GFiber co-founded the Digital Inclusion Fellowship Program with NTEN in 2015 to equip fellows to address digital equity in their communities nationwide. Over that time GFiber has funded 133 fellows in our service areas. Today on the GFiber Blog, NTEN CEO Amy Sample Ward reflects on a decade of growth and the lessons learned from empowering over 153 digital equity champions.
This September, NTEN launched the tenth cohort of the
Digital Inclusion Fellowship. Over the years, the Fellowship has expanded the pool of capable and innovative digital equity leaders and champions in the nonprofit sector. Created in close collaboration with Google Fiber and proudly engaging with nearly ten other funders across the industry and country, the program has drawn on insights from a diverse range of practitioners, allowing us to continuously refine the Fellowship into a truly inclusive, adaptable, and holistic training model.
These ten cohorts have reaffirmed several key beliefs that underpin our work. As we mark this tenth anniversary, we want to celebrate the remarkable impact of our fellows and share the valuable lessons we’ve learned together.
There are many barriers that keep communities digitally divided.
We aim to give fellows the freedom, resources, and skills to design programs tailored to their community’s unique needs. As a result, each cohort and fellow has approached this work differently. Fellows have covered a wide range of topics and learning goals in their training. We’ve seen fellows organize drop-in computer lab sessions that consistently fill up, or lead partnerships to provide participants with free devices or hotspots. We’ve had fellows who focused on helping their community build the skills that were valuable to them – from job applications, accessing healthcare, and continuing education, to finding a recording of their first concert on YouTube, or staying connected with distant friends and family.
Nonprofit organizations that already work with, and are trusted by, digitally divided communities are ideally positioned to deliver digital inclusion programs.
Our goal isn't to create new organizations solely focused on digital inclusion, but rather to integrate these programs into the existing missions and services of organizations that community members already rely on for support. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to digital inclusion programs; we have had fellows from a diverse array of organizations, including libraries, public housing authorities, parks and recreation departments, adult literacy organizations, immigrant and refugee service agencies, parent centers, and many others.
We are stronger together, always.
Working within a cohort model ensures that fellows, even if they are the only ones in their region, remain part of a deeply supportive network of peers and practitioners, so they never feel alone in their work. Additionally, we are more effective in bridging digital divides when we collaborate rather than compete. Many fellows have developed partnership programs across their cities, encouraging participants to access training, devices, and other services from multiple organizations, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose.
With these guiding beliefs, the Digital Inclusion Fellowship launched with and continues to hold three priority goals, each with measurable and exciting impact to date.
- To support nonprofit staff who want to be digital equity champions within their organizations and communities to have the skills and confidence to design and expand programs. To date, we have supported 153 fellows from 131 organizations, across 22 regions.
- To guide those staff with training, coaching, and support to build programs that are sustainable, equitable, and relevant to their specific communities. Our fellows equip underserved communities with digital literacy and access – such as Tanesha Whitelaw, who worked with incarcerated women in Missouri and Kansas; Julie Heller, who supported newly resettled refugees with culturally sensitive digital literacy training; and Brianna Glass, who created educational zines for seniors in her library. In total, fellows have provided 130,088 hours of training and distributed over 5,800 devices in their communities.
- To expand the number of digital equity leaders across the country and strengthen the coalitions, networks, and movement for this sector. Over the past ten years, DIF fellows have reached 56,065 participants and fostered 1,238 partnerships that strengthen the impact of their digital equity work.
These are more than just numbers. They represent lives changed, communities connected, and opportunities created through the dedication of our fellows. Our DIF fellows have stepped up as digital equity advocates and leaders. They’ve shared their stories and insights at digital equity conferences and even pushed for policy changes to ensure that everyone has a fair chance in our increasingly digital world.
Like all of the programs at NTEN, we see our role as the spark, the supporter, the capacity builder, and the one cheering the loudest for this community. We are incredibly proud to spotlight every fellow that has been part of a decade of remarkable, critical work for communities and our sector.
Check out their stories, their programs, and the impact they have each made. And we welcome you to join us as part of this pivotal program!
Posted by Amy Sample Ward, CEO of NTEN
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