The mission of Tech by Choice should be one that everyone supports and benefits from. To see our vision come true, we must be transparent and community-driven. There should never be one person filling every role to keep things going.

Being a membership-based nonprofit with a flat org structure is not enough to support the vision I have for the Tech by Choice community. I spent the last year searching for ways I can genuinely help and sustain the growth of Tech by Choice. To my surprise web 3 has offered a solution through its support of Decentralized Autonomous Nonprofit organizations Read more about DAOs here. We’ve partnered with a Black female NFT artist during the giving season that will create a generative art project to highlight the importance community has with ensuring tech is diverse view the project here. We will use a percentage of the funds raised to work with a DAO consultant to support the structural change of Tech by Choice. We will continue to behold our nonprofit status, but our structure internally will change to better support the community and our mission.

Historically when an organization makes a significant change like this, people fear that they will water down what they do. For us, this is the complete opposite. This change will help us support our members more directly and communally. To prove this point, the very first proposal I will submit for our community is to find a way to help our members deal with the Black Tax. This is a topic I’ve been vocal about and one that I know the Tech by Choice community has brought up as well. Through this new structure, we will find a way to elevate this burden for our members.

This is just one example from me, a single member of the community. I know together we will create programs and funds that will support several burdens our members face. But to get there, we have to do this together.

The Tech by Choice community is one I care for deeply. I will always make time for our mission to ensure marginalized people know tech has a space for them. I hope those who read this message will see this change as me shifting my power and status within this organization as a way to keep it going. I hope people do not make this change as I walk away from giving up on our community.

Valerie Phoenix
Founder of Tech by Choice