Connect Humanity, Appalachian Community Capital Partner to Raise Funds for Broadband Access

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2013 — Digital equity advocacy group Connect Humanity and the Appalachian Community Capital announced Thursday they are partnering to raise $25 million to bring broadband access to underserved communities in 13 Appalachian states.

The campaign, called Investing in Digital Equity in Appalachia, will leverage Connect Humanity’s ongoing Digital Accelerator program, whose grants assist communities in Appalachia to develop their own broadband infrastructure plans. The region, stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi, is home to several rural and tribal families that currently lack access to broadband internet.

The initiative would also establish a technical assistance program to aid local community development finance institutions, including ACC, to facilitate direct investments in digital equality and community-based internet service providers.

“The IDEA Fund can turn plans into reality and demonstrate how new models of community-centered networks can connect Appalachia,” said Brian Vo, chief investment officer of Connect Humanity, who emphasized the need for private investment and philanthropy to bridge the digital divide in marginalized areas.

The initiative joined other philanthropic investments in supporting community broadband coalitions while states are ramping up to submit the initial proposal to allocate their sharing within the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding.