Kansas Digital Equity and Inclusion Collaborative Initiative

Gina Hess
ghess@khf.org

Chan Brown
cbrown@khf.org

The Kansas Digital Equity and Inclusion Collaborative Initiative will provide grants to organizations in Kansas to engage collaborative partners to plan, implement, and advocate for greater digital access, literacy, and broadband adoption in low-income communities of color, rural, and other under-resourced areas of the state.

Funded organizations will engage in a strategic planning process and policy and advocacy efforts to:

• Develop a framework unique to the local context to advocate for policies, programs, and services that promote digital inclusion, provide increased access to a stable, robust internet connection and appropriate devices, and identify/connect communities experiencing the greatest inequities to resources to learn digital literacy skills
• Educate community members about the disparities in home service usage and build local capacity necessary for more widespread broadband adoption and digital education
• Create a business case for greater adoption to encourage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to explore how to extend services to communities with lower home adoption rates
• Ensure that "Smart City" or other city-wide technology initiatives build equity into the planning process to avoid worsening the digital divide
• Track sources of federal funding being made available to ensure consumers facing the greatest barriers have access to benefit
• Managing and coordinating resources as they become available as an ongoing part of the strategic planning process

Eligible applicants are Kansas nonprofits classified as:

• Tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, sub-sections 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2)
• Government entity with a Federal Employer Identification number
• Church with a Group Ruling Letter
• Groups working with an eligible nonprofit, tax-exempt fiscal sponsor

Award ceiling: $250,000 over the entire project period
Project period: 3 years
Expected number of awards: 4

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application portal are available on the program website when applications are being accepted.

Applicant webinar recording