Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) is proud to announce that it has awarded $627,000 to 13 nonprofits working to strengthen a system of support that is empowering residents with the digital tools they need to navigate everyday life.

“We know that a computer and Wifi are absolute necessities in today’s world,” said Kate Machet, ECCF’s vice president for systems initiatives and government relations. “And so is the training to know how to use technology safely and effectively. But there are thousands of people right here in Essex County that still don’t have access to these resources.”

This round of funding from ECCF will expand access to laptops, internet access and digital literacy training for residents across the region looking to obtain living-wage jobs, leverage educational opportunities, connect with critical social services, meet with healthcare providers and stay in touch with family and friends. Residents from 26 Essex County communities will be impacted.

“We’re thrilled to support some incredible nonprofit organizations working hard to break down the barriers many people in our region face in accessing these resources,” Machet said. “The demand for these programs is still high.”

The funding comes in the form of partnership grants, a tool the foundation uses across much of its grantmaking to help strengthen systems of support. A partnership grant requires the nonprofit applicant to collaborate with others – additional nonprofits, for-profit organizations and, in some cases, one or more municipalities – to develop innovative, cross-sector solutions to the challenges our region faces.

These grants represent more than 60 community partnerships, a facet of the process that ECCF believes is the key to regional sustainability and resiliency.

“When people work together, they come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things,” said Machet. “Trust and proven processes emerge. With partnership grants, we’re really encouraging the building of that collaborative muscle.”

“Then the next time a challenge or opportunity comes along, there’s a system in place for our communities to figure out how to approach it together,” she added. “They don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time.”

The digital equity partnership grants are part of Advancing Digital Equity, ECCF’s multi-year, $3 million commitment to empower all residents with the access, education and equipment necessary to successfully navigate our increasingly digital world.

Funding includes $325,000 for eight first-time ECCF digital equity grantees and $302,000 in sustainability funding for successful programs previously supported by the foundation.

“We’re really excited about this round of grants because not only are we supporting emerging innovations, but with the sustainability funding we’re also saying, ‘Here are collaborative programs that are really working, so let’s ensure they keep working for Essex County,’” said Machet. “It’s exciting to get to the point where a system has been solidified.”

ECCF is incredibly proud to support the following organizations.

FIRST-TIME ECCF DIGITAL EQUITY GRANTEES designing and implementing innovative programming.

• Cultivate Pathways, Lynn, $50,000 for its AbreTech Digital Equity Career Training Program.
• Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester, $50,000 for the launch of the Digital Learning Lab and Computer Basics Course.
• Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Lawrence, $50,000 for Clases de Computación
• The Haven Project, Lynn, $25,000 for Digital Literacy Access for Homeless and Imminently Homeless Young Adults.
• Mass Association for Computer and Internet Resources (MACIR), Lawrence, $50,000 for ELEVATE: Equity, Literacy, Empowerment for Valued Access to Technology & Education.
• Raw Art Works, Lynn, $15,000 for Filmmakers for Community.
• Vinfen, Lawrence, $50,000 for Digital Equity Interventions.
• Women’s Money Matters, Merrimack Valley, $35,000 for Advancing Digital Financial Equity/Women Living on Low Incomes program.

SUSTAINABILITY FUNDING for successful programs that ECCF has previously funded.

• Citizens Inn, Peabody, $85,000 for its Wireless Hotspot Expansion and Digital Navigator Program.
• MakeIt Haverhill, a program of Community Action Inc., Haverhill, $50,000 for Digital Literacy and Equity for Employment.
• Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC), Salem, $72,000 for HAWC Digital Equity.
• Haverhill Promise, Haverhill, $25,000 for the Waterford Upstart Family Literacy Program.
• North Shore Community Development Coalition, Salem, $70,000 for Digital Equity Programs in the Point Neighborhood.

Across Essex County, thousands of people still lack access to a basic computer and/or the internet, particularly in the region’s Gateway Cities, where, according to a 2022 report, less than 82% of households had a desktop or laptop.

Philanthropy continues to seek out ways to collaborate with cross-sector partners to reduce that gap.

“This funding will significantly enhance our efforts to bridge the digital divide and empower the communities we serve in Essex County,” said Rachid Moukhabir of MACIR. “ECCF’s emphasis on digital equity resonates deeply with our mission, and this partnership is a vital step forward in creating a more inclusive and connected community.”