Helping Compudopt lay a strong business foundation for growth

Compudopt is helping families achieve economic mobility in a digital world.

In brief

• EY US and Compudopt, a nonprofit that provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities, are on a multiyear journey to bridge the digital divide.
• Through a pro bono consulting project for Compudopt, EY US provided strategic insights and a roadmap for sustained growth.

Compudopt, a nonprofit that provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities, is a key player in the digital equity space. By recycling tech products, organizing giveaways, offering internet solutions and providing tech education, Compudopt is helping families achieve economic mobility in a digital world.

“Individuals without access to a computer at home are severely disadvantaged in so many aspects of society, and COVID made it worse,” explains Allison Katarski, COO at Compudopt. “We have telehealth appointments before we see a doctor. You now must pay your water bill exclusively online.”

Compudopt’s mission became highly relevant when the global pandemic swept in and put up physical barriers for students and workers. Device-less families were unable to continue schooling or work on virtual teams. Not to mention, they missed out on social experiences that had all shifted online.

In the early days of the pandemic, Compudopt couldn’t keep up with the demand. It had lines around the block at its drive-through distribution systems and a waitlist that literally broke the website. So, Compudopt expanded its team and operating budget to meet the needs of the market. By the end of the year, it had distributed 20,000 computers and expanded to eight new cities.

“In 2020, we made this giant leap and have been trying to keep up ever since,” explains CEO Megan Steckly. “We needed help to speed up our education process so that we were not learning by doing for the next four years.”

Priyanka Das, partner at EY US, first came across Compudopt when she was leading the EY Chicago office’s Digital Divide committee. She was researching organizations to support through EY Ripples donation and volunteer programs, which have supported more than 14 local organizations with over $420,000 over the last three years. She was immediately struck by the parallels between Compudopt and EY US’ Digital Divide initiatives. What began as a conversation about making a financial contribution to Compudopt expanded into a multiyear, meaningful collaboration between the two organizations.

“What's been really fantastic about this relationship is how dynamic it has been,” explains Steckly. “EY US had an interest in really understanding the impact that our organization has in the community. It was never about just writing a check and walking away.”

Das joined the regional Board of Directors and was enthusiastic about the opportunity to further integrate EY US into the Compudopt organization.

“When Compudopt expressed that they needed help figuring out their operating structure, I was immediately excited because it was the exact type of work we do for clients,” says Das.

Under Das’ leadership, EY US gathered a pro bono consulting team to guide Compudopt through critical changes to its operating model. The goal was to better position the business for its next phase of growth — which was within reach.

“We had 2,000x growth in four years, which means we had built a company on Swiss cheese. There was a business structure, but it had plenty of holes,” says Steckly. “We could have chosen to stay the same size, but we wouldn’t be able to actualize accessing what is probably $100 million upside if we didn’t figure out some key business ops changes.”

The $42.5 billion federal infrastructure bill was about to start rolling out across cities, and Compudopt was best suited to help big telecommunications companies and other agencies access the funds and deliver them to their communities. With an additional $2.5 billion set aside for digital equity and device work in particular, Compudopt needed to be well prepared for the historic moment. The EY team jumped at the opportunity to come in as an objective third party that could “zoom out” and evaluate the business — specifically on how its staffing model was structured.

“EY US synthesized our challenges and ambitions into deceptively simple boxes,” Steckly says. “It was presented back to us so well that we could see what was going on as opposed to being in the weeds of executing the work. We finally had direction on where we wanted to go.”

The final recommendations were made to address Compudopt’s rapid growth — outlining how to implement a more suitable team expansion model. With strategic insights and a roadmap for sustained growth, the Compudopt team felt empowered to make the necessary changes. And it’s already started to implement the recommendations. Looking forward, Compudopt now has a focused approach to growth and amplifying its mission and impact.

“One of the things that I think was so refreshing about the work with EY US was that when you go to an organization and say, ‘Hey, we're a nonprofit, and we need some help,’ oftentimes they minimize us,” explains Katarski. “From day one, the EY team saw our nonprofit as a business with depth and breadth. That’s why the partnership was so important.”