Broadband Award

SAN DIEGO FUTURES FOUNDATION RECIEVES $2 MILLION FOR SAN DIEGO BROADBAND INITIATIVE

San Diego, CA – December 15, 2010 - The San Diego Futures Foundation (SDFF) announced today that it will receive $2.1 million to support the San Diego Broadband Initiative (SDBI), a program that focuses on closing the digital divide in San Diego county.

The award includes $1.6 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), $379,000 from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), and $50,000 from the California Consumer Protection Foundation (CCPF). Earlier this year, SDFF received $10,000 from the County of San Diego’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Program to support expansion of the SDBI program and facilities for training, workshops, and technology demonstrations, and $110,000 in Community Development Block Grants from the City of San Diego. These awards will enable SDFF to provide technical training, computers, low-cost Internet, and support services to more than 6,500 “disconnected” San Diego families between October 1, 2010, and March 31, 2013.

“This funding is going to put a huge dent in the digital divide in San Diego,” said Ken Harth, President of the SDFF Board of Directors. According to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, an estimated 200,000 San Diego County residents do not access the Internet from home. The survey indicates the reasons for the disconnected population are due to a lack of understanding of the value, affordability, and physical disabilities. “We estimate that over the life of this program, SDFF will deliver more than 10,000 computers to San Diego families, providing access to an estimated 40,000 people who previously did not have access at home,” continued Ken Harth. “That is an estimated 20% of San Diego’s disconnected population.”

The San Diego Broadband Initiative started in 2008 and includes several community and business partners. Residents who participate in the program receive a donated or low-cost computer, training, discounted Internet service, software, and help desk support. Today, more than 2,500 families have been served, and all are members of the SDBI “social network” on the program’s website, www.sdbroadband.org.

To date, all of the computers provided have been assets formerly used by the County of San Diego. As part of the County’s 1999 IT Outsourcing agreement, equipment replaced at the County is provided to the San Diego Futures Foundation, which then refurbishes the equipment and donates it back into the community. “SDFF has achieved much more than we ever dreamed they would over the past ten years,” said W. Harold Tuck, CIO of San Diego County and an SDFF Board Member. “We are very proud of SDFF’s efforts and particularly their success in raising funds to support programs like the San Diego Broadband Initiative, which will help so many of San Diego’s low-income families.”

The funding is part of a statewide effort led by the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF). The total NTIA award, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is $7.1 million across California.

For more information and a complete list of SDBI partners, visit the program website at www.sdbroadband.org.

About the Funder:

The San Diego Broadband Initiative is possible with generous funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act within the U.S. Department of Commerce and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF). CETF provides leadership statewide to minimize the Digital Divide by accelerating the deployment of broadband and other advanced communication services to underserved communities and populations.

About the San Diego Futures Foundation:

Chartered to improve lives in San Diego County by making information technology and services available to organizations, underserved individuals, families, and disadvantaged small businesses. SDFF fulfills its mission by addressing three primary areas in the San Diego community: access to technology, training programs, and technical services for nonprofit organizations. To date, San Diego Futures Foundation has donated almost 25,000 computers and over 25,000 hours of technical services to San Diego's nonprofits, community-based organizations, families and schools. SDFF’s major corporate sponsor is Northrop Grumman. www.sdfutures.org

# # # # #