Can An Innovative Partnership Save Your Digital Equity Program?

Federal funding cuts.

Staff reductions.

Digital equity programs deprioritized.

It’s a tough environment for every organization across the US doing digital equity work right now.

Time to put your thinking cap on.

Time to get innovative.

That’s exactly the mindset that we adopted in the pilot program we just launched with Computer Reach. Based in Pittsburgh, PA., Computer Reach makes technology available to people most in need through refurbished equipment, computer skills training, affordable internet access, and tech support.

Overcoming Headwinds

Like many organizations in the digital equity space, Computer Reach is facing budget challenges due to federal policy changes. They’re dealing with staffing issues for the same reason. But they are tenacious. Passionate about their mission. Dedicated to creating a computer literate world where the benefits of technology are shared by all.

They’ve been at this for 25 years. They know how to roll up their sleeves and make things work. So they started looking for solutions — and partners.

To be honest, we weren't deeply connected to Computer Reach when Executive Director Dave Sevick connected with us. But that’s the beauty of having relationships across the US. Dave knows many of the same people we do. We crossed paths years ago in our digital equity work, but had lost touch in recent years. He did what any smart ED does. He hit up his professional network. And that led to a referral to talk to us.

Right away we could see mission alignment. We could see that Computer Reach was a bullseye partner for us. They’ve been doing digital equity work for a quarter of a century. They have expertise. They have retail experience. They have established infrastructure.

And even though the wind had been taken out of their sails recently, they remained resolute in their mission. That’s a team we can get behind — and so we did.

Crafting a Partnership

Not to pat ourselves on the back, but one of the advantages of our resource model is that we can take different approaches to our partnerships. No two look exactly alike. We start by understanding what a potential partner needs. Then we craft a strategy together.

Computer Reach needed to kickstart the partnership and then ramp things up. They needed an infusion of resources — what we think of as a Capacity Grant — to expand their affordable access program and have it produce revenue that sustains their entire organization. And they needed the flexibility to use our Capacity Grant as they saw fit, because he already had great people. They just needed to put some other pieces in place to build this new machine and get it humming. They needed a partner that understood this and trusted them to make the right moves.

They also needed time. Time to grow his existing program, get people to sign up, and produce cashflow. And this is something we had been thinking about for quite awhile. We just needed a partner that we could work with to turn our ideas into a reality. Now we have one.

Building Program Resiliency

This was a big one for us. The Capacity Grant was $50k. Not something we can do every day. But it was necessary for this pilot program. Then we started by offering a lot of lines of service at rock-bottom cost. What do we mean by “rock bottom”? Trade secret, I’m afraid. Let’s just say very, very low.

The big idea here is that Computer Reach will start off charging their regular (yet still affordable) rate for internet service. In the first year, they receive the lion’s share of the revenue — building resiliency into the program.. That lets them get out there and get customers, grow their program, and serve more people. After the first year, the revenue split changes to a more equal revenue-sharing percentage — now that their program is more sustainable and resilient..

The goal is that by the time the revenue split reaches its peak, Computer Reach will be bringing in the funds it needs to keep their affordable internet access program running. Everything ramps up together. Everybody wins.

The Capacity Grant puts some oomph in Computer Reach’s sails. And the revenue onramp provides additional tailwinds. From there, they have the tools and resources they need to grow the program as they see fit and have a greater impact on the people they serve.

Let’s Hear from Dave

So far, we’ve only presented our perspective. As previously mentioned, Computer Reach’s ED, Dave Sevick, is enthusiastic about digital equity work and our partnership. Here’s what he told us:

“Our partnership with the 35 Mile Foundation makes it possible to offer reliable internet at a cost that better fits the needs of low-income households. Many of the subsidized housing communities we serve across Western Pennsylvania — both urban and rural — are home to working-class families who are already stretched thin by the rising costs of rent, food, and healthcare. For them, typical internet prices are simply out of reach. We’re proud to be part of a collaboration that is helping to ease this burden and improve digital access where it’s needed most.”

We’re proud to be working with Computer Reach to narrow the digital divide in Western Pennsylvania. This partnership is exactly the type of innovative solution we like to get behind.

New Challenges. New Solutions.

Our partnership with Computer Reach is unique. It’s an innovative pilot program intended to build digital equity program resiliency in today’s funding environment. And more importantly, it’s a new approach to serving people who need affordable internet for school, housing, job hunting, access to services, and everything else available in our today’s digital world.

We invite you to share this article with your network. We would love to find new partners to work with in crafting solutions that puts wind in the sails of their digital equity program.