SAO Foundation Name Change Reflects Broadening Activities

by John Ossowski, foundation program and advancement manager

On May 29th, a group of committed supporters and teachers celebrated the launch of TechStart Education Foundation, the new identity of the Software Association of Oregon Foundation. As TechStart Education Foundation, the organization will continue its original mission to awaken a passion for technology among Oregon students through programs for students and teachers that encourage, enable and support technology education opportunities.

TechStart’s relationship to the SAO will remain the same. The SAO Foundation was founded in 2003 by the SAO as a 501c3 philanthropic education foundation, and the foundation’s board of directors will continue to be selected by the board of the SAO. TechStart, as a brand that will be more strongly identified with children and education, is intended to strengthen the foundation’s ability to have a real and lasting impact on both. The two organizations will continue to work together to connect Oregon’s technology industry with education, raising awareness, involving industry volunteers, and raising funds to support technology-related education in Oregon’s K-12 schools.

Building on its core foundation of support from Oregon’s software industry, TechStart will conduct broad outreach to seek volunteer involvement and financial support from any industry, government and private sources that wish to invest in technology education. TechStart also will seek to build relationships with other nonprofit organizations with related goals and programs.

“As the organization grew and built a substantial portfolio of programs to inspire kids with the creative and career-related opportunities that abound in technology, we found that we needed to build a stronger platform for communicating our unique mission and identity,” says Andrew Shakman, board president of TechStart and CEO of LeanPath, Inc. “While initiated and championed by software business leaders via the SAO, it is important that our audiences readily grasp that the foundation’s purpose is to help kids and education, and is not just focused on industry-specific priorities.”

TechStart programs have included the annual SuperQuest professional-development training for teachers in partnership with the Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association, NW LEGO in Education and ROBOLAB Regional Conference, Willamette University-SAO Programming Contest, subsidies for LEGO robotics teaching equipment in partnership with ETIC, and the Technology Educator of the Year recognition presented at the Uncork-ED wine-tasting and charity gala. In the remainder of 2007, the foundation is expanding existing programs and creating new ones, including an award competition for Student Technologist of the Year and scholarships for students to attend the SAO OIT Game Programming Camp in Klamath Falls.

“The TechStart board of directors, volunteers, sponsors and donors have done a spectacular job of building what is in essence a living example of the kind of entrepreneurism we are trying to expose our children to,” says Harvey Mathews, SAO president. “With the addition of a more-evolved brand identity and coordinated marketing effort, the foundation is positioning itself for continued growth, and I’m sure it will make a big impact in years to come. The SAO and its members will continue to work very closely with TechStart to improve technology education in Oregon.”

The next phase for TechStart is the execution of a number of critical programs that peak in the summer months, in particular the SuperQuest series, which impacts thousands of students annually by helping their teachers build technology-related skills and curricula. Following that, the Uncork-ED annual wine-tasting fundraiser is scheduled for October 27, 2007, at the Portland Art Museum. Uncork-ED is expected to draw 400 to 500 attendees, including software-industry executives and educators.

For more information about how you can sponsor this event, or support the foundation’s mission in other ways, please contact John Ossowski, program and advancement manager, at 503-802-5211 or john.ossowski@techstart.org.