The charitable arm of the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association announced last week that it has partnered with three local nonprofits to provide a total of $325,000 toward inclusion-focused work in the digital realm. The three grants “are designed either to jump-start promising programs or super-charge existing initiatives,” according to David Pierce, executive director of the NCTA Foundation.
The three nonprofits that scored grant money? Byte Back, A Wider Circle and BUILD Metro DC.
All three nonprofits have said they’ll put the money toward new tech-driven opportunities in support of their respective missions.
- Silver Spring-based A Wider Circle, which focuses on ending poverty, will use its $115,000 grant to “extend its Workforce Readiness Program by outfitting its soon-to-be-renovated headquarters facility with technology, including a computer lab.”
- Byte Back, already a digital inclusion-focused group, will use its $100,000 grant to create a video production studio as a way to expand its curriculum.
- BUILD Metro DC, finally, will put its $110,000 behind its central mission of enabling kids from under-served communities to learn coding, web design and entrepreneurship skills.
This grant program is a first for NoMa-based NCTA — an Association with the mission “to bring together diverse perspectives to forge and promote consensus so all our members can continue to drive the industry forward.” According to a press release, “the grants are designed to provide NCTA’s energy and resources to local initiatives and equip young people and families with tools to succeed in the digital world.”