BUILD

Technology Helps BUILD Academic Success

In helping under-resourced high school students start their own small businesses, BUILD provides youth in the San Francisco Bay Area with the resources they need to succeed. While learning the basics of entrepreneurship, students improve academic skills and develop an interest in college.

Student groups learn valuable English and math skills when they prepare a business plan and participate in the BUILD Youth Business Plan Competition. Through TechSoup Stock, BUILD acquired Microsoft Office 2003 Professional for their computer lab. Students are able to use PowerPoint to create presentations, Excel for financials and sales projections, and Word for proposals.

In addition to equipping students with the tools needed to build their business plans, BUILD improved the reliability of their technology infrastructure to support day-to-day operations. According to Anne Diaz, Development and Communications Manager, "Staff members working remotely couldn't log in via VPN, our server was unreliable, and our network was inefficient. There was a lot of down time due to the slow connection—and frustration because the technology wasn't working properly."

BUILD also received a Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 donation, which has helped support BUILD's expansion to three offices. A higher capacity server is in place and services such as remote access to files, document sharing, and email communications are now reliable.

"Oakland is now its own independent site, so we are poised for more growth now that the technology is in place and we don't have to spend a lot of time troubleshooting technical problems. Document and file sharing across sites is seamless without relying heavily on
one another to make sure the technology is working."

Providing students with more reliable computer access has also improved the academic component of the program. Students are able to work on their college applications, complete their homework, and work on their business plans with no downtime. In the words of Breyanna, a BUILD Graduate: "I'm really grateful because I always thought I'd just be another number, but BUILD has given me hope in myself and taught me that I can do anything if I put my mind to it."

"... We are poised for more growth now that the technology is in place and we don't have to spend a lot more time troubleshooting technical problems."

Anne Diaz

Development and Communications Manager