Samantha Schartman

The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is coming back, and applications could open as soon as December. After a federal court ruled in July that the administration could not simply cancel the program, the Commerce Department committed to reopening it under a new Notice of Funding Opportunity. That is good news for the field. But the application window is likely to be short and badly timed, and the organizations that start preparing now will be best placed to compete. Finding the right partner can make or break a joint application, and the clock is already running.

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.

The digital equity movement is at a turning point. After nearly two decades of tireless work by community leaders, advocates, and public agencies to close the digital divide, key federal programs intended to drive long-term progress are unraveling. The cancellation of the Digital Equity Act by this administration and the ending of the Affordable Connectivity Program has left communities with fewer tools and less funding just as momentum was building.

A wave of funding cuts risks digital skills training, device access, and navigator programs that help unconnected Americans get online and meaningfully use the internet. Meeting this challenge will take creativity and cross-sector partnerships — but if we succeed, it could power the digital inclusion sector’s next chapter. It’s been a hard year for digital inclusion. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has ended. The Digital Equity Act (DEA) funds so many fought for have been cancelled.

Rural communities across America have been working flat out to expand fast, reliable internet access, but to succeed, they urgently need clarity about the resources available to move forward.

In recent weeks:

As communities across the Southeast US continue recovery efforts following the devastating hurricanes of late summer, one refrain stands out: connectivity is critical in disaster scenarios, and when the internet goes down, communities are cut off. Unfortunately, with climate-related risks increasing, many more communities are likely to face chall