Through Impact Projects learners and completers of the Colorado Community College System’s Rapid IT Training and Employment Initiative are granted the unique opportunity to engage in real-world, paid employer-led projects By combining data analytics and IT certificate programs with hands-on projects, learners attain both the technical and professional skills as well as valuable work experience needed for today’s tech careers. Powered by Riipen, the leading work-based learning platform, Impact Projects supports Denver based employers to access top talent and meet their IT and data project needs.

Impact Projects allows students and recent completers looking to explore the tech sector to benefit from paid work-based learning experiences through 40 hour projects. Learners are able to enhance and showcase their skills, form employer networks and create a virtual portfolio to take forward in their career journey. Completed remotely over 4 weeks, employer projects provide authentic experience and support career clarity to pave the way for success in the dynamic job market.

Impact Projects is an exclusive program for students and recent completers of the Colorado Community College System Google Data Analytics, Google IT Support, and CompTIA A+ certification programs of the Rapid IT Employment and Training Initiative (RITEI). If you are interested in joining Impact Projects, you can contact your program lead. If successful and invited to an employer project, you can find out more on getting started in the Riipen platform here.

Learners can only complete 1 Impact Projects project. Each project is 40 hours in length and can be completed over the course of 4 weeks.

All Impact Projects projects must be completed over 4 weeks and in line with the cohorts below.

Each learner is expected to contribute 40 hours to the project. A project timeline can be adjusted, as long it still meets those requirements and if both the employer and the learner team are in agreement to do so. To adjust the project timeline that is recorded on the Riipen platform, the employer can make a request from the settings page on the match. Instructions for how to do this can be found here. The Impact Projects team will review and approve new date change requests within 2 business days.

Final submissions may include multiple files. Your deliverables must include files of your work or a comprehensive written summary of the work completed, and a completed work log on the Riipen platform. Your final submission upload should demonstrate that 40 hours of work has been completed for the project. If our team is unable to ascertain that a good faith effort has been made to complete the project as defined by the employer we will have to follow up with yourself and the employer. This will cause your payment to be delayed.

Once you submit your final project submission, employers will have the chance to leave feedback on their experience working with you - both public (on your Riipen profile) and private feedback. They will also be asked to approve the deliverables, confirm that the project adhered to the Impact Projects Terms and Conditions, and that the project deliverables were completed within 40 hours per learner.

We encourage you to keep open lines of communication with the employer during the project to ensure you are both in agreement about the desired project outcomes.

The Impact Projects team will also review your final deliverables, submitted on the Riipen platform. If our team is unable to ascertain that a good faith effort has been made to complete the project as defined by the employer we will have to follow up with you and the employer. If 14 days have elapsed and the employer has not provided feedback, please reach out to the Impact Projects team. We will contact your employer again and if we do not hear back we will review your final deliverable on behalf of the employer.

Each learner will be paid for the project in the form of a honorarium, with payments processed via Tipalti. You will submit your banking information when you join the program. Each learner is required to complete 40-hours of work and the program exit survey to receive their $800 honorarium.

Impact Projects operates on a 21-day payout period for learners completing Impact Projects projects. Your honorarium will begin to be processed when the Impact Projects employer you worked with provides feedback on your project submission. If 14 days have elapsed and the Impact Projects employer has not provided feedback, please reach out to the Impact Projects team. We will contact your employer again and if we do not hear back we will review your final deliverable on behalf of the employer, which may cause your payment to be delayed. You can find further details about our payments process here.

In an effort to create a good Impact Projects experience for all parties, we have Terms and Conditions, which can be found here. Please take a moment to read through them. You will be asked to sign the T&Cs agreement before you can apply to an employer project. We've also created a three strike system. This means that if any Impact Projects user goes against the Terms and Conditions, they will receive a strike. You will be notified via e-mail when/if you've received a strike. If you receive three strikes, you will be removed from the program and will no longer be able to participate and receive a honorarium.

Unfortunately not. Learners will be paid once the project deliverables are submitted and exit survey is completed, in the form of an honorarium. For that reason, learners who do not fully complete the project, will not be paid. Additionally, if you do not clearly communicate to the employer and the Impact Projects team that you are unable to complete a project, you will receive a strike (see three strike system).

If you’re struggling to get in contact with a member of your team, be sure to let the employer know straight away. You should also let the Impact Projects team know via email (impactprojects@riipen.com), or via live chat on the platform. The Impact Projects team will then reach out to the team member and the employer, with the aim to re-engage the team member and to understand if there’s additional support we can provide.

Continued unresponsiveness or a lack of commitment is a breach of the program’s T&Cs and is considered a strike (see three strike system). This may lead to a team member being removed from the project. If that happens, you should work with the employer to readjust the project deliverables and continue your 40 hour project.

If you’re struggling to get in contact with an employer you should also let the Impact Projects team know as soon as possible via email (impactprojects@riipen.com), or via live chat on the platform. The Impact Projects team will then reach out with the aim to re-engage them and understand if there’s additional support we can provide. Continued unresponsiveness or a lack of commitment is a breach of the program’s T&Cs and is considered a strike (see three strike system). This may lead to the employer being unable to post additional projects on the platform.

No. Learners are neither employees of the organization they do a project for, nor of Riipen (who will pay their honorarium). As such, learners do not qualify for any benefits and will not obtain any record of employment from either organizations. Upon joining the Impact Projects program, Riipen will require learners to submit their legal name, social security number and mailing address so that we can issue the appropriate tax form(s).

All learners engaged in the Impact Projects program for the 2024 tax year will be issued a 1099. You can expect to receive this in February 2025. This will be available on your Riipen account in your user settings under "issued documents". You will receive an email notification when it has been uploaded.

If you need a verification letter to confirm your participation in the Impact Projects program you can request one by sending an email to people@riipen.com and we can verify the dates of your participation.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the organization to provide software license/access to learners if required to perform the work.