2020 Year in Review
"It's electric being at Forge. Surrounded by my people and given all the tools I need for success, I feel like I can do absolutely anything. The relentless creative energy of our students is what makes Forge unlike anything I've ever been a part of.

There is something so fundamentally special about our members that just working and learning beside them has helped me grow enormously as a leader and a learner."
- Rachel, Forge alumna
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At Forge, we're creating a different kind of school.
Our school is fueled by the energy and big ideas of our students. Our students are creative, humble, and resilient; the sort of people who are always hungry to learn and can't wait to start something new, whether it be a new project, company, or movement. We give our people the skills they need to realize their big ideas and a community they can call home.

As you explore these pages, you'll see the tremendous impact Forge has on thousands of students as they learn new technical skills, develop their leadership abilities, and realize their ability to affect change in their work and in their communities.

Even further, you'll discover the enormous efforts our students made this year to help those affected by COVID-19. We're proud of the impact our students continue to make at local nonprofits, the University of Virginia, and at startups and small businesses right here in Charlottesville-Albemarle.

Keep scrolling to learn more about our year. Or click here to learn about how you can join our Support Network to help us continue to make an impact for years to come.

Sincerely,
Daniel Willson
Executive Director
Rebranding to Forge
In October 2020, we introduced our new brand.
This year, we decided it was time to re-define our mission, vision, and values to better reflect the organization we've grown to become over the last eight years. We've grown a lot since our founding in 2012: we now serve thousands of students each year through our transformational educational programs and help hundreds of companies and nonprofits connect with our talented, impact-driven students.

We spent the summer working with over 100 of our student leaders and alumni to ensure that our entire community was involved in this important process. We're excited to share our revised direction and focus.
Mission: Empower students to realize their own potential, while creating opportunities for them to make an impact for good.
Vision: Create the world's most student-centric and forward-looking school.
Our Values:
#1: We create space for every student to teach and to learn, free of barriers or risks.
#2: We empower our students to shape our organization's future.
#3: What we teach and learn can and must be used as a force for good.
With these principles to guide us, we took the big step of rebranding under a new name and visual identity this October. To us, our new name Forge evokes a sense of creation and progress. Creating new things, forging new connections, building new ideas, always moving forward: these are all ideas that are core to our mission and values. We feel that our new name speaks to the hardworking, scrappy, and ambitious attitude of our students. Read more about our rebrand on Medium →
Our Student Impact
We've impacted thousands of students since our founding in 2012.
5,100+
students have participated in a Forge program since 2012
1,000+
students take a Forge program each year
1 in 10
UVA students complete a Forge program before they graduate
15%
of our students receive financial aid from Forge
80%
of aid goes to people of color
20%
of Forge students are first-generation college students, more than double UVA's percentage
54%
of aid goes to first-generation college students
$20,000+
in scholarships are given out by Forge each year thanks to our Support Network
Our Founding Partners
We are very grateful to the Galant Center and Quantitative Foundation for their ongoing support of Forge and its students.
Led by women
56% of our students and 62% of our student leaders are women.
What Students Learn at Forge
40% - Data Science
26% - Software Engineering
20% - Marketing
14% - UX Design
10% - Graphic Design
8% - Videography
7% - Rapid Prototyping
1%
of all course revenue and membership dues are donated to carbon removal initiatives around the world
100%
of our electricity for our student clubhouse is powered by clean wind energy
“
There are so many things about my college experience that I owe to Forge. It's given me the opportunity to teach 50 students data science, using a curriculum I was given the freedom to design. It's given me and countless others a space to explore our ideas, everything from starting a food truck to creating a new app. It's given me the confidence to share my ideas with others. And it's given me two of my closest friends at UVA.

I know I'm not alone in this -- Forge has become a community and, in many ways, a second home, for so many people."
— Anya Pfeiffer, Class of 2021, Forge Student Leader