our work
digital equity
Together with local partners, donors, community leaders and municipalities, ECCF will invest more than $2 million to Advance Digital Equity in Essex County – empowering thousands of residents with the ACCESS, TOOLS AND LEARNING to fully participate in the digital world.
vision for change
By working collaboratively with our communities to empower thousands of Essex County residents with the access, tools and learning to fully participate in the digital world, we aim to achieve:
IMPACT ON PEOPLE:
- 10,000 households and businesses are connected with free or affordable ACCESS to the internet
- 5,000 people have reliable DEVICES to connect to the digital world
- 1,000 people and businesses can successfully use their devices to NAVIGATE the internet
IMPACT ON THE ECOSYSTEM:
- 100+ for-profit, nonprofit and government partners will work together to deliver digital solutions that improve the lives of people across the county
- A strong ecosystem is in place to tackle identified systems solutions that improve digital equity to Essex County for the long term
the data
As an essential step towards addressing these inequities, ECCF partnered with the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tisch College, Tufts University to produce a baseline analysis of how the digital divide impacts each of Essex County’s 34 cities and towns.
> Read the report in English
> Read the report in Spanish
investment areas
SYSTEMS-BASED PARTNERSHIPS
Invest in existing cross-sector partnerships or prototypes that can be accelerated and/or amplified across our region.
Partnership News:
COLLABORATIVE ACCELERATOR GRANTS
Funding available to encourage collaboration to pilot or build new solutions to advance digital equity in Essex County.
Grants News:
- Partnership grant opportunities will be announced in late 2021
DIGITAL EQUITY ECOSYSTEM
Forming a cross-sector learning coalition to build the civic and human infrastructure necessary to create and implement county-wide digital equity solutions.
Ecosystem News:
initiative launch event
On June 10, 2021, at the conclusion of ECCF’s Rising Together event, nearly 150 people joined a live Zoom session to learn the details of ECCF’s $2 million dollar plan to advance digital equity in Essex County.
watch the zoom session
hear from stratton lloyd
see the work in action
Support ECCF’s efforts to advance digital equity in Essex County.
learn more about the work
digital equity news
At First Meeting of New Digital Equity Coalition, Local Leaders Envision New Reality
On June 1, 2021, 65 members of a new coalition that will work together to advance digital equity in Essex County met for the first time to jumpstart the collaborative work to get every resident online and engaged in the digital world.
ECCF reveals details of $2 million plan to advance digital equity in Essex County
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tatianna, a participant in North Shore Community Development Coalition’s YouthBuild program, said she and her brother would have to take turns attending remote classes because their WiFi wasn’t sufficient enough for both of them to be connected at the same time.
Foundation launches $2 million plan to close ‘digital divide’
The Essex County Community Foundation on Thursday announced a $2 million initiative to help thousands of residents who lack access to a computer or an internet connection.
Column: New collaboration will help increase internet access across Essex County
As chief program officer of nonprofit North Shore Community Development Coalition (CDC), Felicia Pierce meets many Essex County residents who lack some of life’s most basic necessities, including access to the internet. According to a recent report commissioned by ECCF, nearly 60,000 households in Essex County do not have access to a high-speed internet connection, a service that surpassed being a “nice-to-have” a long time ago.
Letter: Supporting efforts for digital literacy
The Daily News’ April 12 editorial, “Bridging the digital divide,” shines a critical spotlight on the impact of the digital divide in communities north of Boston, and the work of organizations like the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF), which is convening a broad-based effort to provide residents with the digital devices, internet connectivity, and skills training they need to participate in our increasingly digital world.
Challenges and Opportunities of the Digital Divide
On April 7, 2021, ZurickDavis was joined by ECCF's Beth Francis and Stratton Lloyd to talk about ECCF's study and work in advancing digital equity in Essex County. Learn more and watch the presentation here.
digital equity newsletter
get in touch
Kate Machet
Director of Strategic Initiatives
k.machet@eccf.org
GET IN TOUCH
- 175 Andover Street, Suite 101
Danvers, Massachusetts 01923
QUICK LINKS
ECCF's Tax ID # 04-3407816