Charlotte-based online loan marketplace LendingTree announced a $375,000 investment in Digi-Bridge, from the LendingTree Foundation, that will span three years through its’ signature philanthropy program, the LendaHand Alliance Cohort. This investment will support our work in three areas: expansion of our STEAMLab program, continued community engagement work, and a scholarship fund for the Lab at Innovation Alley.

STEAMLab launched earlier this year with ten school partners through Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. STEAMLab supports young innovators and helps build and nurture a diverse community of future entrepreneurs by providing weekly opportunities to explore STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) concepts under the direction of master educators. We are thrilled to be expanding our reach during the 2021-22 school year to JW Grier Elementary, Dorothy J Vaughn Academy and Sugar Creek Public Charter.

With support from the LendingTree Foundation, we will be expanding our STEAMLab curriculum series focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and finance.

“LendingTree is a hometown financial technology company ready to invest in the next generation of STEM workers,” says Alyssa Sharpe, CEO of Digi-Bridge. “A foundation in STEAM education creates critical thinkers who want to continue to explore and innovate within the world around them. Having the LendingTree Foundation as a partner will allow students to focus on entrepreneurship, innovation and finance as a career pathway. We are thrilled to be a part of the LendaHand Alliance Cohort.”

The LendingTree Foundation’s investment will also allow Digi-Bridge to continue its community engagement work. In past community engagements, we have worked with the following groups: UrbanPromise summer camp (STEAMKits + facilitation), Camp CMS (STEAMKits + facilitation), Charlotte Freedom School Partners (STEAMKits + recorded facilitation), ourBRIDGE for KIDS (Friday STEAM sessions), Freedom Communities (joint programming for students in afterschool program,) and Dottie Rose Foundation (joint programming – SHECanCode camp and pop-up STEAMLab courses). This investment will allow us to continue to offer our programs at a low or no cost to partners who request our services as we know how important it is to reach all scholars.

With the addition of Innovation Alley, our collaborative programming space in West Charlotte, we have moved our programs “home.” During December 2020 and March 2021, Digi-Bridge relaunched programs in a safe environment and sold out every course offering, demonstrating the demand for in-person, hands-on STEAM learning is high. The LendingTree Foundation’s partnership will allow us to stay true to our mission of providing every child the opportunity to be prepared for the digital age as we’ll be able to offer a sliding-scale fee model so scholars from every background can participate in programming at Innovation Alley.