NDIA Announces $10 Million Grant from Google.org to Remove Digital Divide Roadblocks for Rural & Tribal Communities

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced a multi-year, $10 million grant from Google.org to create a National Digital Navigator Corps. The Corps will span 18 rural and tribal communities across the United States and impact thousands of people through one-on-one technology training and community outreach to connect people to the internet, appropriate devices, and training. NDIA will launch a public process in spring 2022 to identify 18 established community organizations – such as social service agencies, libraries, and health clinics – and fund the creation of digital navigator programs. In addition to establishing the National Digital Navigator Corps, the grant funding and program will:

• Further formalize NDIA’s digital navigator model, which has been developed and defined by NDIA and practitioners across the country at more than 20 digital navigator programs
• Establish a data collection system with sites to measure people served, their confidence online, and digital skill growth over time
• Support digital navigator programs at Tribal sites in partnership with AMERIND, which provides solutions for Tribal broadband deployment
• Create publicly available digital navigator assets like trainings, templates, and outreach tools which will allow fellow digital inclusion organizations to expand and scale their community impact.