Bolstering Digital Accessibility in Boston
Capital One is providing Tech Goes Home with grant funding to expand digital advocacy, education, and access
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Capital One is building upon its support to Tech Goes Home (TGH), a Massachusetts nonprofit committed to addressing the digital divide, and increasing digital accessibility and literacy in the Boston area. The grant will enable TGH to expand digital inclusion programming to thousands of new learners across the area and support TGH’s newly launched Advocacy Community Fellowship Program. This effort builds on Capital One’s longstanding support to TGH, which includes more than $1 million in grants since 2015. Its efforts have had a significant impact, as 21,000 learners have graduated from TGH programs since 2019. Additionally, more than 15,000 new computers have been distributed in communities across Massachusetts. “It’s so energizing to be part of a growing Capital One Technology team in Boston that’s not only focused on spearheading innovation in financial services, but also supporting and building up the communities in which we live,” says Brian McMahon, Managing Vice President of Finance Technology and Capital One’s Boston Site Lead. “It’s through partnerships with organizations like Tech Goes Home that we can further support a thriving Boston community, in which people of all demographics and walks of life can learn about and confidently use digital skills and tools.” |
TGH partners with social service organizations throughout Massachusetts to deliver courses focused on fundamental digital skills for adults and families. Taught by TGH certified instructors at local partner organizations, course topics include, but are not limited to, job searching, financial literacy, communicating with friends and family, accessing public benefits, finding educational programs, and accessing telehealth. Each course is tailored to the specific interests, needs, and skill levels of the learners who enroll.
Through hand-in-hand collaboration with schools, libraries, nonprofits, and other community-serving organizations, TGH provides thousands of learners every year with a laptop or tablet, reliable internet access, and 15 hours of digital skills training. The grant from Capital One will allow TGH to expand its proven digital inclusion programming to 6,000 new learners in 2024 across Suffolk, Norfolk, Plymouth, Middlesex, and Essex Counties.
“We are grateful for Capital One’s generous and ongoing support for Tech Goes Home’s work,” says Dan Noyes, Chief Executive Officer of TGH. “Not only will this award help thousands of people gain the digital skills and resources they need to thrive, but it will also help support our efforts to center the voices and experiences of community members through our Advocacy Community Fellowship Program. With Capital One’s partnerships, we look forward to working with the first cohort of Fellows to enhance our work and ensure that the communities we serve are better reflected in critical policy and funding decisions related to digital inclusion in Massachusetts.”
Additionally, Capital One has provided support to TGH’s learners through its free, online “Ready, Set, Bank” content, which provides digital financial literacy education. Capital One has also helped TGH expand its programming from Boston to Cambridge, and recently assisted with the launch of its new Advocacy Community Fellowship Program.
The fellowship is a two-year program to help develop leading voices in digital inclusion advocacy, decision-making, and systems change work in Massachusetts by bringing together 10 participants, including instructors who have led TGH courses in their communities, graduates who have participated in a TGH course, and other members of the TGH community. Fellows will participate in monthly training, capacity-building and networking sessions, as well as contribute to TGH’s burgeoning advocacy work through testimony, media engagement, coalition building and more.
“Our intention is to center the voices of our community – and those most proximate to and impacted by digital exclusion in Massachusetts – in all of our advocacy work,” says Marvin Venay, Chief Advocacy Officer at TGH. “The Advocacy Community Fellowship will create an opportunity for TGH graduates and instructors to develop valuable skills and connections, raise their voices about digital equity, and shape the future of digital inclusion based on their lived experiences.”
Recent research from the Capital One Insights Center showed that financial literacy is a critical component of positive financial outcomes, and banking is increasingly digital. Capital One is committed to improving digital financial literacy for all Americans through partnerships like TGH.
From internet access equity to computer and digital skills training, TGH and Capital One are making a difference for Boston-area residents.
“We’re proud to support TGH's efforts to advance digital equity and to help those facing systemic technological barriers," says Shena Ashley, Vice President of Community Impact & Investment at Capital One. "We believe long-term, strategic partnerships with organizations like TGH are essential to improving access to resources for underserved communities, addressing the digital divide, and advancing socioeconomic mobility for all."
