The Patterson Foundation’s initiatives have emphasized embracing technology and optimizing its benefits to strengthen its work. When the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) hit in spring 2020, The Patterson Foundation paused for a moment to understand how individuals, organizations, and communities were moving through the three distinct phases of disaster recovery: cope, adapt, and innovate. Digital access emerged as a basic necessity to connect to various services that have increasingly shifted to an online environment. These include services related to education, health, employment, and other vital needs. Unfortunately, many ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed) families, older adults, and communities struggle to acquire internet access, computer devices, and training to succeed in this new, technology-driven world.

In June 2020, The Patterson Foundation created Digital Access for All (DA4A) to explore the efforts of multiple sectors working to enhance access to technology that connects people in ways that foster inclusion and well-being. Exploring digital access is necessary because of the advent of the “Internet of everything,” a concern for access (especially for ALICE families), and the potential possibilities for our communities.

The initiative aspires to discover how individuals, businesses, nonprofits, government, and the media are moving the needle on access to digital technology. The DA4A team has engaged in enriching and insightful conversations with more than 30 national and state organizations and over 50 county leaders in schools, libraries, economic development, and nonprofits. This knowledge informs opportunities to strengthen these efforts collaboratively within our four-county area: Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota.

Discovering and exploring the interconnected opportunities and possibilities that individuals, organizations, and communities offer is at the heart of the DA4A initiative.

The Patterson Foundation strengthens the efforts of people, organizations, and communities by focusing on issues that address common aspirations and foster wide participation. For more than a decade, The Patterson Foundation’s initiatives have emphasized embracing technology and maximizing its benefits to strengthen their work. With the COVID-19 pandemic, digital access has emerged as a basic necessity to connect to a variety of vital services that have increasingly shifted to an online format, including those related to education, health, and employment — a necessity that many asset-limited families and communities struggle to acquire. Discovering efforts and entities that are moving the needle on this issue and how each of them are working on it creates an opportunity to strengthen efforts to overcome the common obstacles to digital access.

We live in an age when digital access became the “Internet of everything.” Regardless if someone chooses to participate or has the resources to do so, the world is increasingly going digital. Major interactions in these areas assume that citizens, workers, and students are connected with the right devices and skills:

• Education and Employment
• Health and Wellness
• Government Services
• Financial Services
• Economic Competitiveness

At the individual level, digital access enhances or constrains opportunities for participation in modern society. At the community level, it is evolving as a measure of community health and vitality. At the regional level, infrastructure and access are baselines for economic competitiveness.

COVID-19 forced individuals, employers, and communities to examine their own digital assets and preparedness to compete and participate effectively in an altered world.

In March 2020, most Florida K-12 and college students went home for spring break and didn’t return until fall 2020. Educational institutions switched from in-person to online courses within weeks and finished the school term virtually. By fall, a mix of in-person and virtual courses became standard. Schools improvised internet access by offering hotspots and public Wi-Fi accessed in their parking lots. Devices and internet services were provided with the help of the federal CARES act funds.

Workers who could work remotely transitioned to their “home offices” and mostly remain out of the office and employed. Zooming became a noun, verb, and adjective. Unemployed workers were forced to navigate online unemployment and social service support applications.

Libraries and community centers closed, reducing the places those without home digital access relied upon for homework, job searches, and research. Public libraries responded with expanded public Wi-Fi and offering hotspots for checkout.

Access to health care with COVID threats and protocols moved many in-person visits to Telehealth platforms which insurance and government plans agreed to cover.

Three essential elements or three “legs of the stool” emerged as critically important through The Patterson Foundation’s in-depth research and interviews with national thought-leaders in the digital access arena.

The three essential elements of digital access are:

• Connectivity: The ability to connect to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet
• Devices: Possessing the right device for one’s needs
• Skills/Support: Having access to the necessary training and support to use devices and programs effectively while solving technical issues when they arise

All three need to be present and work together for digital access for all to be achieved.

Whether at the local, regional, or national level, the main barriers to digital access for asset-limited families and communities revolve around four key factors:

• Access: Refers to one’s ability to connect to high-speed internet. While income certainly plays a role in determining the level of access community members have to connectivity, it is not the only one, as The Patterson Foundation has discovered during its conversations with organizations and leaders in our four-county area. Access can also be greatly impacted by issues like geography (rural vs. urban setting) and competition (Internet service providers may be less inclined to spend money to upgrade cable and fiber-optic lines in areas where they face little competition).

• Adoption: Refers to whether or not members of a community actually subscribe to a high-speed internet plan. The catch is that the definition of “high-speed” can differ depending on the data source. For instance, nonprofit advocacy groups like Broadband Now often use a threshold of 100+ mbps to define “high-speed,” whereas the FCC has traditionally used 25 mbps. Think of this as the difference between a car whose top speed is 25 mph versus one that can go 100 mph.

• Affordability: Cost is perhaps the most limiting factor when it comes to many asset-limited families and individuals across the country, including those living in our four-county area. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer budget plans for qualifying lower-income residents. These plans run as low as $9.99 per month, but they often are limited to 25 mbps versus 100+ mbps for higher-priced plans and require that the user has no outstanding credit balances.

• Awareness: The Patterson Foundation’s research shows that even when low-cost, basic plans (+/- 25 mbps) are available for ALICE families in our region, residents are often unaware of them or how to qualify for them. Furthermore, in areas like DeSoto County, these low-cost plans may provide access at rates as low as 3-4 mbps, not nearly enough for students engaged in online classes or for parents or individuals who need to work from home.

Through targeted federal and state regulations and policies, urban and rural infrastructure development, advocacy, discount programs, and device distribution efforts aimed at underserved populations, a host of public, private, and nonprofit groups and agencies are actively seeking to address digital inclusion, digital equity, and digital access throughout the country. Philanthropy often plays a key role in advancing these initiatives.

Efforts across the nation address all three essential digital access elements: connectivity, devices, and skills & support. Examples include community-wide efforts in places like Seattle, Cleveland, Chattanooga, and other municipalities and rural broadband initiatives sponsored by groups like the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

They also include nonprofit agencies like EveryoneOn, which provides a searchable database of discount programs for internet subscriptions and devices sorted by zip code; Northstar, which provides online digital literacy and skills training; and PCs for People, which provides low-cost, refurbished computers for individuals and organizations.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance brings together many of these initiatives to learn and share ideas and best practices by providing a unified voice for digital inclusion policies and programs. Through support, policy, awareness, research, and publications, NDIA shares resources and information among a community of practitioners that include policymakers and the general public.

The Patterson Foundation’s Digital Access for All Resource Library is a great way to learn more about these initiatives and others.

Since summer 2020, The Patterson Foundation's Digital Access for All initiative team has interviewed more than 50 representatives from local agencies and organizations serving the four-county area to garner feedback and insights regarding barriers, challenges, and opportunities ALICE families in our communities face when it comes to digital access.

These interviews have included leaders from all four school districts as well as State College of Florida and South Florida State College, the library directors from each county, government officials at the city and county levels, and the heads of the local EDCs and chambers of commerce. They have also included leadership from both local United Way organizations, All Faiths Food Bank, Catholic Charities, Goodwill Manasota, Area Housing Authorities, Boys & Girls Clubs in Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota Counties, Turning Points, Manatee County Rural Health Services, and a host of other nonprofit organizations.

Each shared what they are doing to address our communities' digital needs, particularly as they impact the less fortunate, from free laptops for school-age children to mobile hotspots, digital skills & literacy training, telehealth and job services, expedited degree programs in technology fields, and more. However, all acknowledge that for each step forward, many more still need to be taken.

The Patterson Foundation's Digital Access for All initiative is an evolving effort to identify ever-expanding opportunities to come together and seek solutions to this most modern of challenges.

Asset-limited, income-constrained, employed (ALICE) families and communities can be found among all ages, ethnicities, households, and geographic areas within our four-county area. They often live below or barely above the federal poverty guidelines and struggle to afford basic necessities like food, housing, and healthcare, despite working one or more full-time jobs. A lack of education and digital skills prevent many from attaining higher-paying jobs or promotions.

The table below illustrates the percentage of ALICE households within our four-county area:

County  Total Households  % Below ALICE Threshold  Total ALICE Residents  Charlotte  74,975  40%  29,990  DeSoto  11,996  68%  8,157  Manatee  150,814  45%  67,866  Sarasota  183,721  38%  69,813

Source: United For Alice

As the table suggests, the percentage of ALICE households in our four-county area is higher than many might expect, and the barriers affecting digital access for this portion of our population are significant.

For example, due to such issues as cost, availability, and other factors, ALICE households in our four-county area are far less likely than the general population to have high-speed internet in their homes. As the bar graph below demonstrates, nearly one-third of ALICE households in Charlotte, Manatee, and Sarasota counties lack a subscription to a high-speed internet plan at even the lower federal standard of 25 mbps. The numbers are of even greater concern in DeSoto county, where just over 40% of ALICE households have such plans.

In terms of education for our youth, employment opportunities for job seekers, and access to healthcare, social services, and other vital needs, both the short- and long-term impacts of this disparity in digital access between ALICE households and other members of our communities are cause for concern. Exploring ways to close this gap is one of The Patterson Foundation's Digital Access for All initiative's key goals.

 

 

Aspirations Journalism was a partnership between journalism and philanthropy to share information and engage communities through stories that encouraged people to be part of the solution and take actions. Within Digital Access for All, Aspirations Journalism focused on stories that built empathy and strengthened our understanding of what digital access entails, the ways it affects our daily lives, common barriers, and why it's important while discovering who worked on it and how. Read the Herald-Tribune Media Group's coverage of this topic.

Foundations fulfill their missions in a variety of ways, from funding individual programs to entire organizations. The Patterson Foundation aspires to strengthen the efforts of people, organizations, and communities by working in ways that foster wide participation. Digital Access for All is an exploration into the why, what, and how of concurrent efforts to strengthen digital access for all citizens, especially those who are asset-limited or do not currently enjoy the benefits of full digital access in their daily lives. It focuses on discovering the approaches local, regional and national organizations are employing to address the needs of our communities around digital access and explores ways to align strategies and facilitate efforts to vault hurdles and advance progress toward this aspiration.

Rather than making grants to individual organizations or programs, The Patterson Foundation invests in identified collaborative efforts that incorporate proven practices, data and wide participation. While The Patterson Foundation is not accepting unsolicited proposals for funding, it values the dedicated efforts underway to help asset-limited families join the digital landscape.

The Patterson Foundation’s Digital Navigator Program trains local organizations to connect asset-limited families and individuals with opportunities to obtain digital connectivity, devices, skills, and support. Through a series of trainings, implementation meetings, and knowledge-sharing sessions with other nonprofits, consultants help participants embed the responsibilities of the digital navigator into the organization’s daily work and culture.

Connect with The Patterson Foundation for the latest updates on Digital Access for All:
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● Newsletter

For more information, contact initiative lead Cheri Coryea: ccoryea@thepattersonfoundation.org.