our work
digital equity
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.
vision for change
By working collaboratively with our communities, we aim to….
- connect 20,000 Essex County residents with free or affordable access to the internet.
- train 1,000 individuals and business owners to confidently use a computer and perform tasks online.
- provide 5,000 Essex County residents with reliable devices so they can engage fully in the digital world.
- engage over 100 partners who together will build resiliency for future digital challenges by acting as a countywide network of support.
the data
To better understand the inequities in our communities, ECCF partnered with the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tisch College, Tufts University to produce several analyses of how the digital divide impacts each of Essex County’s 34 cities and towns.
2022 study
> Read the report in English
> Read the report in Spanish
2020 study
> Read the report in English
> Read the report in Spanish
measuring impact
Executive summary: Advancing Digital Equity in Essex County Year 1 Evaluation Report Executive Summary
investment areas
Access
Increasing available opportunities for affordable, quality Wifi or broadband internet service.
Recent News:
Devices
Working collaboratively with community partners to equip residents with the hardware necessary to connect to and utilize the internet.
Recent News:
Literacy
Amplifying digital literacy programming designed to train residents to operate digital devices and successfully navigate the internet.
Recent News:
Ecosystem of Support
Uniting cross-sector leaders in a coalition to generate ideas, form partnerships and share information to find sustainable solutions to our region’s digital inequities.
Recent News:
looking forward
ECCF aims to further the depth and scope of this work by identifying and investing in innovative opportunities that break down additional barriers that may intersect with issues of digital inequity, or simultaneously address more than one of the above facets of this work.
Recent investments:
advancing digital equity media
Six Month Donor Update
January 2022
Advancing Digital Equity Initiative Launch
June 2021
Stratton Lloyd
Rising Together event
North Shore CDC
Salem, MA Access Project
Support ECCF’s efforts to advance digital equity in Essex County.
learn more about the work
digital equity news
Digital Equity – It all comes together in The Point
Statewide leaders visit Salem neighborhood to experience a holistic approach to getting people connected By Michelle Xiarhos Curran Creating true digital equity is like putting together a puzzle: all the pieces must fit before you can see the big picture. To achieve...
After 16 months of collaborative work, evidence of digital equity systems change emerges
By Michelle Xiarhos Curran In Salem’s Point neighborhood, where ECCF is working collaboratively to bring more people online, the common reaction to receiving a free laptop, said Nikki Schafer, is one of disbelief. Schafer, who is the North Shore Community Development...
ECCF, Tech Goes Home, The Philanthropic Initiative Talk Digital Equity at National Conference
Chicago – On May 17, Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) and its partners, Tech Goes Home and The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), spoke to a national audience about regional systems efforts to close the digital divide. The trio was selected to speak at the 2022...
‘This is right where ECCF wants to be’
ECCF sponsors Digital Equity Challenge; MakeIt Haverhill Wins First Place MakeIt Haverhill, an organization that focuses on workforce development initiatives for the city’s residents, was the winner of the Digital Equity Challenge, a pitch competition for innovators...
Federal Funds, showcasing progress highlights of ECCF’s Digital Equity Coalition meeting
Billions of federal dollars will soon make their way to Massachusetts to help the state and local municipalities bridge the digital divide, a technology gap that’s been revealed as a chasm during the pandemic. Across the state, kids attended class in library parking...
Equipment and internet access are key, but training ties it all together
By Michelle Xiarhos Curran ECCF Communications Writer Having a computer and access to the internet is critical to functioning in the everyday world, especially now that so much of what we do happens online. But those things only represent half of the equation. “If you...
digital equity newsletter
get in touch
Kate Machet
Director of Strategic Initiatives
k.machet@eccf.org
GET IN TOUCH
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Danvers, Massachusetts 01923
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ECCF's Tax ID # 04-3407816