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After the federal government canceled a major grant program over the summer, Pennsylvania digital equity orgs are struggling to stay afloat.
The now-terminated $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act (DEA) would’ve distributed millions of dollars to the commonwealth, helping to provide access to the internet, devices and digital skills programming. With that lifeline gone, advocates are scrapping plans to expand their digital access work.
“We’re going to be left to the efforts of grassroots organizations to whatever degree they can continue to carry these missions,” Kristen Rotz, president of the United Way of Pennsylvania, told Technical.ly.
The United Way of Pennsylvania applied for DEA funds last year, with the plan to offer consulting support for nonprofits that didn’t specialize in digital access work, according to Rotz.
It had already chosen anchor partners in different parts of Pennsylvania. Those selections aligned with areas of the state that were going to benefit from Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a separate federal initiative to build out broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved regions of the country.
While the BEAD program is in its final stages of proposal approval, the success of those investments depends on how well people are able to use the internet available, Rotz said.
“That’s work that we just simply haven’t been able to take up and carry now because the digital equity resources are not available,” Rotz said. “We haven’t identified any other funding source for that concept.”
The cancellation of funding through the DEA’s capacity grant program means that organizations across the commonwealth are missing out on $25 million that the state would’ve distributed to support device distribution, digital navigator networks and affordable internet programs in Pennsylvania.
Separately, the DEA had a competitive grant program where organizations could apply directly through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The City of Philadelphia was supposed to receive almost $12 million that it’s now missing out on.
Losing these funding streams is just one aspect of the challenges facing digital access work right now.
When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of emphasis on how many families lack internet because everyone was relying on it for school or work. But since then, that awareness — and the financial support that came with it — has faded. Efforts like the now-defunct Affordable Connectivity Program were shut down as a result.
Without funding and awareness, digital equity advocates now face an uphill battle, left to push forward with limited resources and lean on each other to keep the work going.
A gap in digital access
The US Department of Commerce canceled grants distributed through the DEA grant programs earlier this year, calling the programs within the act unconstitutional because they specify “racial preferences.”
However, advocates say that racial minorities are only one type of underserved population that the law seeks to support. Eight out of 10 of Pennsylvanians are considered “covered populations” by the DEA, meaning they are most impacted by the state’s digital divide.
Earlier this month, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration arguing that the termination of the DEA’s competitive grant program was unconstitutional.
But there hasn’t been any update to the lawsuit yet, and organizations aren’t counting on that funding coming back.
Lack of funding limits digital navigator networks
For the Somerset County Library system, the federal Digital Equity Act would’ve provided the funding to expand its digital navigator program and reach even more residents, Cheryl Morgan, Somerset County Library Director, told Technical.ly.
The navigators are trained to help residents build digital skills, access digital resources and troubleshoot technology problems. These programs help people access the resources they need through personalized assistance.
“We were hoping to get a full-time digital navigator at the system level who would be primarily outward facing,” Morgan said, “so that they would be doing outreach at other libraries in the county, and could even be able to go into people’s homes.”
The library system’s existing digital navigator program mostly serves residents from the main branches, she said, and was started by grants from the government and private funders.
Across the state, the Chester County Digital Alliance was hoping to use DEA funds for a similar program.
The plan was to add more capacity to the existing network, even having navigators dedicated to specific topics like healthcare or financial literacy, according to volunteer Jim Mercante.
Without the funding, it’s up to volunteers and nonprofits in Chester County to keep trying to fundraise and support these efforts, according to Joan Holliday, another volunteer.
So far, the group pulled together cash from donors like the Longwood Foundation to keep programming going, but a more sizable installment from the federal government would’ve allowed them to expand services even further.
“Our grassroots group could have applied, and we believe we could have gotten it, because we have a record of doing trainings and showing that we have relationships,” Holliday said.
Collaboration and awareness keep the work going
Despite these setbacks, digital equity advocates are still committed to working together to close the digital divide, said Jennifer Blatz, program director for the Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance.
They stay connected through the Keystone Internet Coalition, which formed under a different name in 2023 to ensure that Pennsylvania organizations were working together to apply for federal funding. Even though the DEA grants are gone, the group is still looking into alternative funding sources, advocating for affordable internet, and brainstorming future collaborations, said Kate Rivera, executive director of the Philly-based Technology Learning Collaborative.
“How do we steer more funds to organizations that are doing this vital work, and without that big infusion of funds to build capacity, that is proving to be very challenging,” Blatz said.
While private philanthropy, state funding or corporate partners are options to reach out to, there’s a big learning curve for pitching digital access work to alternative funders, Blatz said. People aren’t aware that many low-income families can’t afford their internet bills or that some populations never learned how to access the internet. It takes a lot to explain the scope of the problem.
Plus, policymakers think that infrastructure is the only thing needed to get someone connected to the internet, Rivera said. But that’s not true, just because someone has the internet available in their area, doesn’t mean they can or want to adopt it.
Finding funding requires the explanation of affordability, device access and digital literacy skills, she said. In other words, people can’t get online if they don’t know how to use the internet, can’t afford it or don’t have the right tech.
“There are so many people in Pennsylvania and everywhere who just cannot access the internet safely or effectively, and that work has to continue,” Blatz said. “But we have a lot of resolve, and a lot of the organizations that we work with have a lot of resolve.”
Sarah Huffman is a Technical.ly reporter covering Philly tech and entrepreneurship, with a focus on access and equity.
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