Sprout Social, an industry-leading provider of cloud-based social media management software, announced a $100,000 contribution to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) for the establishment of the Sprout Social Scholarship Fund. This contribution will provide eight merit-based scholarships to Black/African American college seniors who exemplify strong leadership abilities and demonstrate interest in computer science or software engineering. Scholarship recipients will also receive the opportunity to apply and interview for a full-time role at Sprout Social that would start in the summer of 2022.

Students interested in a career opportunity with Sprout Social can apply to be a part of the engineering rotational program for new graduates. Sprout Social’s rotational program embeds engineers in cross-functional Agile development teams. Individuals work across multiple engineering disciplines: back-end, front-end, QA, or mobile. Engineers also get exposed to a variety of technologies, including Java, Python, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop, Elasticsearch, NSQ, Docker, Kubernetes, React and Redux. They work in tandem with product designers and product managers to drive product initiatives to successful outcomes.

“We are proud to partner with UNCF to establish the Sprout Social Scholarship Fund,” said Cassandra Blackburn, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Sprout Social. “At Sprout, we are committed to increasing access to education and workforce opportunities for the Black/African American community. These scholarships are just one part of the work we are excited to continue with UNCF to cultivate creative, collaborative and inquisitive leaders that will drive the future of software development.”

“This gift from Sprout Social is very helpful, making a significant impact on the lives of talented, deserving students pursuing careers in computer science and engineering,” said Maurice E. Jenkins, Jr., executive vice president and chief development officer, UNCF. “HBCUs produce 25% of all Black graduates in STEM. Through valued partnerships such as this one, we can enable more students attending HBCUs to achieve better futures. We look forward to working with Sprout Social and others who would like to fuel more diversity across STEM careers in the United States. Black students have a lot to provide to this field, and their voices, skills and talent are truly needed.”