From its founding in 2015, PowerOn has developed a more in depth understanding of the importance of technology for the LGBTQ+ Community. On May 26th, 2023 PowerOn launched its first Community Tech Grant selecting 40 LGBTQ+ community centers around the US and Puerto Rico.
The PowerOn Community Tech Grant was designed to meet the tech needs of our PowerOn Partner Centers. With a deeper understanding of the critical reliance on technology for center operations and client resources throughout the program’s time. This grant provides the technology necessary to support LGBTQ+ community centers that can be used in a center’s physical space, by staff members working remotely or in the field, and to support day-to-day center operations.
Through the Community Tech Grant applications, LGTBQ+ community centers consistently expressed a technological barrier when it came to providing services and conducting outreach. Many center staff and volunteers were utilizing their personal laptops and tech devices, providing a privacy, security and efficiency deficit for the center. Centers who did have technology available for staff and volunteers shared that many devices were outdated and couldn’t support newer operating systems, or had stopped functioning altogether. The technology granted is helping solve this issue by providing staff and volunteers with new and up-to-date technology to use on a daily basis. Removing this barrier allows centers to focus and fund their work and programs, allowing improved outreach, data entry, access, and services.
In 2023, PowerOn provided $125,403.80 in the form of 313 devices to 40 LGBTQ+ Community Centers through the Community Tech Grant.
The tech devices provided are:
48 desktops
126 laptops
33 printers
31 cellphones
75 tablets
Keep an eye out for our quarterly reports on how this tech has impacted the community centers and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.
For more information about the Community Tech Grant visit www.poweronlgbt.org/community-tech-grant
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