10 Jun
2025
Michelson 20MM Foundation – Digital Equity Spark
Grant Amount: Maximum Grant Amount: not specified
Information
Description
Michelson 20MM Foundation will begin accepting applications to the Digital Equity Spark grant program on May 27.
Information Session
A webinar will be held on May 15 at 10:00 PST. Please register to attend.
Digital Equity Funding Cycle Focus Areas
Policy Advocacy and Civic Engagement to Achieve Broadband for All
Efforts that increase civic participation in digital equity policy-making and regulatory processes at the local, regional, or state-level. This includes the education of state policy-makers on key digital equity issues.
- Projects may feature efforts focusing on education, capacity-building, and the equitable implementation of digital equity policy.
- This may include policy efforts that improve internet affordability, network reliability, and access to broadband.
Digital Equity as a Social Determinant of Health
Efforts that address digital inequity through its impact as a social determinant of health. Specifically, they are seeking projects that are scalable across the state. Efforts that bridge the digital divide in at least one of the following issue areas:
- Higher Education (i.e.: Research on the impact of digital inequity on college students)
- Economic Opportunity (i.e.: Workforce development; equitable access to seeking, applying, and securing jobs)
- Civic Engagement (i.e.: Access to public benefits)
- Housing and Renters’ Rights (i.e.: Access to fair and affordable housing, protection of renter’s rights to internet choice)
- Disaster Resilience and Recovery (i.e: Community-owned resources to aid in long-term disaster resilience through connectivity)
Internet Access as a Civil Right
Eliminating digital discrimination efforts that help address the impact that low-quality and/or unaffordable Internet has in areas that may superficially appear to have Internet access. The projects should provide tools to combat digital discrimination and to promote equitable access to broadband throughout California. By focusing on the role of race in the historical causes of digital inequity, they seek to grow awareness and uplift the voices and needs of underserved communities that have been deliberately excluded from connectivity by systematic redlining and disinvestment. These may include, but are not limited to:
- Efforts that highlight disparities in broadband access
- Research that addresses mapping shortcomings at the state level
- Storytelling, surveying, testimonial-gathering
- Data that contributes to transparency around internet service providers (ISP) practices and services, for use in collective community advocacy efforts