STAMFORD, Conn.—Charter Communications has announced $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 47 nonprofit organizations working to improve digital education, training and technology in local communities.
The latest round of grants increases Charter’s overall investment in the six-year program to $8 million, the company said.
The organizations were selected based on their efforts to educate community members about the benefits of broadband in economically underserved rural and urban areas within the company’s 41-state footprint.
“In our online world, digital skills are critical to navigating everything from finding a job, going to school and buying groceries; however, too many families have yet to embrace the Internet at home,” said Rahman Khan, vice president of community impact for Carta. “As one of the largest Internet providers in the US, we are committed to supporting local initiatives through Spectrum Digital Education that promote digital literacy and inclusion, and help educate community members about the value to embrace broadband in their lives so that they can succeed in today’s connected society.”
Among the nonprofits receiving Spectrum Digital Education grants this year are The Oasis Institute in St. Louis, which offers resources and strategies to help older adults navigate digital technology; Whitmore Economic Development Group, a computer training center for farmworkers in Hawaii; US Together Inc., which provides digital education to refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Congo in Northeast Ohio; the LGBT Institute of Technology, a Staunton, VA-based initiative to ensure connectivity for disadvantaged LGBTQ+ people; Latinitas, a bilingual program for adults looking to improve their technology skills in Austin, TX; and InterFaith Works of Central New York, which helps urban and rural seniors improve their digital skills.
Charter launched Spectrum Digital Education in 2017 and to date has funded 99 nonprofit organizations, supporting more than 95,000 people in 22 states and Washington, DC, excluding the awards announced today.
The organizations have used the funds to provide computers for those without digital access and digital literacy for older adults. Funding has also been used to help expand nonprofits’ online programs, buy software to make technology more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and combat isolation among people. older, the company explained.
More information about Spectrum Digital Education and Charter’s philanthropic initiatives to support communities is available here. (opens in a new tab)