California Emerging Technology Fund Awards ‘Digital Equity Leadership Grants’ to 15 Jurisdictions in the SCAG Region

News

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) recently awarded Digital Equity Leadership Grants of $20,000 to 15 jurisdictions in the SCAG region. The grant awardees will participate in CETF’s “Local Government Best Practices Check List Project” to accelerate the adoption of policies and practices that close the digital divide in California. CETF’s Digital Equity Leadership Grants are made possible by a memorandum of understanding between CETF and T-Mobile USA in which T-Mobile commits to specified public benefits in conjunction with its acquisition of Sprint in 2020, including $5 million for Digital Equity Leadership Grants. CETF has committed more than $1.1 million to the “Local Government Best Practices Check List Project.”   

Local governments receiving $20,000 grants in the SCAG region: 

  • City of Artesia 
  • City of Bell Gardens 
  • City of Bellflower 
  • City of Brawley 
  • City of Cathedral City 
  • City of Inglewood 
  • City of Long Beach 
  • City of Los Angeles 
  • City of Maywood 
  • City of Moorpark 
  • City of Ontario 
  • City of Palmdale 
  • City of Rosemead 
  • City of Santa Paula 
  • City of South El Monte 

Awardees will participate in three online workshops, referred to as a “Learning Community,” between September 2024 and March 2025 to address common challenges, share expertise, and identify lessons learned for a public report by June 2025. Each local government submitted an initial assessment at the end of May 2024 before submitting grant applications in June. Representatives of existing Digital Equity Leadership Grants—including Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs), California State Association of Counties (CSAC), SCAG, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and WiConduit—reviewed and scored the applications. Statewide, grants have been awarded to 12 counties and 24 cities. RBCs, SCAG, and SANDAG will receive additional funding to participate in the Learning Community.        

Local governments can use the $20,000 grant as they see most useful to close the digital divide in their jurisdiction. They also will be provided information by CETF about affordable, lower-cost Internet service plans and available digital literacy training resources to distribute in their digitally disadvantaged neighborhoods.   

The “Local Government Best Practices Check List Project” was developed and released in 2021 by CETF, RBCs, and CSAC. For more on the program, visit the CETF website.