Organizations working together may apply for up to $50,000 to help residents access technology
Beverly, MA – Essex County Community Foundation, a nonprofit grantmaking organization serving the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, is offering support to organizations working together to bridge the digital divide in the region.
Across Essex County, nearly 60,000 households lack access to broadband and one out of every five families lacks a basic computer.
ECCF will award grants up to $50,000 to nonprofits working with at least one other partner on a project that focuses on one or more of the four impact areas of ECCF’s digital equity plan: devices, access, literacy and collaboration. Partners could include additional nonprofits, community organizations, municipalities and/or for-profit businesses.
The collaborative grants – which were piloted last year with several grantees – are part of ECCF’s overarching effort to empower all residents with the access, education and equipment necessary to successfully navigate the digital world.
“ECCF believes that working together is the best and most effective way to solve problems,” said Kate Machet, ECCF’s director of strategic initiatives and government relations. “When we break down the silos that we all tend to work in and open ourselves up to new ways of doing things, sustainable, long-lasting change is possible.”
Collaboration is a major focus of ECCF’s systems philanthropy approach.
One example of an eligible project could be the design of digital literacy workshops – classes that might go over how to set up email, make virtual appointments with healthcare providers and pay bills online – offered to seniors living in low-income housing, with participants receiving free Chromebooks upon completion. Partners could include the local housing authority, an e-recycler or for-profit business to supply devices and a nonprofit digital literacy trainer.
“The requirement that people work together helps to forge relationships and build that collaborative muscle, which in turn strengthens the entire ecosystem,” said Machet.
The new Digital Equity Partnership Grant round was first announced Monday morning at a meeting of ECCF’s Digital Equity Coalition, the 250+ member group that helps to inform, inspire and guide the work.
“The spirit of these grants are to create collaboration,” said ECCF President and CEO Stratton Lloyd at the meeting. “We want [solutions] to be driven by the community. This process is meant to be trust-based. It’s meant to be inclusive and equitable.”
Seventy-one percent of attendees at the Coalition meeting said they plan to apply for an ECCF Digital Equity Partnership Grant. Of those intending to apply, 59 percent said that already have partners in mind while 41% indicated they were open to new collaborations.
“Working together through partnerships and collaboration is how we resolve community needs,” said Sophan Smith, executive director of EforAll | EparaTodos Merrimack Valley, a Lowell-based organization that supports inclusive entrepreneurship. “EforAll is happy and willing to partner with others to bring new and innovative ideas.”
The application deadline for the grant is Dec. 2, 2024, with grants to be awarded by mid-January. A virtual information session will be held on Sept. 30, 2024, from 1-2pm, and members of the ECCF team, including Machet and Jessica Vilas Novas, who is coordinating the grants, will hold office hours on Oct. 7, Oct. 21 and Nov. 4 to answer any questions.
“These one-on-one office hours are being offered to think alongside you,” said Lloyd. “We want to support you in this process.”
To learn more about the application process, eligibility requirements and to register for the information session or office hours, visit eccf.org/digital-equity-initiative-partnership-grant/.
