Learn by operating real-world systems.
Free technical training for people who need opportunity the most.
Every program is free, including loaner equipment and shipping, and anyone can apply. You do not need experience or a sponsor. See how to apply or see how your gift is used.
Why CCA exists
Employers used to sponsor technical training for their lowest-paid staff. Janitors, facilities workers and mailroom clerks could learn the systems their company ran on and move up.
Then the bottom rungs came off the ladder. Training budgets moved to people who already had credentials, and everyone else was left looking at job postings that all demanded experience they had no way to get. CCA puts those rungs back by handing people free access to the same networks, servers and cloud platforms professionals use every day.
Real systems, not simulations
Participants configure, operate and maintain live infrastructure, with CCA staff to help when they get stuck. Changes have real consequences, and mistakes get fixed properly rather than reset. That is the experience employers ask for and almost nobody will hand to a beginner.
How it works
Four stages, and none of them cost the participant anything.
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Apply
A short online application. You do not need a sponsor or any experience, and a person at CCA reads every application.
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Equipment
We lend you the hardware you need and pay for shipping in both directions.
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Real work
You learn on systems CCA runs every day, with access matched to your role and CCA staff to help.
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Certification and a job
CCA can pay for certification exams, and staff help with resumes, interviews and job offers.
Impact at a glance
What donor support has built so far.
What we teach
All free, and all running on systems that are actually in production.
Networking & infrastructure
VLANs, routing, switching, firewalls and enterprise hardware, configured on physical switches, routers and hypervisors in our own datacenter.
Cloud & identity
Cloud fundamentals, identity and access management, single sign-on and directory services, run on live tenants with real users behind them.
Cybersecurity fundamentals
Threat modeling, log analysis, SIEM basics and security hygiene, practiced against real logging pipelines instead of canned exercises.
Support beyond the technical work
Learning a new field while holding down a low-wage job is hard, and not every obstacle is technical.
A participant can have a field director on CCA’s staff to go to first, and anyone can book time with staff by video or phone. Staff help with resumes, cover letters, interviews and job offers, and they keep coaching after someone starts a new job. They also help participants plan further education and find resources and benefits they may qualify for.
Your gift at work
Every gift buys something a participant actually uses.
$25
Provides cloud access for one participant
$100
Helps fund networking equipment for the lending library
$500
Sponsors a certification attempt for one participant
$1,500
Replaces one enterprise device in the lending library
See all giving levels, monthly giving, in-kind gifts and corporate sponsorship
Where your money goes, and how we show it
Donations pay for equipment, hosting, the software that runs CCA, and direct support for participants.
We built our own system to keep track of all of it, so when you ask how donations are being used, we answer from records:
- every device is recorded by serial number, along with who has it and where it is
- every certification is recorded with the date, and a link to verify it where the issuer offers one
- restricted gifts are confirmed in writing and reported on
Disaster response
CCA also runs radio networks in Nevada and California. When a disaster takes down power, phone or internet service, CCA can set up temporary networks and help restore communications, at the request of the agencies running the response.
Common questions
What is the Cooperative Computing Alliance?
CCA gives people in low-wage jobs free, hands-on training on the networking, cloud and security systems it runs, with loaner equipment and shipping included. Our legal name is Cooperative Computing Alliance Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 42-4954752. The current online checkout is still under Public Data Library Inc. Read the donation recipient and tax details.
Who can take part?
Anyone can apply. You do not need a sponsor or any technical experience, and a person at CCA reviews every application. You will need a reliable internet connection, and we lend computers to people who need one.
How is CCA paid for?
By donors. Participants do not pay to take part, so the equipment, hosting, shipping, exam fees and support they use are all funded by gifts of money and equipment.
More people want in than we can currently fund
Applications are outrunning the equipment, hosting and mentor time we have. Every gift raises the number of people we can take this year.