Byte Back wins $775,000 grant to expand to Baltimore in 2019

Washington, D.C.-based Byte Back has won a $775,000 grant from TD Bank. The TD Ready Challenge winner plans to use the funds to expand to Baltimore in the coming year.

The inaugural challenge from the Toronto-headquartered bank was created to help organizations scale innovative solutions aimed at preparing North Americans for the future economy. Byte Back, a tech-inclusion nonprofit, was the only #dctech firm selected to receive a grant.

BIG NEWS: We just won $1 MILLION CAD💸 from @TD_Canada to expand!!! Baltimore, here we come!! https://t.co/wdHRXujh4V #techwithinreach #TheReadyCommitment @TDNews_Canada @TDBank_US pic.twitter.com/fGLk7pQH0n

— Byte Back (@We_ByteBack) October 24, 2018

Byte Back’s expansion to Baltimore will be the first in an exploration to national expansion. This will be the company’s first expansion outside of the Washington, D.C. region. With the winning funds, Byte Back has committed to training at least 72 people in Baltimore in the first year.

“Thousands of adults are still struggling to succeed in the digital economy, and we cannot leave them behind. They deserve education opportunities, they deserve to fully participate in a digital world, and they deserve living-wage careers,” Elizabeth Lindsey, executive director of Byte Back, said in a statement. “We’re really dreaming now about what it looks like for our impact to expand to hundreds and thousands more people across the country.”

Over 200 submissions were received for the challenge and TD narrowed that list to 15 semifinalists who presented before a panel of judges. After two rounds, 10 finalists were chosen to receive grants, totaling $7.75 million. Here’s a list of the 2018 TD Ready Challenge grantees.

Byte Back will start recruiting for a Baltimore site director next week, according to Byte Back Communications Director Yvette Scorse. The staffer will build partnerships with employers and organizations looking to hire Byte Back graduates once they complete the program next year.