Brian Vo

This publication that sets out a new financial logic for sustaining digital adoption programs in the United States, arguing that digital adoption programs are essential services that create measurable economic value that benefits a range of sectors.

Digital infrastructure is no different from other public goods that we deem essential, but that aren’t universally provided by the market. Some of the most effective tools for closing these gaps over the long term come from community finance, not one-off federal grants. Connect Humanity was created for this purpose.

Connect Humanity recently announced we are on track to become a Communicty Development Financial Institution. What does that mean, and why does it matter? The digital divide is a financing challenge not a technical one. 30 million Americans are still out of reach of broadband because their communities—typically rural communities, tribal lands, and low-income neighborhoods—don’t fit the risk-return profile traditional investors look for.

At Connect Humanity, we’ve long understood capital as the missing puzzle piece in the effort to close the digital divide. Without the right financing, even the most promising broadband projects can stall. That’s why I’m excited to share that we now have a new set of targeted funds available to invest in community-focused broadband infrastructure.

When floods hit West Virginia in February 2025, McDowell County put out a call asking residents to complete an online form detailing their property damage. For many residents, that wasn’t an option. Even in the best of times, 1 in 5 McDowell households have no internet.

In 2024, the first Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants will go out — an ambitious $42 billion in subsidies to build broadband infrastructure to close America’s digital divide. While excited and hopeful, I’m not alone in worrying that there is a significant gap between BEAD’s ambition and what it will likely deliver. BEAD alone is not enough. Here are five reasons why:

Connect Humanity is excited to announce that Connect Humanity and Appalachian Community Capital are partnering to raise a $25 million fund Investing in Digital Equity in Appalachia (IDEA).

Connect Humanity is investing in a fiber network in Macon County, Alabama. The Macon County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) has been working diligently to expand internet access in the county, where 40% of families have lacked access to home internet at broadband speeds. With support from Rural LISC, MCEDA entered into a public private partnership with rural internet provider Point Broadband to build out a fiber network that would deliver quality, affordable broadband to families and businesses across the county.