TechMission

TechMission
Founded 2000 (2000)
Founder Andrew Sears
68-0492427
Location
Area served
World-wide
Method Online Degree, Volunteering, Community development
Subsidiaries City Vision College
Revenue
$1,529,349
Employees
12
Volunteers
9,995 volunteers
Slogan Connecting people with the poor
Mission To empower others to transform at-risk communities in Jesus’ name through technology
Website www.techmission.org

TechMission is a Christian non-profit organization located in Dorchester, Massachusetts which aims to use technology to transform vulnerable communities. Its main goals include bridging the digital divide, protecting youth and families from online pornography, matching Christian volunteers with organizations that need them, and training urban ministry workers in ministry management and development through online courses at City Vision College.

To serve these ends, in 2012, TechMission:

• Matched 9,995 volunteers through ChristianVolunteering.org & programs

• Funded 65 full-time interns for ministries serving 3,642 at-risk youth through TechMission Corps

• Served over 1.3 million unique visitors to UrbanMinistry.org & other websites

• Provided accredited college courses with 281 student registrations through City Vision College

• Provided $10.3 million in resources to sites only spending $1.5 million (674% return on investment) [1] i

History

TechMission was founded in 2000 as an extension of the ministry of the PREP Computer Center, which was a Dorchester-based computer center run as a partnership between Bruce Wall Ministries and two local churches.[2] Andrew Sears, who was at that time executive director of PREP, and other leaders of Christian community computer centers saw the need for a non-profit which would provide resources to and foster communication between their programs. This was the origin of TechMission's AC4 program (the Association of Christian Community Computer Centers), which now serves over 500 sites, including sites affiliated with the Salvation Army, Christian Community Development Association, and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions.[3]

TechMission became a separate non-profit entity in 2002.[2] The next year, following the success of the AC4 program, it launched the TechMission Boston Program which provides full-time workers to serve in after-school, teen, and adult technology education programs, as well as providing the curriculum and software benefits of AC4 membership. In 2004, TechMission Boston received AmeriCorps backing which enabled it to expand to Los Angeles. The program, called TechMission Corps, sent out interns to organizations in Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Western Massachusetts.[4]

In 2005, a Department of Justice grant enabled TechMission to start its Safe Families Program, which promotes online safety through providing free training and web-filtering software.[5] The TechMission Volunteer Network (www.christianvolunteering.org) was launched the following year. In 2007, TechMission introduced UrbanMinistry.org, which is an effort to use Web 2.0 technologies to further promote collaboration and resource-sharing between Christian community development ministries. Finally, at the beginning of 2008, TechMission acquired City Vision College, It was founded in 1998 by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions as "Rescue College." City Vision College is an accredited online institution designed to equip urban ministry workers to manage and develop their ministries[6] Three certificate and degree completion programs are available: Missions, Nonprofit Management and Addiction Studies. In 2013, TechMission Corps was renamed City Vision Internships to expand the program beyond AmeriCorps funding.[7]

Media Coverage and Case Study

In 2013, TechMission and its founder were featured by Christianity Today an article titled "The Tech Poverty Fighter".[8] TechMission was also featured in articles in Religion Today for its involvement in responding to the Boston Marathon Bombing.[9] TechMission was also featured in a nonprofit case study by a group of Northeastern University professors published in the Case Research Journal[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.urbanministry.org/Annual-Report
  2. 1 2 http://www.urbanministry.org/techmission-history History of TechMission and AC4
  3. ↑ http://www.techmission.org/cms/tm/history TechMission History
  4. ↑ http://www.techmissioncorps.org
  5. ↑ http://www.urbanministry.org/about-techmission-inc About TechMission
  6. ↑ http://www.urbanministry.org/city-vision-college-online-training-urban-ministry Announcement of TechMission's Acquisition of City Vision College
  7. ↑ http://www.cityvisioninternships.org City Vision Internships Homepage
  8. ↑ http://www.christianitytoday.com/thisisourcity/7thcity/tech-poverty-fighter.html?start=1 Christianity Today
  9. ↑ http://www.religiontoday.com/news/prayer-key-to-boston-s-recovery.html Religion Today
  10. ↑ http://www.urbansermons.org/f/read-techmission-case-study "TechMission: Jesus, Justice and Technology."
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