Towards A Digital Equity Foundation

Exploring the need for a Digital Equity Foundation, options and best practices for its potential structure, governance, and the benefits such a foundation could bring to the public. 

• The foundation could provide sustainable, responsive funding for community-based digital inclusion activities. Funds could benefit a wide range of programs, including “digital navigators,” affordable access, rural telehealth initiatives, accessibility, skills training for veterans and the elderly, and education technology that helps to close the “homework gap.”
• There is a precedent for this type of federally funded foundation. Examples include the FirstNet Public Safety Network Trust Fund that Congress established in 2012 with $7.5 billion in auction revenue, the California Emerging Technology Fund, and the eleven existing “agency-sponsored” foundations, such as the CDC Foundation and the National Parks Foundation.
• The foundation should be structured to maximize transparency and efficiency. The foundation should be established as a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation and follow best practice requirements for transparency and public accountability—including: a clear and focused mission statement; governance by an accountable board of directors; mechanisms for federal agency oversight, and reporting to Senate and House Commerce Committees; and establishment of robust community advisory mechanisms.
• The foundation’s governing board and community advisory committee should represent diverse stakeholders. The foundation’s governing board must reflect a balance of expertise and diversity (including geographic diversity) that reinforces the foundation’s mission to promote digital inclusion and equity in communities nationwide. Likewise, the community advisory committee should represent a broad cross-section of beneficiaries, digital equity providers, civil rights groups, and others likely to be impacted by the foundation’s work.