Digital Beat

Seattle’s Equity-Based Approach to Digital Inclusion

Following up on the release of The Human Infrastructure of Broadband: Looking Back, Looking Around, and Looking Ahead, we are providing examples of core, complementary, and coalition models for digital equity work. This series of organizational profiles delves deeply into how these programs work, the problems they are best suited to solve, the populations they are best suited to reach, and the support they need to succeed. Learn more about the Human Infrastructure of Broadband Project.

“The partnership that we have with the City of Seattle has been dynamic and fruitful, and continues to grow in different ways.”

—Jessica Gould-Hilburn, Digital Equity Manager, Evergreen Goodwill

The City of Seattle’s Information Technology department (Seattle IT) supports digital equity programs and services as a coalition organization. The City began its digital equity work in the mid-1990s in response to community advocacy concerning access to information technology. Today, the City supports digital equity work through a variety of programs and initiatives including, but not limited to, supporting public access sites and training, providing broadband for community organizations, conducting research on local technology use and access, and providing funding for community organizations.

A digital equity and broadband manager oversees digital equity efforts and the Office of Cable Communications, which oversees the regulatory aspect of cable operators in the city. The City employs three digital equity advisors to support digital equity work. Digital equity advisors partner closely with community members and organizations on coordination, design, and funding for digital equity programs.

The City’s Internet for All Action Plan, created and enacted into law in 2020 and updated in 2021, has the mission of “enabling all Seattle residents to access and adopt broadband internet service that is reliable and affordable.” Some of the achievements under the Internet for All Action Plan include increasing the:

total dollar amounts available in the form of digital equity grants for community organizations;
total number of households signed up for discounted internet programs; and
number of devices distributed.

Informing the City’s work is the most recent Technology Access and Adoption Study, published in 2023. The 2023 study is the City’s sixth community survey concerning adoption of and access to digital technologies, with the first occurring in 2000. The study informs City strategies and approaches to increasing access to and use of digital technologies by characterizing the state of Seattle residents’ adoption of digital technologies and the barriers that prevent access and use. The study has been used as a model in other cities and counties across the United States. Seattle repeats the survey every four to five years. The exact methodology shifts each time it is done; the latest study used a combination of surveys and focus groups.

The City’s keystone digital equity program is one that makes grants to Seattle community-based organizations. Digital equity grants began in 1997, under the title Technology Matching Fund (TMF). Eligible grantees must “aim to increase internet access and adoption through: digital literacy classes and/or workshops; devices and technical support; internet connectivity; digital navigator services.” Organizations are eligible to receive a maximum of $35,000 for one-year projects, and a 25 percent match is required (including in-kind donations, volunteer hours, and cash). Grants are reviewed and awarded by a group of City employees and community volunteers. In 2024, the program awarded $545,000 in City funds and Comcast provided an additional $59,500 to fund a total of 18 projects. In 2022, the City began offering digital-navigator-specific grants. In the application document, the City defines digital navigator services as “provid[ing] one-on-one or small group, just-in-time assistance in person, virtually, via phone/text/email to help residents (1) use their devices (computers, laptops, and smartphones); (2) connect to the internet; and (3) sign up for low-cost internet plans.”

After grants are awarded, grantees participate in a cohort and are provided with opportunities for training and collaboration. “There is a real benefit of grantees working together,” says Digital Equity and Broadband Manager Jon Morrison Winters. For the most recently convened cohort, members of each organization took turns presenting about their organization, project, outcomes, challenges, and best practices. One of the City’s digital equity advisors, Meira Jough, sees a particular benefit for smaller organizations with less experience running digital equity programs to learn from others. It is hoped that in the future, digital equity advisors will have the capacity to do more one-on-one mentorship for organizations that need it.

For the 2022 cohort, the City held more formal training and presentations about topics such as the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, client data tracking, and City and community resources. The effort was more time-intensive and was supported by a partnership with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle – King County. The staff dedicated to that effort were funded by a state grant that expired, so the City did not continue the training and presentations. Jough would like to offer more formal training and support to digital navigators and hopes to implement training currently under development from a partner organization.

All of the City’s digital equity work is informed by and in collaboration with Seattle residents and community organizations. The City’s Community Technology Advisory Board (CTAB) “make[s] recommendations to the Mayor and the City Council on issues of community-wide interest relating to information and communications technology.” The City also acts as a convener and connector between organizations. For example, the city helped start the Digital Equity Learning Network (DELN) serving King County, a “collaboration of community-based organizations, public and private institutions, and individuals invested in digital equity in our region.” Additionally, a City Digital Equity Advisor sits on the advisory board.

What We Can Learn

Equity-Based Approach

The City of Seattle adopted an equity-based approach to working with grantees. The City provides resources and support for all organizations interested in applying for the grants. This support is a particular benefit to smaller organizations and community-based groups. As explained by Jough, “[The organizations are] the ones who have their finger on what the needs are and what works best. And maybe they don’t have the expertise in how to secure funding.”

Assistance begins before an organization even applies for the grant. To assist organizations in crafting proposals, Jough highlights important data from the Technology Access and Adoption Study and compiles information about the current digital inclusion resources provided by the City and other organizations, such as the Seattle Public Library. A digital equity advisor coaches applicants on how integrating and building off of these resources and data can make for a stronger application. The advisor also reads through an organization’s application and gives feedback. A digital equity advisor who works closely with grantees says, “If I arm people with those resources, they’re on a more level playing field.”

The support extends post-award as well, such as by connecting organizations with resources offered by external organizations (e.g., National Digital Inclusion Alliance or Northstar Digital Literacy). The City’s Innovation and Performance team can work one-on-one with organizations on how to collect quantitative and qualitative data. This not only builds the capacity of organizations but also helps ensure that “the projects that [the City is] funding are providing that high level of service,” says Jough.

Flexibility

Flexibility comes in two key forms. First, digital equity grants allow organizations to incorporate digital navigators into their own organizational and community contexts. The grants fund a broad set of organizational types, among which few have digital equity as a sole focus. Grantees include organizations that add digital navigation to an existing suite of services, such as adding technology support to an English language class. For example, a 2023 grantee, the Beacon Business Alliance, integrates digital navigation services into its small-business outreach and support by helping people set up Zoom and apply for loans online.

Second, this flexibility extends into how organizations can demonstrate success. For instance, Beacon Business Alliance Co-founder/Director Angela Castañeda expresses frustration at how other grantors focus solely on the number of people served, with less emphasis on the quality of the service. As a contrast, with the City’s Digital Equity Grants, Castañeda says, “I feel recognized and acknowledged for the work we’re doing.”

Coalition-Building

The City is deeply involved as a member and supporter of area digital equity coalitions. The City’s engagement with the community goes far beyond the grant program. As Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington Digital Equity Manager Jessica Gould-Hilburn puts it, “After the grant is awarded, it’s still important to stay engaged. And grow the network. And Seattle has done that.”

The City is an active member of the Digital Equity Learning Network of King County, a local digital equity coalition, and one of the digital equity advisors participates in the coalition’s advisory board. The digital equity grant cohort model created another avenue for local organizations to connect with one another and find support. “We could talk, ask questions, and share … I felt like it was a pretty good environment, climate, and I always felt like I came away having learned something from somebody else,” says Castañeda.

Digital Equity grantees have spoken highly of the digital equity advisor in charge of the Digital Equity Grants. According to Gould-Hilburn, the digital equity advisor is “a great conduit of other resources.” The advisor reached out to Goodwill and facilitated a meeting among several organizations to form a consortium to apply for federal funding. The application would fund broader digital navigation services in Seattle and elsewhere in Washington. The City of Seattle is not a part of this particular consortium but helped make the connections among its network, demonstrating its commitment to everyone’s success.

Dedicated, Sustainable Funding Stream

Grants are primarily funded through cable franchise fees collected by the City. Cable providers must pay franchise fees to offer television service within the city limits; a portion of those fees supports the grants. Additionally, the City negotiated that the cable franchise agreement include internet connections for nonprofit community access sites. The stability and sustainability of this funding source since the mid-1990s has enabled the city to keep the grant program over the years. “If you can identify that ongoing, dedicated funding, that’s a huge advantage,” says Jon Morrison Winters. Unfortunately, this particular model likely will not work for other cities due to the decline of cable subscriptions.

In addition, the City has looked for opportunities to expand the amount of money available for grants. In the wake of the pandemic, the Internet for All Action Plan highlighted the need for more grant funding. In 2022, prompted by community advocacy, the Seattle City Council added a special budget line for digital-navigator-specific grants. Additionally, telecommunications companies have started funding additional projects (two total projects in 2024). The cable franchise fee funding has provided the foundation to sustain and grow the grant program.

Looking Ahead

The City continues to build upon its almost 30 years of engagement in digital equity through internal planning and external engagement.

In the immediate term, the City is undertaking an internal strategic planning effort. The goal is to look at what has been achieved from the Internet for All Action Plan, what is still relevant, and what action is needed, using the data from the 2024 Technology Access and Adoption Study. The City wants to make sure that strategies match today’s needs and make plans for the next three to five years. Morrison Winters aspires to develop and publish a major digital equity plan every five years but feels that every 10 years is a more realistic goal. A major update to the digital equity plan would entail extensive community engagement for input and insight.

Continuing to support digital equity grants for community organizations is critical to the City’s digital equity work. However, the funding stream will not be sustainable over the long term. Unfortunately, with cable subscriptions decreasing, cable franchise revenues are decreasing as well. The City is currently undergoing strategic planning to identify other reliable funding streams to maintain grant funding. The City has begun laying the groundwork by partnering with private telecommunications companies to fund some projects. A reliable funding source (not from the City’s general fund) is necessary to sustain the program in the long term.

“We’re looking for what comes next there, and in terms of what other funding opportunities might be. And we’re looking at public-private partnerships. I don’t know how realistic it is to expect that to replace the dedicated funding that we have had. But I think it’s a piece of the puzzle. And I think, yeah, you gotta be willing to sort of ferret out where those other pieces might be,” says Morrison Winters.

Reliable, longer-term, sustainable funding for digital equity programs (particularly for smaller, community-based organizations) is needed. Federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Digital Equity Act is only for the next three to five years. Both Evergreen Goodwill and the Beacon Business Alliance have sought City funding to address funding gaps from Washington State grants. Many parties express a need for longer-term funding from non-City sources that could provide more stability to organizations instead of one-year grants.

The City has demonstrated that its commitment to digital equity is for the long term. Since the start of the digital equity work in the mid-1990s, the City has shown its commitment to digital equity in Seattle—not just because of the recent influx of new funding. This case shows the power of long-term, stable funding to facilitate coalition and capacity building. However, this case also illustrates that the stability of particular funding sources changes over time, and the solution that worked in Seattle may not be the one that other communities could or should pursue. The City of Seattle has demonstrated that long-term capacity building has powerful ripple effects across a local digital equity ecosystem.

Written by: Stacey Wedlake

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