KC Digital Drive

The deadline to apply for the KC Digital Inclusion Fund's Devices Grants is this Friday, July 12th. Direct service 501(c)(3) public charities, educational organizations, or government entities can apply for $1,000 to $20,000 grants to pay for desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones. Apply Now! https://www.kcdif.org/

Today, Casey R. Russell and I attended a Comcast luncheon in Kansas City where we learned more about their investment in the greater Kansas City metro area and the key partners they work with to close the digital divide. We heard from executives and innovative community leaders about the importance of partnerships, communication, and community involvement. I was honored to hear these leaders and Comcast praising our offices’s infrastructure and digital opportunities efforts in Kansas. KOBD looks forward to continuing our partnerships with these community champions in our mission to #ConnectAllKansans. Excited to have caught up with the Comcast team including Tom Krewson, Karly Baraga Werner, Stacey Nelson-Kumar (just to name a few) and hear from Aaron Deacon, Jason Roth, and Joe Nail! It was a pleasure to also run into Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes!

Pop in for virtual office hours *right now until 11am* to learn about the KC Digital Inclusion Fund's Devices Grants. Applications are now open and nonprofits who serve people in need are invited to apply for funding to cover desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones to help remove the barriers associated with accessing the internet and participating in digital life. If you have questions about eligibility or who can apply, what the grant covers, and more - jump in the Zoom right now! https://ow.ly/3wlF50Sfrqu Or drop by future dates from now through July 12th: ~~Tuesdays 9-11am on Zoom > https://ow.ly/3wlF50Sfrqu ~~Thursdays 9-11am at Park39 (formerly Plexpod Westport Commons)

KC Digital Drive congratulates these KC-area awardees for the Advancing Opportunities to Promote Technology (ADOPT) and the Digital Opportunities to Connect Kansans (DOCK) programs. Together, these awards total more than $1.6 million to help bridge the digital divide in the KC region and Wyandotte County! **ADOPT Awards: https://lnkd.in/gm_heWg6 Mokan Communications, $721,111-- Mokan, in partnership with several Miami County organizations, will place 21 public Wi-Fi access points in Paola Park Square and around Wallace Park. Kansas City Kansas Community College, $239,400-- KCKCC will provide access to 350 laptops to students receiving Pell Grants, eliminating a waiting list of 40-plus students each semester. **DOCK Awards: https://lnkd.in/gYCYJiQR Groundwork NRG, $250,000-- To provide comprehensive digital literacy training to 100 senior adults, establish a peer-to-peer Digital Navigator group in the community to continue training, create and roll out a digital creator workforce training curriculum for youth, and hold an annual Digital Equity Summit. The Toolbox, Inc., $100,500-- To elevate digital literacy among Spanish-speaking immigrants in Kansas City, KS, and Wyandotte County, an area characterized by economic distress and a significant digital divide. KU Center for Digital Inclusion , $250,000-- To enhance knowledge and comfort with digital and emerging technologies among justice-impacted women in Kansas (women in jail or prison and women recently released from jail or prison). Congratulations!

Nonprofits who serve people in need are invited to apply for funding to cover desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones to help remove the barriers associated with accessing the internet and participating in digital life. Deadline to apply is July 12, 2024. Learn more and apply now: https://www.kcdif.org/

We are excited to announce the relaunch of the Digital Inclusion Fund to support 501(c)(3) public charities, educational or governmental entities that focus on digital inclusion access, affordability and adoption to increase participation in digital society for Kansas City’s most underserved and/or disconnected residents. Initial funding support is from the Health Forward Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas Health Foundation and Google Fiber. The Fund is a charitable fund led by KC Digital Drive and administered at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation | Greater Horizons with an Advisory Council that includes Dr. Dred D. Scott, President, Civic Council of Greater Kansas City; CiCi Rojas, IOM, President, Tico Productions; Adriana Pecina, Impact Strategist, Health Forward Foundation; Rachel Hack Merlo, Head of Government and Community Affairs (Central + OC, CA), GFiber; and Aaron Deacon, Managing Director, KC Digital Drive. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gfPmTfxt 

Hey Digi-tarian! Have you subscribed to the Digital Inclusion Newsletter? 📲 Each month, KC Digital Drive assembles relevant and inspiring news to keep our audience of engaged readers up to date on the state of digital inclusion in the metro. 🌐 Don't miss out on the latest. Subscribe today and click the link below to read the February edition of the Digital Inclusion Newsletter! 🔊 https://ow.ly/raH650QNJuY

Thanks, Rebecca Johnson for joining us! This immersive event grabs participants and takes them on a chaotic, often frustrating, ride inside the digital divide. It's especially important for elected officials and civic leaders to see first hand how challenging the most basic tasks are when you have limited access to technology. Imagine applying for social services, paying bills, looking for housing, searching for jobs, managing your health, interacting with your children's teachers and schools, learning new skills - it starts with a device, an internet subscription and the know-how; but it's compounded by systems on all sides that create barriers, exhaust time and and lock these individuals out of the digital economy. Wondering what you can do now? Sign up to host a Digital Divide Simulation at your organization > https://lnkd.in/g8YDVjwb Subscribe to the KC Regional Digital Inclusion News > https://bit.ly/48JHthF It's time to get all connected and it starts with a step into KC's burgeoning DI ecosystem as we strive toward Digital Equity.

Reminder 🔊: The next DIGITAL SCENE - KC event will be held tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy networking with KC journalists, complimentary refreshments and comments from these excellent guest exhibitors: Project Manager from Kansas City Media Collective, Shiri Asangwe Principle from On-Point Communications LLC, Mike Sherry Executive Director from Startland News, Austin Barnes Founding Editors from The DateKeepers , Itto & Mekiya Outini See you there! 🌐

And - another opportunity on Saturday, March 2nd at Amethyst Place - 2735 Troost-A, Kansas City, MO 64109, 11:00AM - 2:00PM.