At Google’s groundbreaking ceremony for a new Midtown office on Monday, the tech giant announced it will give $1 million to nonprofits in the state to encourage more growth in the tech industry.
The initiative, the Google.org Impact Challenge, is part of a larger $13 billion investment in office and data centers around the country. Google allows nonprofits to pitch their ideas to create economic opportunities across the state.
“This is a program we’re doing to build the digital skillsets that people need to have access to be able to be successful today,” Google Atlanta co-site leader Hetal Joshi Gordon said at the groundbreaking event.
Competitors can sign up for the challenge at g.co/georgiachallenge until Nov. 29. Five winners will be selected for $175,000 grants by five judges including Channel 2 Action News Anchor Jovita Moore and Georgia Chamber of Commerce CEO Chris Clark. From those five, the public will vote for one to receive an additional $125,000. Winners are expected to be announced in Spring 2020.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said he’s hoping Google’s Midtown hub inches Georgia closer to becoming “the technology capital of the East Coast.”
“We have an incredibly diverse population all across Georgia looking for opportunities to expand technology and tech infrastructure,” he said. “Technology knows no boundaries, and that’s really the opportunity that we have here in Georgia.”
Earlier this year, technology security company OneLogin announced it was adding 50 new jobs to its Gwinnett County office and digital content firm Smarp announced they were relocating their headquarters from New York to Atlanta, bringing 60 jobs.
In April, Global technology firm Dematic announced plans for a $30 million headquarters in Midtown. The company will hire more than 230 workers and will support operations in 27 countries. Dematic is a supplier of integrated automated technology, software and services. It employs more than 7,000 people worldwide.
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Google’s latest efforts will also expand its network of Atlanta nonprofits in its “Grow with Google” program that works to train small business owners and employees. The program also has a digital coach that works with black and Latino entrepreneurs to provide training and resources to grow their business online. More than 40 metro Atlanta nonprofits are a part of the program.
Monday’s announcement comes a year after the company provided $7.15 billion in economic activity for Georgia businesses and nonprofits. The tech company also provided $7.45 million in free advertising to Georgia nonprofits through its Google Ad Grants program.
Monday’s groundbreaking is for the planned new Google location at 1105 West Peachtree Street. The mixed-use building, which will include room for a hotel and condominiums and other office space, should be complete by 2022. Google will occupy five floors of the 31-story building, which is under development by Selig Enterprises.
Google first came to Atlanta in 2001, when the company established a small sales hub in the city. Five years later, the hub moved to its current location on 10th Street in Midtown, which houses more than 200 employees and serves as the company’s Southeastern sales hub.
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