Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to improving computer science education, announced today that it has raised $12 million in new funding.

The money comes from previous donors The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Infosys Foundation USA, as well as from new donor PricewaterhouseCoopers. The organization announced its funding today during the kickoff for the annual Computer Science Education Week, which takes place every December in honor of the birthday of computer science pioneer Grace Hopper, who helped shape some of the earliest foundations of programming. This year’s Computer Science Education Week started today and runs through Dec. 10.

Founded in 2012, Code.org is perhaps best known for its Hour of Code campaign, events held around the world that give students a one hour introduction to computer science and coding. Most Hour of Code events happen during Computer Science Education Week, but educators can use Code.org’s resources to host their own Hour of Code events any time during the year.

According to Code.org, its Hour of Code campaign has reached more than 10 percent of all students worldwide, and the campaign “provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science in the largest school districts in the United States.” More than 400 partners support Code.org’s Hour of Code, including major tech companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

While Code.org wants to give all students better access to computer science education, the organization particularly focuses on reaching girls and minorities who are underrepresented in tech fields. In addition to the new funding, Code.org announced today that it has reached a milestone of 10 million girls with student accounts on its platform.

Code.org also celebrated new pledges from states, school districts and organizations to expand access to computer science education. Some of these pledges include a onetime $15 million investment from Florida Governor Rick Scott, a $500,000 fund in Arkansas for computer science teachers, and a £100 million budget in the U.K. for training computer science teachers in 2018.

“While significant work remains ahead, today’s pledges, dedication, and support reflect unprecedented global momentum behind the vision that every student in every school deserves the opportunity to learn computer science,” Code.org founder Hadi Partovi said in a statement.

Code.org plans to put its new funding toward curriculum development and educator training.

Photo: Code.org