Digital Literacy Alliance snags $500K to support immigrant-serving orgs and previous grantees

The Digital Literacy Alliance (DLA) has received a $500,000, two-year grant to provide funding to immigrant-serving organizations that offer digital literacy training and to support its grantee network, the City of Philadelphia announced Wednesday.

The grant comes from the Independence Public Media of Philadelphia, Inc. (IPM), a new private foundation that’s transformed from Independence Public Media, founded in 1981.

The DLA grant is part of $5.3 million that’s been given to 11 organizations “to help communities across the Greater Philadelphia region build power through media and media making,” Molly de Aguiar, the president of the foundation, wrote in a Medium post. 

Other organizations that received grants include the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Germantown Info Hub & Kensington Voice, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and PhillyCAM.

The DLA — a 19-organization collective born out of the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia — provides financial support to digital literacy and inclusion programs in Philly, convenes stakeholders and partners from diverse sectors, and offers guidance on digital literacy programming and policy making.

The past two years, DLA has funded projects focusing on a variety of technology-related issues in the city, ranging from spotting fake news to tablet training sessions for senior citizens. Its current grant cycle will distribute a total of $200,000 to organizations looking to help under-resourced Philadelphians complete their 2020 census surveys online.

The city said $300,000 of the grant will be dispersed to immigrant-focused digital literacy programs. The DLA will seek proposals from organizations wishing to receive funds throughout the end of 2019. The remaining $200,000 will go toward establishing a stronger partnership among the existing organizations funded by the DLA, the City said. (The latter follows a trend of grantmaking focused on capacity-building and collaboration.)

“Digital literacy and access are critical for any Philadelphian, and we know it is particularly important for immigrants as they attempt to set down roots in a city,” said Miriam Enriquez, director of the City’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “From job applications and legal documents, to helping children with homework, many everyday functions require the understanding and use of digital tools.”