Grant funds are available to support a community-centered organization in building capacity for digital inclusion.
Donor Name: City of Portland
State: Oregon
County: Multnomah County (OR)
City: Portland
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/22/2023
Size of the Grant: $76,600
Details:
In response to community-identified needs, the Office for Community Technology (OCT) seeks to award a one-time grant of $76,600 to support the hiring of a manager to continue the work of building a community-centered Digital Inclusion Coalition.
In March of 2022, the Office for Community Technology (OCT) engaged ASCETA, a womanowned, woman-led firm in the Portland Metropolitan area to support the reimagination of the Digital Inclusion Network (DIN) by the community and partners towards addressing digital equity barriers and developing solutions to bridging the digital divide in Multnomah County and to re-envision how they do community engagement to meet the collective goals for full digital inclusion.
The Coalition should center those with lived experiences of digital exclusion, bridge the digital divide and achieve digital equity throughout Multnomah County for the following priority communities: Black people, people with low income, Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities, people with language barriers (immigrants, refugees, ESL), seniors, houseless or facing housing insecurity, youth (particularly foster and special needs children and their families), survivors of domestic violence, people impacted by incarceration, adult learners, and intersectionality’s of the above.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations in good standing with the IRS. Unincorporated groups or programs may utilize an eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization as the fiscal sponsor to apply for funding or a community-focused for-profit organization.
- Registration with the Oregon secretary of state’s office and/or with the Oregon Department of Justice.
- Applicants may apply alone, as part of a regional partnership, as part of a public-private partnership, or as part of an existing formal or informal partnership. Applications that include multiple collaborating entities must designate a single eligible organization or entity as the lead and fiscal sponsor for the application.
- Provide services in Multnomah County
- Serve and or work with predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), immigrant and refugee, and LGBTQ2SIA communities, with a focus on those living at the intersection of these and other marginalized identities.
- Have leadership and staffing reflective of the community/s it serves. If this is not possible due to workforce shortages, staff and leadership must have been trained on the specific cultures they serve, as well as on implicit bias and institutional and structural racism.
Required Activities
- Grantee(s)shall lead the implementation recommendations referenced in the ASCETA mfinal report to establish a community-centered community lead coalition whose mission is towards addressing digital equity barriers and developing solutions to bridging the digital divide.
- Grantee(s)shall create a “leadership team” or “steering committee” made up of community members and/or leaders who are directly connected to priority communities and/or have lived experience, whose task will be to guide the work and lead the coalition, in a paid 1–2-year position, convene meetings, establish “subworkgroups” or “task-forces,” and track and report the progress.
- Grantee(s) shall design, develop, and implement a Coalition Framework/Structure/guidelines and community agreements by continuing to further collaborate with priority communities impacted by the digital divide to ensure authentic inclusion and impact.
- Grantee(s) shall design, develop, and implement a Coalition Implementation Timeline.
- Grantee(s) shall work with the “leadership team” or “steering committee” and the broader coalition to develop a mission and vision statement to support the collective vision for closing the Digital Equity gap in Multnomah County.
- Grantee(s) shall ensure that an engagement and outreach process of priority communities is conducted for inclusion and coalition participation by following ASCETAs recommendations and continuing to iterate learnings.
- The “leadership” team shall create “sub-committees” or “taskforces ” that are project focused in areas geared towards closing the digital divide and addressing policy and budget opportunities and prioritization that can come in the form of recommendations to the City of Portland, Multnomah, County, and State and Federal agencies or policymakers. Members of the “sub-committees” or “taskforces” should be made up of those with insight into on-the-ground activities or who operate programs that address digital equity, People with specific knowledge of issues and opportunities, those with lived experiences and ability to lead coalition projects, and time-bound tasks
- Grantee(s) shall ensure that all print and digital communications and civic engagement materials are accessible according to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
For more information, visit City of Portland.
