
A+ Certification training targeting employment as a computer
repairer, computer support specialist or help desk operator (90
course hours and 80 hour internship)
IC3 Certification training targeting employment as an Admin-
istrative Assistant (108 course hours)
MOS Certification (in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Out-
look) targeting employment as a training and development spe-
cialist (24-30 hours per software application)
MOS Certification (in Excel and Access) training targeting
employment as a database administrator
MCITP Certification training targeting employment as a computer repairer, computer sup-
port specialist or help desk operator (90 course hours)
Security + Certification targeting employment as a network
systems and data communications analyst (80 course hours and
a 60-hour internship)
Byte Back currently provides eight different computer certifi-
cation courses, each of which leads to a specific occupation.
Our certification program grew from six students to 114
over the past fiscal year.
Partnerships
“Thank you to Byte Back for
going above and beyond
expectations at both the in-
dividual and organizational
levels to decrease the digital
divide.”
- Valarie Ashley, Southeast Minis-
try Executive Director
Everyone in the community benefits
when like-minded organizations
work together to share knowledge
and resources. Our partnerships al-
low us to provide a high level of ser-
vice when meeting our students’
needs.
We began a new partnership with the D.C. Office of Returning Citizens to
offer courses to the residents they support.
We also continued successful partnerships with Accenture, Deloitte, Discov-
ery Communications, Reznick, and Greater DC Cares to offer one-on-one tutor-
ing and job counseling to students
Many of our students have limited access to transportation, so it is critical for us
to make our classes accessible in many different parts of the city.
We also partner with organizations who provide complimentary services such
as GED training, case management, and soft skills training in order to fully
prepare our students for employment and education opportunities.
Nonprofit Sites
1330 Apartments
Byte Back
Faircliff Plaza West
The Family Place
First Time Computers
Hill Center
Hubbard Place
Jubilee Housing
Language, ETC
M.H.C.D.O.
Mayfair Mansions
Oromo Community Org.
Perry School
U.D.C.-C.C. Shadd
Southeast Ministry
Wash. Literacy Council
YWCA
D.C. Public Library Sites
Anacostia
Benning
Capitol View
Lamond-Riggs
Mount Pleasant
Northeast
Shaw
Woodridge
In FY12, we offered classes at 26 sites
around the city:
Thanks to our partnerships with the D.C. Public Library
and First Time Computers, we were able to give vouch-
ers for a free modem and a year of free Internet to
454 students.
Foundation and Cor-
porate Grants:
A.A.R.P. Foundation
Barker, J.M.R. Foun-
dation
Cafritz, Morris &
Gwendolyn Foundation
Center for Nonprofit
Advancement
Clark-Winchcole
Foundation
Comcast
Corina Higginson
General Support
Graham, Phillip L.
Fund
Herb Block Foundation
Jones Foundation
Jovid Foundation
Marriott, JW & Alice
Foundation
Marriott, Richard and
Nancy Foundation
Mars Foundation
Meyer, Eugene &
Agnes Foundation
Saint Paul Foundation
C.F.N.C.R.
Spring Creek Founda-
tion,
Taylor, Jerry & Nancy
Bryant Foundation
Verizon Foundation
Wells Fargo-Wachovia
Government Grants
and Contracts:
C.N.C.S.
D.C. D.O.E.S
D.C. D.H.S.
D.C. O.L.A.
D.C. O.C.T.O.
D.C.P.L.
Serve D.C.
N.T.I.A.
U.S. D.O.L.
In-Kind Donations:
Accenture
Ben’s Next Door
Colonel Brooks Tavern
D.C. Bar Pro Bono
D.C. D.O.E.S.
S.C.S.E.P. Program
D.C. Learns
Deloitte
Discovery Communica-
tions
Greater D.C. Cares
Keepers
La Fourchette
Latham & Watkins LLP
Microsoft
Morgan, Lewis &
Bockius LLP
Nick Osmanski
Public Allies Inc.
Reznick
Soulfully Speaking
Photography
Sugar and Spice Fitness
Trinity University
U.S. O.C.P.
Wilmer Cutler Picker-
ing Hale and Dorr LLP
Yves Bistro
Additional Support:
Acquire Data Solutions
A.I.R.
Celerity IT, LLC
Community IT Innova-
tors, Inc
G.U., Dept. of Sociolo-
gy
Jubilee Enterprise
Pante Technology
C.U.A.
Edge Advisory Group
Thank you, FY12
supporters!
Volunteers
"The world is changing so fast with new technologies and we have become so de-pendent on them. I feel grateful to have the opportunity to help people learn how to
make use of these tools of the future."
- Scott Ryan, FY12 AmeriCorps Instructor
Byte Back relies on a
team of highly quali-
fied, dedicated volun-
teer instructors, tutors
and mentors.
Many of these volun-
teers are former stu-
dents, and several of
our permanent staff
members are former
volunteers. These
connections are part
of the welcoming,
dynamic nature of the
Byte Back communi-
ty.
Byte Back students
and alumni made up 13% of our volunteers overall and 16% of our long-term volunteers. Out of the
ten volunteers who donated the most hours to Byte Back, five were students or alumni. We had an aver-
age of 65 volunteers each month. Each volunteer contributed an average of 31 hours a month.
Last year, our volunteers created new or updated existing curriculum for our programs, ranging from
our beginner to our advanced courses. Many of these programs were designed for specific student groups
including American Sign Language (ASL) and Spanish speakers, senior citizens, and low literacy
learners.
Curriculum that our volunteers created or updated included: HTML 1 and 2; Microsoft Access; MOS
Trainer; Personal Computing for Beginners (PCB), Office Track (OT), IC3 in ASL; PCB and OT in Span-
ish; PCB for Literacy Learners; PC Hardware; IC3; PCB for Seniors; Summer Youth Technology Sampler
curriculum, featuring lessons in hardware, MS Access, web design, and graphic design.
“I learned so much as an Ameri-
Corps instructor -- from developing
skills in curriculum design to im-
proving my classroom manage-
ment and direct instruction skills.
The best part was teaching and
learning from some amazing stu-
dents and contributing to an organ-
ization in my own community. “
- H.Y. Griffin, FY12 AmeriCorps Instructor
In FY12, 250 volunteers gave over 25,000 hours of their time.
Richard Adam
George Adams
Vivian Aguayo
Amaejuma Ajagbawa
Omatseye Ajagbawa
Eboni Amos
Phyllis Andrade
King Azmaveth
Kadijatu Bangura
Jamie Belton
Adnan Bokari
N'goran Bouaffo
Juanita Brown
Kimberly Bryant
Angela Burl
Mario Burney
Peggy Butler
Luis Callejas
Karen Chiang
Ralph J. Chittams Sr.
Young Choi
Keith Clark
Eulas Cleckley
Charles Colbert
Ronnita Collier
Essie Collins
Selina Cook
Leslie Cooper
Sarah Crespi
Jordan Daniels
Rita Daniels
Vishnu Datla
Meg Davis
Steve Delahunty
Stephen Delaney
Renee Dennis
Steven Dodge
Kalimba DuBose
Jonathan Eidsvaag
Janna Erlandson
Linda Esah
Israel Escobar
Romona Foster
Ted Frazier
Stephany Fry
Victoria Gaines
Greater DC Cares
Cassandra Giddings
Rik Goldman
Sabre Goldman
Iris Gomez
Cherise Graves
Tracy Grayson
Tre-Von Greenfield
H.Y. Griffin
Riley Grime
Jerryl Guy
Wilmer Hale
Barbara Harris
Zenobia Harris
Eric Harrison
Dawn Hart
Matthew Hayes
Lindsey Heitman
Lawrence Herndon
Afrika Hicks
Jason Hoekstra
Christopher Holby
Germaine Holt
Amira Hossain
Jibri Howard
John Howard
Lauren Hoy
Ron Hulen
Carolyn Hyde
Arvind Iyer
Julie Jacobson
Angel Jaen
Benjamin Johnson
Kyle Johnson
Octavia Jordan
Hugo Kessler
Angela King
Marc Knapp
Jessica Ko
Carolyn Kraemer
Sharlene Kranz
Robert Krieger
Zachary Kulzer
Edward Lawrence
Diane Leach
Shiekia Lee
Kervin Leonidas
Rachel Levy
Joseph Lewis
Gregory Loesch
Ana Patricia Lopez
Nicole Lubar
Eric Lund
Makeda Lydia
Malkia Lydia
Jacquie Makinde
Taylor Maltz
Connor Maxwell
Kyra Maxwell
Jarrel McAfee
Mary McKenna
John McMahon
Ben Merrion
Linda Mingo
Monica Morales
Cristina Moscoso
Antonio Mosley
T.K. Mukherjee
Kevin Murphy
Pamela Nash
Jesse Newby
Adrian Ntwatwa
Margie Odle
Nicholas Osmanski
Charles Ouedraogo
Kimberly Penn
Belen Perez
John Pinkney
RaMeka Price
Andrew Quilpa
Rhoderick Ramsey
Josef Ratcliff
Elinor Reed
Lauren Rhoades
Maria Ricasa
Clarence Robinson
Dannie Rogers
Cynthia Rowland
Scott Ryan
Gary Saucedo
Nicole Saunders
Dahlia Schaewitz
Jewel Scott
Sean Shannon
Lindsey Sharpe
Pamela Sharpe
Larry Simms
Piti Sinkantarakorn
Greg Smith
David Song
John Souder
Seth Spergel
Angela Stephens
Darryl Stephens
Rebecca Stewart
Bonnie Stokely
Jahi Sule
Theresa Sule
Jack Szeltner
Millie Tran
Katie Trizna
Hugh Trout
Leslie Tyburski
Wanjiku Uwangi
David Vest
Ronald Wade
Robert Waisburd
Meg Walker
Charlene Wallace
JD Walter
Cynthia Ward
Oraios Ward
Erick Watt-Udogu
Petra Williams
Richelle Williams
Virginia Woolley
Lucy Zhu
Thank you, FY12 volunteers!
Financials
5%
31%
12%17%
5%1%
26%
3%FY12 Revenue Sources
Individual Contributions
Foundation and CorporateGrantsGovernment Grants
Government Contracts
Tuition and Program Fees
Special Events
In-kind Services
In-kind Goods
FY12 Expenses
Statement of Activities
for FY12
Support and Revenue Total: $1,804,750 Expenses: $1,617,982 Change in Net Assets: $186,768 Net Assets, beginning of year: $140,283
FY12 Liabilities
Statement of
Financial Position for FY12
Total Assets: $589,529 Total Liabilities: $262,209 Total Net assets: $327,050
Linda Adams
Flaronica Allen
Alan Alper
Anonymous
Thomas & Valarie
Ashley
Maria Balazy
Peter Balazy
Kim Bell
Thomas Bell Pante
Robert Berg & Vivian
Derryck
Donn Block
Adnan Bokhari
Kelly Bonnevie
Nancy Bryant
Mario Burney
John Bush
John Campbell
Stella Cannata
Alexander Chaikin
Daniel Champ
Allen Chong
Keith Clark
Kevin Clark
William Clark
Earl B. Cohen
Catalan Conlon
Carol Cosenza
Catherine & Leslie
Crum
Janet Cyphers
Adrianne M. Dale
Celeste Delahunty
Lowel & Diane T.
Dodge
Donald Doggendorf
Silvina Fernandez
Duque
Kelley Ellsworth
Samuel & Maryann
Ellsworth
Linda Esah
Nicole & William
Feemster
Michael & Annette
Fekete
Baruch & Karen
Fellner
Krassimir Genov
Tracy George
Richard A. Gollub
Hannah Gough
Haroun Habib
Caroline Wolf Harlow
Robbie Harris
Eric Harrison
Philip Heinrich
Gordon Hill
Robin & Terri Horn
John Howard
Carolyn Hyde
Jocelyn Johnson
Willie Johnson
Anna Karavangelos
Mark & Christine
Kraemer
Sharlene Kranz
Micah Krichevsky
Thomas Kujawski
Mercedes Lemp
Tara Libert
Pamela Lyons
Anne Masters
Christopher Mapon-
dera
Carol Mbabazi
Amie McArdle
Paul McElligott
Kathleen D. Mckirchy
John McMahon
Monisha Mittal
Karen Mohr
Maria L. Moscoso
Tapas Mukherjee
Arpita Mukherjee
Helen Mulkeen
Annette Muñoz
Kevin & Mary Mur-
phy
Catherine & Leslie
Nickerson
James & Marla Nix
Olivier Bucyana
Ngoga
Olukayode Okusaga
Cynthia Overton
Allison & John Passa
Cynthia Peoples-
Hobson
Giovanni Piazza
Mary Plath
Maryanne Pollock
Ericc Powell
Mary T. Quinn
Rhoderick Ramsey
Alice Reardon
Tondolaya Reed
Johnnie M. Riggsbee
Mark Root-Wiley
Norman Rosenberg
Steve Sattler
Kimberly & Anthony
Sawyer
Jewel Scott
Karl Seff
Louis & Jean Seiden
Steve Seiden
Dahlia Shaewitz
Theodore Singleton
Gregory Smith
Anthony Solazzo
Andrew & Mary
Stephens
William & Marjorie
Stewart
Marina Streznewski
Megan Stull
Lauren & Michael
Trizna
Charlene Wallace
JD Walter
Franklin & Victoria
Wassmer
Haley Wiggins
Agnes Williams
Mark Wilson
Robert Wittig Jr.
Thank you, FY12 donors!
Note: These are unaudited financials. Our audited financials are available for view on our website at
http://byteback.org/about/financials/.
FY12 Byte Back Board of Directors
Chair, Jewel T. Scott, Dean & Company
Vice-Chair, Mario Burney, Edge Advisory Group LLC
Treasurer, Keith Clark, Intelsat
Secretary, Ralph J. Chittams Sr., Fannie Mae
Adnan Bokhari, Corporation for Enterprise Development
Charles Colbert, Department of Defense Inspector General
Steve Delahunty, Arrowpoint Corporation
Kelley Ellsworth, Byte Back (Ex-Officio)
Linda Esah, Corporation for National and Community Service
Jerryl Guy, National Association of Counties
Ron Hulen, Fannie Mae
Carolyn Hyde, Government Acquisitions, Inc
Tina Montgomery, Booz Allen Hamilton
Dahlia Shaewitz, American Institutes for Research
JD Walter, Eidolon Data LLC.
FY12 Byte Back Staff
Jamie Belton, Receptionist/Admin Asst.
John Bush, Director of Finance and Administration
Kelley Ellsworth, Executive Director
Eleanor Grewal, Director of Volunteer Services
Felicia Hawkins, Office Manager
Debony Heart, Director of Programs
Kyle Johnson, Communications and HR Associate
Aditya Mandavia, Registrar
Tasiyiwa Mapondera, Director of Programs
Karen Mohr, Registrar
Carine Umuzayire, Director of Certifications
Francisco Vasquez, Admin Asst. and Registrar
Robert Waisburd, Employment Specialist
Luis Callejas
Meg Davis
H.Y. Griffin
Kyle Johnson
Carolyn Kraemer
Zachary Kulzor
Kervin Leonidas
Joseph Lewis
Jarrel McAfee
Cristina Moscoso
Nicholas Osmanski
Andrew Quilpa
Scott Ryan
Nicole Saunders
David Song
Rebecca Stewart
Theresa Sule
Katie Trizna
Robert Waisburd
FY12 AmeriCorps Volunteers
Byte Back, Inc.
815 Monroe Street N.E.
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 529-3395
Fax (202) 529-4684
www.byteback.org
CFC 73542/United Way 8073
FEIN 52-2061398
