Digitunity, Inc.

The Alliance for Technology Refurbishing and Reuse (AFTRR), a project of Digitunity, consists of a growing number of nonprofit technology refurbishers seeking to increase the awareness of the contributions of their organizations, individually and collectively, to a wide range of populations in need. AFTRR seeks to establish a common national voice for all such organizations as well as affiliate organizations who stand to benefit directly or indirectly from an increase in the volume and availability of low cost and no cost computers for their respective populations. AFTRR member organizations vary widely in size, organizational model, populations served, staffing and related resources. Regardless of these parameters, each was established under a similar set of circumstances and targets the elimination of the Digital Divide as their ultimate goal.

The Digital Opportunity Network is a constellation of over 1,500 frontline organizations serving and supporting marginalized populations, including those with disabilities, economically disadvantaged individuals, older adults, veterans, children, people without homes, and more. It consists of a wide range of actors and stakeholders, aligned behind the shared purpose of eliminating the technology gap. We believe that the collective action of a diverse array of members in a national network is much more impactful than siloed individual interests.

It is a community hub for information-sharing, networking, and problem solving amongst member organizations that are working to end the technology gap in their local communities. We facilitate alignment and efficiency across a diverse group of practitioner, developing initiatives to accelerate and increase our collective impact on eliminating the technology gap at scale.

Our proprietary technology donation platform is designed to connect individuals who wish to donate computers with more than 1500 trusted Digital Opportunity Network member nonprofit organizations across the country that are using technology to serve low income people and underrepresented populations in need.

The platform is a complete end-to-end matching technology donation solution that automates the majority of the process for an individual, and it is designed to simplify the process of individual technology giving to vetted nonprofits. Hundreds of thousands of computers have been placed since the platform’s inception, providing an incalculable positive impact on recipients’ lives.

Digitunity conducts reviews/reports of existing research, and promotes data-gathering and original research on the impact of the digital divide between those with technology ownership and digital skills, and those who struggle to overcome barriers to technology access and successful use. Additional focus includes the growing social and economic gap between those who are connected and those who are not, as the technology gap continues to widen in our nation.

While there is a large spread of literature discussing digital inclusion / exclusion - what is is, who it affects, and potential ways to combat it, more work is needed to evaluate or assess potential solutions and understand their impact or cost-effectiveness. Additional data and research is also needed to understand and measure the long-term social and economic benefits of these initiatives.

The Technology Gap Map™ is designed to educate people and help them understand the impact of the technology gap on marginalized and vulnerable people in their states, cities, and neighborhoods. Closing the digital equity gap is not a one time process, but rather a continual effort that requires communities to understand both their needs and the opportunities for growth. Unsurprisingly, data itself can play a significant role in guiding that process. The map become a type of thermometer, monitoring the temperature of equitable access to digital resources and alerting entire communities of when and where there is more work to be done. This initiative's objective is to continually track the status of digital equity and includes several planned additions to the map including disaggregated data to achieve racial equity, and other enhancements.

Vision: K-12 students and their families have the tools needed to succeed in a digitally connected world both today and in the future.

Develop a robust, sustainable device ecosystem in each of the 10 cities. The project will create lasting pathways to large-screen device ownership for underserved K-12 students and their communities to address the homework gap.

Outcome: Creation of a sustainable, community-based system to advance device ownership in 10 major metropolitan cities that combines existing and new resources in a sustainable network so that city residents have reliable access to free and low-cost computers as well as associated support services. Evaluate the effectiveness and desired outcomes to ensure the system is replicable. Expand to other metropolitan and rural regions as guided by our research, our Technology Gap Map™, funding sources, and other measures of program effectiveness.

Pivital to the Digital Equity Ambassadors program is the idea that in developing long-term, sustainable solutions for digital equity, we must center the needs and expertise of those directly impacted by this inequity and the people and organizations working on the ground with them. This program is embedded in the 10 cities Pilot Project, which is focused on developing a robust, community-based sustainable device ecosystem in each of the 10 named pilot cities.

Members of Digitunity’s Digital Opportunity Network (DON - a network of organizations across the country who are committed to digital equity and recognize the intersections between digital equity and their specific fields) who offer youth programs nominate an early career staff member to serve as a DON Adviser, whose role is to mentor and partner with a young person (most often of High School age) to investigate and document the pathways to K-12 device ownership in their city (1 DON Adviser & 1 Student Ambassador per city).

A national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Digitunity advances device ownership by sourcing computers and placing them in communities nationwide. Together with its predecessor organization, Digitunity has been working on this issue since the mid-1980s.

With the recent passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, communities across the United States have an opportunity to make that a reality. The device aspect of digital equity plans cannot be an afterthought. As states begin creating federally-mandated digital equity plans, it is imperative that plans include robust efforts to ensure individuals and families have ready access to free or low-cost computers. Digitunity’s framework for building sustainable systems to advance device ownership is in action in cities across the country. As a result, we are uniquely suited to support digital equity plan design and implementation, and we stand ready to collaborate on this important work.