DE Competitive Grant Partnership Interest
Several organizations are interested in building partnerships in order to apply for DE Competitive Grant Funding. This information is included below:
Authorized Representative Organizations
NTIA encourages organizations to apply in partnerships. When applying as a partnership, one Eligible Entity must be designated as the applicant for the partnership and serve as the “Authorized Representative.”
Goodwill Industries of the Columbia
Contact Name: Sonee Wilson
Contact Email: skulaga@goodwillotc.org
Location: Kennewick, WA
Description of Services: Focused on bridging the digital divide by providing free or low cost technology, teaching basic to advanced digital literacy classes for all targeted populations, offering scholarships for career advancement
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
Contact Name: Jodi Ruback
Contact Email: jruback@sbctc.edu
Location: Olympia, WA
Description of Services: * SBCTC’s Education Division coordinates, supports, and provides leadership for our community and technical college districts in all matters related to instruction, student services, eLearning, and policy research. The division also builds and maintains agency partnerships with K-12, universities, business / industry, and labor groups and agencies on such collaborative efforts as transfer degree pathways, workforce development, corrections education, and dual enrollment.
Additionally, the division advocates and successfully positions community and technical colleges to meet the workforce training and retraining needs of business and industry and helps colleges quickly respond to business needs, champions educational resources for student and faculty learning needs such as open education resources, and administers and provides leadership (both state and national) for adult education and literacy programs, and adult high school completion programs.
The students served by SBCTC’s Education Division include the following covered populations:
• Individuals who live in Covered Households (defined as households with income from the most recently completed year of not more than 150% of the poverty level);
• Aging individuals;
• Incarcerated individuals, other than individuals who are incarcerated in a Federal correctional facility;
• Veterans; • Individuals with disabilities;
• Individuals with a language barrier, including English learners and those with low levels of literacy;
• Individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group; and
• Individuals who primarily reside in a rural area.
BEdA (Adult Education), the department spearheading SBCTC’s Digital Equity work, has a presence throughout the community and technical college system, which includes 34 colleges and 5 community-based organizations, as well as correctional institutions through a contract with the Department of Corrections. In 2021-22 we served 34, 461 students in BEdA programming across Washington state through coursework that leads to a high school credential, teaches English language skills, and prepares individuals through living wage work through our nationally renowned I-BEST program.
72% of our students of color, and many are low-income. BEdA has also been working on digital literacy and digital upskilling for over 10 years now. We began incorporating digital literacy skills into BEdA curriculum in 2013, with a $5 million-dollar Gates-funded Project Integrated Digital English Acceleration, or I-DEA. The I-DEA program teaches English language skills in tandem with digital literacy and digital skill-building in the context of college and careers.
Digital skill development is incorporated into each of the 31 customizable modules focused on topics ranging from navigating the community and information literacy to professional communication, job exploration and interviewing skills.
We are interested in talking to potential partners who can offer the following: • Digital Navigator Training to our Navigator Cadre • Offer digital skills instruction in areas, particularly rural areas, that are not within the service areas of our colleges and CBO’s to expand the reach • Share/develop openly licensed digital skills training materials
East African Community Services
Contact Name: Amir Noir Soulkin
Contact Email: noir@eastafricans.org
Location: Seattle, WA
Description of Services: Complete Wraparound Support Services for Refugee and Immigrants: Prenatal - College education, mentorship, STEM and family support services. Digital and Computer Literacy Programs. Primary demographic: Low-income East African refugee and immigrant families, Low-to-no English literacy.
PROVAIL
Contact Name: Amy Logan
Contact Email: amyl@provail.org
Location: Seattle, WA
Description of Services: Customized assistive technology devices and training for individuals with disabilities.
Non-Authorized Representative Organizations
Smaller organizations looking to collaborate with a larger entity/Authorized Representative Entity to help expand its reach and service offerings
Edmonds College
Contact Name: Claire Murata
Contact Email: claire.murata@edmonds.edu
Location: Lynnwood, WA
Description of Services: We are a community college serving transfer and professional technical students.
FMS Global Strategies
Contact Name: Paula Sardinas & Colleen Laing
Contact Email: Paulasardinas@fmsglobalstrategies.com, Colleenlaing@fmsglobalstrategies.com
Location: Issaquah, WA
Description of Services: Public affairs services for a variety of clients, including members of the Washington Build Back Black Alliance, on issues including digital equity.
Professional Women of Color Network & NCNW Seattle Section
Contact Name: Meko Lawson
Contact Email: meko@pwocn.org
Location: Seattle, WA
Description of Services:
1) The Professional Women of Color Network (PWOCN) provides a platform for women of color to build authentic relationships, strategic connections, and professional growth. The organization focuses on creating a dynamic community through events, articles, and networking opportunities. PWOCN supports women of color across various professions by offering resources for personal and professional development, fostering collaboration, and providing a space for shared experiences and empowerment.
2) The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Seattle Section is an organization dedicated to advocating for and empowering women of African descent, their families, and communities. Seattle Section NCNW focuses on economic empowerment, education, health equity, and social justice. The organization offers a range of programs, including webinars, health initiatives, and advocacy efforts, aimed at improving the lives of African American women and their communities.
Renaissance 21
Contact Name:Julian Saint Clair, Ph.D.
Contact Email: julian@renaissance21.org
Location: Seattle, WA
Description of Services:
Star Tech Global Academy (STGA) is an award winning grassroots digital equity program with almost 10 years experience working in the most underserved and at-risk communities in Washington State and beyond. We have developed and launched a portfolio of applied education & training programs for covered populations (over 90% identifying as BIPOC), consistently achieving over 90% of participants reporting positive outcomes. We are interested in potential partners who share our desire to scale our collective impact.
Star Tech is the lead program by Renaissance 21, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. STGA is organized for one specific purpose: to increase at-risk and underrepresented youth’s interest, confidence, and participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Star Tech’s vision is increased levels of education, employment, and entrepreneurship in STEAM fields for at-risk and underrepresented community members.
STGA’S Unique Value Proposition: All-in-one, Tailored, Mobile. Star Tech Global Academy novel approach lies in our unique combination of grassroots community-driven next generation curriculum and innovative all-in-one mobile workshops that are delivered on-site wherever needed. Our state of the art STEM & STEAM Workshops are delivered via our innovative Star Tech Fleet of mobile classroom supply vehicles. This mobility and self-sufficiency allows STGA to reach the most vulnerable populations often underserved by existing solutions.
SERVICES
All services are customized and comprehensive to address all gaps in service delivery. We develop and provide all necessary equipment, connectivity, curriculum, training, and staffing. 100% of staff have come from underrepresented backgrounds, typically hired and trained from the communities we are serving. Programs and workshops range from 1 day to 10 weeks or beyond, customized to community needs. As evidenced by our success in Ecuador (see below), our unique mobile model can be executed in virtually any location, including those without infrastructure. Moreover, our programs are scalable, and we are able to match.
Comprehensive services include:
• Curriculum Development for Skills Training Programs and Workshops
• Training Programs on Basic, Advanced, and Applied Skills (Device Training, Digital Skills, Digital Footprint, Web Conferencing, Google Workspace, Web Design, Multimedia Design, etc.)
• Training Programs for Cultural Fluency & Inclusion (DEIB, etc.) for individuals working with Covered Populations
• Workforce Development Programs (Resume Building, Education/Job Search & Applications, Interview Prep, Networking, Mentoring, etc.)
• Internship Programs (Development & Execution Internally or with Employer Partners)
• Device & Equipment Access (Free Device Access During Programs, Publicly Accessible Devices Distributed to Community Centers, Personal Device Distribution upon Completion)
• Resource Connections (Free/Low Cost Broadband, Device Needs, Educational Needs, Basic Needs)
• Broadband Adoption and Engagement (Free Hotspots)
• Outreach, Marketing, and Recruiting (proven community-driven tactics reaching those furthest from opportunity, including those with underdeveloped interest in STEAM)
RECENT SUCCESSES
Our program services include building partnerships and creating skill development workshops with community centers, libraries, community businesses, other non-profits, colleges, and corporations. Recent successes include: Multimedia and Biotech STEAM introduction workshop series developed with Netflix volunteers and with Seagen/Pfizer volunteers, respectively; partnering with corporate affinity groups to launch corporate intern programs for under-represented youth; STEAM workshops at community centers and libraries in underrepresented communities, with necessary additional bandwidth provided by STGA hotspots; Certification workshops to prepare our participants for jobs with resumes, mentoring, tutoring, and support during online certification classes. Confident digital literacy and digital skills are fundamental learning objectives of the workshops, along with a positive nurturing learning environment that includes meals to address food insecurity and transportation stipends. We also connected with international partners in Salinas, Ecuador to develop and launch a multigenerational website development program for women and girls, as well as a robotics program for girls. Workshop incentives/rewards of digital devices (laptops or tablets) are provided to participants, enabling continuing digital access. Mentoring and recommendation support after completing workshops series has enabled participants to pursue and win scholarships, and entry to college.
OUTCOMES
Careful program measurements, designed by our Loyola Marymount University and University of Washington doctoral research partners, assess and improve the outcomes of our participants and the effectiveness of our workshops. Our surveys reveal that over 90% of all participants report positive outcomes on increased confidence, belonging, and identification with STEM and STEAM. Past students continue to use STGA resources (e.g., mentoring) and have moved forward on their educational pathways from high school, to college, to masters and beyond.
Maximizing the utility of our limited funding to serve King and Snoqualmie counties, in 6 months time we:
• Reached out to 30+ high schools across eleven (11) different school districts in the two counties.
• Recruited 400+ diverse teen signups.
• Handed out 88 laptops and tablets to at-risk and underrepresented students.
• Awarded $15,000 in scholarships.
• In two different community centers, our students uplifted their common areas with 38 individual multimedia art projects highlighting inspirational leaders.
• Overall, we increased the digital literacy of students aged 13-21, 90% of whom identify as BIPOC, while 95% of our college intern instructors are also BIPOC and 100% are from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM and STEAM (women, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, etc.).
Digital Skills are evidenced in the deliverables that participants produced, such as: cover letters, resumes, digital designs, multimedia art projects, and fully operational websites for local WMBE small businesses. Depending on the funding and community need, individuals and/or community spaces we partner with receive devices upon completion.
PARTNERS
For over 9 years, we have executed STEM and STEAM equity projects through our Star Tech Global Academy program in multiple at-risk and underserved communities, which would not have been possible without partners such as:
• Roxhill Elementary
• Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (A community center for unhoused and street-involved youth)
• Garfield Teen Life Center
• South Park Community Center
• Meadowbrook Teen Life Center
• Southwest Teen Life Center
• South Shore K-8
• Magnuson Community Center
• Bitter Lake Community Center
• Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
• Seattle Department of Information Technology
• Seattle Parks & Recreation
• Sno-Isle Libraries
• MESA Washington
• Seattle Foundation
• Netflix
• Seagen / Pfizer
• AT&T
In recognition of our impact, we were awarded the 2024 National Digital Equity Champion Award from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. We continue to receive partnership invitations; we have open invitations for over 49 possible locations across Snoqualmie and King Counties. We are eager to build more partnerships and fund our proven and intrinsically scalable model.
City of Seattle
Contact Name: Jon Morrison Winters
Contact Email: jon.morrisonwinters@seattle.gov
Location: Seattle, WA
Description of Services: Local government
Triceratops Technology Resources
Contact Name: Azure Sensabaugh
Contact Email: azure@triceratops-tech.com
Location: Olympia, WA
Description of Services: Digital literacy training, wi-fi access in encampments and shelters