In partnership with Schmidt Futures, National Digital Inclusion Alliance is proud to announce the first grantee cohort for the New York Digital Inclusion Fund. The Fund supports the research, design, and formation of new and existing digital inclusion coalitions as well as innovative partnership models that address digital inclusion barriers with solutions across New York State.
“Combining coalition and digital inclusion funding, organizations will be able to build partnerships to accelerate digital equity across New York and create models that serve as a resource for programs across the country,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of NDIA. “We are proud to partner with Schmidt Futures and hope this work serves as a beacon for others to step forward and invest in digital inclusion in more states.”
The 10 grantees for the Digital Inclusion Coalition Planning Cohort will be awarded $30,000 grants to expand the work of existing digital inclusion coalitions or plan for the establishment of one. Grant recipients include: Adirondack Health Institute, Inc., Brooklyn Public Library, Finger Lakes Digital Inclusion Coalition, Healthy Community Alliance, Central New York Digital Inclusion Coalition, New York Academy of Medicine, Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation, Stony Brook Foundation, The Bronx Community Foundation, and United Way of the Greater Capital Region.
The five grantees for the Digital Inclusion Innovation Cohort will be awarded grant awards ranging from $133,000 to $250,000 to implement digital inclusion activities to advance digital equity in their communities and regions over 24 months. Grant recipients include: Albany Can Code, Inc, DBA CanCode Communities, Friends & Foundation of Albany Public Library: APL-AHA Digital Inclusion Partnership, Hispanic Federation, Inc., The HOPE Program, and Westchester Library System: Reentry Digital Inclusion.
“Building on the efforts and recommendations of the Reimagine New York Commission, this funding will catalyze an entire ecosystem of regional digital inclusion partners to collaborate to address the digital equity divide,” said Elizabeth Young McNally, executive vice president at Schmidt Futures. “We are excited about the potential synergy between the work of our grantees and the digital equity programs within Governor Hochul’s ConnectALL initiative.”
The Fund is managed by NDIA and supported by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt. NDIA will provide grantees with training and technical support, sharing lessons learned, best practices, and guidance as they carry out their digital inclusion work.
For more information about the grantee projects and details on the upcoming 2022 Digital Inclusion Innovation funding opportunity, please visit digitalinclusion.org/nydifund.