New York City, USA and London United Kingdom. 5th June 2023: The TEAK Fellowship, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing academic and personal support to high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds in New York City, has established a $600,000 three-year partnership with The Hg Foundation, a grant-giving charity with a focus on removing barriers to education and skills in technology, to further develop educational programs and career development opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for TEAK Fellows.

Based in New York City and founded in 1998, TEAK is a free ten-year rigorous academic program that helps high-achieving students achieve their potential through intensive after school and summer classes. TEAK prepares middle school students to get into the nation’s most selective high schools and colleges and onto competitive careers. Currently, 89% of TEAK students have matriculated to highly competitive colleges, with over 30% of students accepted at Ivy League colleges each year.

The Hg Foundation was formed in 2020 and is backed by Hg, a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. It supports programmes which help under-represented groups aged 11 upwards progress through the education and employment pipeline into jobs in the technology industry. The Foundation provides funding and operational support to charitable schemes across the UK, US and Europe where measurable, long-term and scalable impact can be demonstrated to make a difference to those that need it most.

As TEAK welcomes its 26th cohort this month, the total number of Fellows currently in the program is 326. The Hg Foundation’s financial contribution and support will help with TEAK’s continued goal of expansion in student capacity and services to the program each year. The support will also allow TEAK to strengthen and increase its program offerings, expanding coding courses, extracurricular robotics programming, whilst also supporting more internships and professional development opportunities in STEM. In addition, part of the grant will support an independent assessment of TEAK’s initiatives on student outcomes, enabling further development and improvements for more impact in the future.

“We are so grateful for our new partnership with The Hg Foundation,” said The TEAK Fellowship’s Executive Director Dr. Denise Brown-Allen. “With their backing, we can expand our programs and provide more opportunities for our students to succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Robbie Citrino, Trustee of The Hg Foundation and a Senior Associate at Hg in New York, said: “This is The Hg Foundation’s second partnership of 2023 and our third partnership in the United States. TEAK’s hands-on work and long-term focus on the education of their fellows has a clear impact on students’ chances of success in life, as displayed by their best-in-class test scoring and matriculation rates. We are delighted to expand our reach, together, so we can scale TEAK’s work to provide meaningful opportunities in the pursuit of STEM education to talented students who may not otherwise have access to them.”

About TEAK:

The TEAK Fellowship is a free NYC-based program that helps talented students from low-income families achieve their potential. Through intensive after school and summer classes, TEAK prepares middle school students to get into the nation’s most selective high schools and colleges. TEAK’s strong support system ensures that students thrive in their high schools and graduate from college, ready to pursue their professional goals and positively impact the world.

TEAK relies on the support of donors and volunteers to continue its important work. To learn more about TEAK Fellowship, or to support its mission, please visit the organization's website at https://teakfellowship.org/

About The Hg Foundation:
The Hg Foundation’s vision is that the tech workforce of the future harnesses the talents of all, regardless of background.  It does this by supporting education and employment-based programmes across the UK, USA and Europe where it can demonstrate measurable, long-term and scalable impact and make a difference to those that need it most.  To date it has committed $14m to programmes that will reach 10,000 young people and adults from under-represented backgrounds. The Hg Foundation is registered Charity no. 1189216. Find out more at https://www.thehgfoundation.com/