CodeVA, a Richmond-based nonprofit, that provides students across Virginia with computer science education through classes and coding events, closed its Downtown office last Friday. They hosted an “open door clean-out,” selling various educational supplies and craft materials.

Nichole Wescott, director of advancement for CodeVA, said the organization is going primarily remote, but will continue to host camps and trainings around the city.

“We have secured a space to host camps and training as needed in the Richmond area,” Wescott stated.

Over the years, CodeVA hosted computer science summer camps, often working with income-qualified students and occasionally offering free summer camps. In May of this year, Executive Director Tina Manglicmot announced the organization was suspending their summer programs.

“To better ensure the longevity of our organization, we made some painful decisions to reduce our financial obligations while we reorganized and restructured our work,” Manglicmot stated.

Since closing their Downtown location, the organization has moved to the Lynnhaven School in Henrico. According to Manglicmot, the move was for financial reasons.

“The amount of funding we were receiving was not nearly covering the costs, and so CodeVA was about to get in the red.”

The organization shifted its business model in order to operate within its means, according to Manglicmot. The company had to cut staffing costs by 57%, rent and storage costs by 85%, and other resources by 40%.

Despite these changes, the organization’s mission has not changed, according to Manglicmot.

“We’re continuously developing curriculum or continuously working with teachers implementing computer science into their classrooms. That’s something that we have not stopped,” Manglicmot said.

CodeVA intends to expand their state-wide impact by developing a computer science curriculum that will be provided for free to out-of-school providers.

“We want to partner with out-of-school time providers. We want to deliver the curriculum to them for free, but we’ll train their providers and we’ll train them on how to implement that curriculum,” Manglicmot said.

Due to a staffing shortage and lack of funds, CodeVA currently only does classes upon request. The decision to share resources with out-of-school providers allows CodeVA to deliver on their mission of providing computer science education without the concerns of staffing the lessons, according to Manglicmot.

“So what we’re trying to do is build that curriculum and use other people’s spaces, other people’s manpower in order to deliver coding and STEM activities across the state,” Manglicmot said.

One of the first out-of-school providers to receive this curriculum will be the Tuckahoe YMCA in the summer of 2025. After the launch of the new program in Tuckahoe, CodeVA plans to partner with out-of-school programs across the state and provide them with educational materials to implement the curriculum.

“So therefore it reaches everywhere, and it doesn’t just reach one locality,” Manglicmot said.