Nearly 8% of Santa Barbara County residents have no access to the internet. Yet more of our neighbors can’t afford to pay for WiFi, don’t have computers at home, or don’t know how to use them.
That means many of our neighbors can’t take part in online education, apply for jobs, access telehealth services, or stay connected to loved ones.
At the request of County administration, SBF formally launched the Digital Equity Coalition in 2023 to align efforts, convene partners, and position the County to receive our fair share of state and federal funding to bridge the digital divide.
Last year, SBF coordinated a census-style survey about digital needs for the City of Guadalupe, gleaning information about critical needs among households and businesses.
With Los Amigos de Guadalupe, we distributed Chromebooks to families and individuals displaced by the winter storms of January 2023.
In June 2023, SBF hosted a regional workshop for the State of California with 100 attendees to gather input about the State Digital Equity Plan and to advocate for local priorities for state funding.
Last September, we submitted a letter of support for the Digital Equity Bill of Rights, which was signed into law, making California the first state to recognize digital access as a civil right.
Throughout 2023, members of the DEC supported low-income community members to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program to receive internet service discounts.
As a result, Santa Barbara County achieved a 67% enrollment rate, saving money for county residents.
In May of this year, SBF became the fiscal sponsor for the County’s $497,000 Digital Equity Access to Technology Grant, a pilot project to establish skills-based training for “Digital Navigators” to help older adults and adults with disabilities connect to the internet, build skills, and obtain devices to use them.
SBF identified five nonprofit partners, listed below, and provided their staff with tools and knowledge to help our neighbors develop digital literacy skills. We partnered with Community Tech Network (CTN), a national leader in digital equity, to provide support.
Each participating nonprofit received:
Devices: Partners chose from a selection of Samsung tablets, iPads, Chromebooks, and smartphones, which they distributed at no cost to eligible older adults and people with disabilities within their communities.
Training: Staff were enrolled in CTN’s training to learn how to teach digital skills courses and direct community members to key resources, such as low-cost internet programs. These trained “Digital Navigators” provided one-on-one, in-home, and group training and technical assistance to clients.
Curriculum & Resources: CTN supplied course curricula, teacher guides, and learner workbooks, tailored to various languages and devices.
Marketing: CTN also created custom promotional materials, like flyers and newsletter content, to ensure that community members were aware of their opportunities. This allowed our nonprofit partners to focus on providing services instead of marketing.
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