By Todd Cohen
Technology can be a powerful tool -- unless you're an individual, organization or community with poor or no access to technology.
The "digital divide" that separates the tech "haves" from the tech "have-nots" is a huge challenge facing the nonprofit world.
Two new reports document the challenges faced by non-whites and Native Americans in the U.S. in gaining access to technology.
Blacks and Hispanics are half as likely as whites to own computers, according to a new federal study. And a second study, by the Benton Foundation, says that while technology is becoming more common in Native American communities, they still lack the resources to acquire and use it.
America faces a host of serious social problems, ranging from poverty and racism to poor health, illiteracy and violence.
The key to attacking those problems at their roots lies in creating jobs and preparing people to fill those jobs, and that won't happen until all communities have access to a good education and to technology.
A big stumbling block to delivering technology to underserved communities is a different kind of digital divide. That divide consists of a lack of understanding about technology on the part of foundations and other donors.
Many funders don't understand the impact that technology can have on the way people live and work. Locked into their own funding guidelines and view of the world, many funders fail to recognize that technology can transform an organization or a community, and equip individuals to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world that demands tech-savvy workers who can adapt quickly. Many funders also don't use technology themselves.
Delivering technology to underserved communities is a job that will require the participation of government, schools and colleges, makers of technology and the philanthropic community.
Funders can go a long way toward making a difference by embracing technology. That means learning how to use it themselves, finding out the difference that it can make in the lives of people and developing innovative ways to support the delivery of technology to communities that lack access to it.
Todd Cohen can be reached at
tcohen@mindspring.com
